Fit note not fit for purpose, says EEF

MIDLANDS manufacturers are calling on the Government to convene a summit of employers and the medical profession to agree measures to tackle sickness absence on the back of a major survey showing that employers have lost faith in the Government’s flagship ‘fit note’ programme.

The 2013 EEF/Westfield Health Sickness Absence survey, the UK’s largest business survey of sickness absence, suggests improvements in sickness absence seen in recent years have now plateaued and further progress will only be made through concerted action to tackle longer-term absence from work.

The survey indicates that manufacturers are becoming increasingly negative about the fit note.

The fit note was introduced to replace the old sick note in 2010. Doctors issue such notes to individuals to provide evidence of the advice the doctor has given about the individual’s fitness for work.

But the EEF (Engineering Employers’ Federation) is becoming increasingly concerned that the fit note is failing to deliver on its objectives and is calling for renewed government action to ensure that the advice provided by GPs helps facilitate more employees returning earlier to work.

According to the survey, sickness absence rates have plateaued at 2.2% and 2.3% for 2011 and 2012 respectively, having previously fallen from 3% in 2007.

The average number of days lost to absence has shown a minor increase from a low of 5.1 days in 2011 to 5.3 days in 2012. It also showed that the proportion of employees with zero sickness absence rates has also remained static at 51% this year, having risen steadily from just over 40% over the past five years.

Progress in reducing sickness absence has stalled despite a growing number of companies taking action through return to work interviews, line manager training, setting stretching absence targets and providing their employees with occupational health.

The EEF is also calling for the Government to widen its proposed tax relief on health-related interventions by employers that are recommended by the new Health and Work assessment and Advisory Service.

Richard Halstead, Midlands region director at the EEF, said: “Driving down absence rates and helping more employees to return earlier to work can play a key role in getting our economy growing. But, despite the increasing efforts of employers to manage sickness absence and, support employees who have been off work, the improvement in absence rates has hit a plateau.

“We are only going to make further progress on sickness absence if we do something differently. That means making the fit note deliver the advice to help employers and employees work together to get more of them returning earlier to work.

“However, employers that were willing to give the fit note a chance are now becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of advice that it is providing.

“The Government needs to sit down with employers and the medical profession to understand what is holding up progress and agree a way forward. This must include a step change in the number of GPs being trained to use the fit note.”