July 2009:
DWP replaces traditional sick note with new fit note
In a move designed to help more people return to work instead of drifting into long term sickness and absenteeism, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a replacement to the traditional sick note, with the fit note.
More than a case of mere semantics, the fit notes will be computer generated in GP surgeries and will give patients pre-eminent advice on how to stay in work and advise what their employer can do to aid their return to the workplace as effectively as possible. As example, if the potential employee has mobility problems, a fit note would suggest suitable jobs undertaken sitting down rather than standing up.
A recent CBI survey stated that absences of more than four weeks contributed to approximately 40 per cent of all sick days taken, while the Black Review estimated that the resulting cost to the British economy was more than £100bn annually.
In the light of such figures, the manufacturers organisation EEF, which represents approximately 6,000 companies and 900,000 people, welcomed the fit note introduction. “A fit note recognises that for many conditions a phased return to work is beneficial to both the company and the worker. The fit note provides employers with the information to help an early, but appropriate return to work,” commented EEF chief medical officer Professor Sayeed Khan.
The fit note represents part of the government’s response to Dame Carol Black’s 2008 report into the health of Britain’s working age population. Developed with the support of healthcare professionals, employer representatives and trade unions, the fit note will be introduced nationwide in the spring of 2010.