Having now seen a number of "Statement of Fitness for Work Notes" or "Fit Notes" as they are more commonly referring to I am really starting to wonder whether they are the "cure" for the old sick notes that we all hoped that they would be. All the "Fit Notes" that I have seen have all had the same old approach i.e. the GP puts a date that the employees should refrain from work until a specified date. I have not yet seen one whereby the GP has actually suggested that the employee could return to work provided he/she only undertook certain activities. I though that was the whole point of moving from a "Sick" note to a "Fit note" as we wanted to get employees back into work quicker!
With only 22% of employers believing that "Fit Notes" would reduce the number of employee absences, were they doomed from the start? The general reaction from both GP’s and employers has been lukewarm to say the least. Neither GP’s nor employers seem to have a deep enough understanding of the "Fit Notes" and how they work. GP’S are often not qualified in making proper assessments of a patient’s workplace, therefore, how are they able to suggest ways in which they can return to work. If GP’s fail to understand the nature of the workplace and encourage a patient back to work which then leads to the deterioration of their health, the question could be whether the GP is then liable? There seems to be a lack of information and detail in the "Fit Notes", which if provided, would give the employer some indication of what their employees can do.
Recent research by Kronos, a Workforce Management Software Supplier, suggested that 38% employers believe that "Fit Notes" will create more of a problem than it solves, especially as the Local Medical Committee (LMC) have suggested that "Fit Notes" are more open to forgery than "Sick Notes."
As far as I am concerned there are two key issues, firstly, whether the employee will actually be honest enough to tell their GP enough about their job, so that the GP can make an informed decision about which elements of their role that they can safely complete as opposed to being off work. Secondly, whether the GP has actually got time to go through the detail of a person's job in order to make that decision. I rarely go to my GP, whenever I do, I feel sorry for them as they have on average a ten minute appointment slot within which to listen to all your ailments, diagnose your condition, create a treatment plan (if appropriate) & now they also have to, if you are employed, find out about your role & make recommendations on which element that you can safely do in your condition. Talk about Super Human - this is an unbelievable amount of work to complete in a suggested 10 minute appointment.
In saying this, we are still in the early stages of the introduction so these maybe just teething problems, however I believe that "Fit Notes" will not cure all the problems that "Sick Notes" created. That said I am more than happy to be proved wrong on this one. Please let me know of your experience of "Fit Notes."
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