Employees Might have to Work When Sick under New Scheme
August 28th, 2009According to a law firm, the new plan proposing to introduce the fit note system instead of the current sick note might compel employees who are ill or who have not yet recovered from their injuries to come back to work. A discussion on the fit note plan proposed by the government just got over this week.
Thompsons Solicitors, one of the major firms to oppose the scheme, said that the suggested scheme would not reduce company losses on account of sickness absence or on compensation paid to workers suffering from work-related health problems or injuries.
The recommended fit note requires branding an employee as fit for work, not fit for work or maybe fit for some work now by a general practitioner. In case of an employee falling in the last category, the company will be asked to formulate a step-by-step plan for enabling the recovering employee to start working under a suitable timetable and work modifications.
Thompson’s head of policy Tom Jones stated that the firm recognises that there is a necessity for assisting workers in coming to work when they are sick or injured instead of making them take a long sick leave. Many workers are forced to be on sick leave just because bosses do not make the required changes that would allow them to return to work.
However, the firm believes that the new strategy will not be able to bring any change in this situation of apathy on part of employers to make the required changes, and so workers will continue to extend their leaves against their wishes. In fact, the policy can give rise to other situations, where the bosses can pressurize employees to return even when their health will not allow them to work properly, and then sack them if they do not perform well. The proposal thus fails to solve the problems relating to overall health conditions at the workplace, believes Jones. The CIPD Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice provides a firm foundation in all the areas of HR and employment law; click on CIPD Courses for a training which provides a comprehensive understanding of the law to allow organisation’s to set their own policies and procedures in context.
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