Sick Leave - another angle

mozzie1

Hi there, I think your employee is lucky to have such a caring boss.

Some info for you that might help both of you come to decision about extra time off or ensuring the return to work will not affect health.



1. Your employees must give you a doctor’s ‘fit note’ these days (formerly ‘sick note’) if they’re off sick for more than 7 days. Hospital doctors or GPs provide them.

The fit note says the employee is either ‘not fit for work’ or ‘may be fit for work’.
The ‘may be fit for work’ category is important esp if he insists he is OK and you think he is not. The note provides space for the GP to suggest whether there should be a phased return to work, lighter duties etc. You would then discuss any changes that might help the employee return to work (eg different hours or tasks). The employee must be treated as ‘not fit for work’ if there’s no agreement on these changes.
You can take a copy of the fit note, the employee should keep the original.You can insist that your employee provides a fit note if they have been off work for more than 7 days already.



If course, you'd explain your reasons why you need this so he could come back but on lighter duties as if he hurt himself more if he was not quite ready then he'd end up being off for longer and that you don't want to damage his health. Obviously if he came back to work he would resume full pay.



Perhaps there is an issue over entitlement to sick pay. Is he on company sick entitlement or statutory sick pay.



If this is the case it might be worth looking at the option of taking holiday entitlement instead of sick leave, as this is time off with pay. Worth discussing as he may feel this is a better option.


Ultimately it is the employer's responsibility to determine that an employee is fit to work.
If you insist on a fit note from the GP but they will not provide one, you can either pay for a private note from the employee's GP or another GP or arrange for an occupational health assessment (if you are a company big enough to have this facility).



Am sure because an operation has taken place the GP is likely to issue one.



I would just have a frank discussion to find out whether the return to work is down money concerns (in which case holiday pay may be the best bet) or that he just doesn't want to be confined at home (in which case lighter duties may be the way forward temporarily). Do you have a sickness policy to refer to? And also stress that this is so he does not end up having to have more sick leave in the future because he returned to work too early.



Hope this helps.