Thompsons Point Out Loopholes in the Government’s New Fit Note System
The Government has recommended a ‘fit note’ system instead of the sick note after the current fit note scheme consultation that just got over. Its aim is to reduce the loss suffered by industries due to sick leave of workers and lower the amount of compensation to be paid to workers who fall sick due to negligence of companies.
General practitioners will have to categorise their patients into one of the three divisions – fit for work, not fit for work, or maybe fit for some work now. If the patient falls in the third category, then his employer will have to make necessary arrangements that will enable him to gradually handle tasks at office. The working hours, office duties, and the workplace itself may have to be modified to suit the needs of such an employee.
However, Thompsons Solicitors has opposed this proposal saying that it would make the sick employees come to work before their health condition permits them to.
Thompsons’ head of policy Tom Jones said that the firm agrees to the need for assisting people who have fallen ill in returning to work. Many of the workers want to return to work but cannot do so as no modifications are made by employers to suit their special needs. Thompsons however believes this strategy will not have much effect and that employers will still fail to make special arrangements for their workers prepared to return, with the result that employees will still be stuck and will not be able to come back to work even if they want to.
There is also a possibility that in the new strategy, employers can force sick employees to return before they are ready and then terminate their jobs if they cannot manage the workload. This will harm both employers and staff without enhancing the overall health conditions in the workplace. The Certificate in Personnel Practice (CPP Training) provides a firm foundation in all the areas of personnel and will help you to gain a broad grasp of employment law so you can set your own organisation’s policies and procedures in context.
