Ahead of the Sickness and Absence Review, the Department of Work and Pensions has this week released further research into the fit note.

Commenting on the research, Diane Buckley, Managing Director of Legal & General’s Group Income Protection business, said:

“The report shows that while progress is being made there is still some way to go in helping people to get the right support in place at work when they are ill.

“Our experience suggests that many employers also lack the specialist expertise to interpret the implications of a fit note for an employee’s return to work. What’s important is for employers, Doctors and employees to work together to make sure that tailored, individual support is delivered quickly”.

Recent opinion research conducted by ComRes on behalf of Legal & General showed that GP’s are yet to be convinced of the effectiveness of the fit note system:

• 50{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} of GPs said that the fit note system has not enhanced their ability to help people keep their job during an illness. A sizeable minority, 41{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}, disagreed.
• On the role of GPs in helping people keep their jobs during an illness they were also fairly evenly split: 47{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} disagree that the new system gives them a clearer role, 46{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} agree and 7{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} don’t know.

Credit: onrec.com