Fit Note Worries Amongst Employers Revealed

Research by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has revealed employers have a variety of anxieties over how the proposed new fit-note system will work.

The Institute polled a small number of employers at a series of ‘managing well-being at work’ workshops in May to gauge current thinking on well-being issues. Asked for their views on the introduction of the fit note, 32 out of 42 employers either expressed concerns or saw no benefits in the proposals.

A prevailing issue was that employers felt they needed more information about the practicalities of the fit note. Some of the reservations expressed involved concerns over the ability of GPs to manage occupational health issues successfully; the way that fit notes are introduced and managers’ ability to use them successfully; the potential for the system to increase employers’ workload; and the ability of employers to make recommended accommodations.

Claire Tyers, who leads the work, health and well-being research team at the IES, said: “There are still outstanding concerns about how the new fit-note system will work. Employers need more information on how the scheme should be implemented. They worry particularly about the potential extra work it will create for their already stretched HR departments and line managers. Policy-makers need to give clear guidance to employers on this as soon as they can.”

Despite such concerns, 10 employers said they were positive about the new system, while 21 were open-minded, with a number agreeing that the fit note had the potential to reduce sickness absence.

Source: SHP

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