An Occupational Health Clinician Perspective An opinion piece by Janet O’Neill Clinical Director PAM Group
M
ost Occupational Health
tribunal. Employers need to ensure
(OH) practitioners feel their
dismissals are fair and avoid a tribunal
heart sink when the
where possible.
employer or manager requests a report from the GP or has written independently to the GP. This does not always lead to an easy or productive outcome in many cases, for a number of reasons. Employers aren’t required to continue to employ individuals who aren’t meeting their contractual obligations of performance (as set by the employment
GPs may have limited understanding of how health can affect work and work can affect health
Some employers feel they need to ask for a GP and an OH report or ask OH to write to the GP specialist when gathering evidence. This is not always
necessary and can as it can muddy the waters despite this being suggested by CIPD, ACAS, and the Government.
Let me explain why… 1.
agreement and under the Employment
employee’s advocate. They owe
Rights Act 1996), which includes
allegiance to their patient. As a
sickness absence. In circumstances of
GP once said to me “if my patient
frequent short-term, long-term, and
tells me they cannot work, then I
health-related performance issues, they
have to take this on face value”.
are required to speak to the employee and investigate the medical issues
2.
affect work and work can affect
investigations could include obtaining a questions such as an understanding of timeframes for which the person’s
health. After all, this is not their area of expertise. 3.
employee’s role.
their contractual employment individual would benefit from reasonable adjustments if they possibly have a disability (ACAS). It sounds simple but it isn’t! Employers have to consider timeframes and possible adjustments. Taking into consideration the impact on the organisation, costs, other employees, any precedence, other areas of the business, etc. Unfair disability dismissals are common reasons a employee can take their employer to a OH TODAY
Spring 2022
GP’s may not understand the patient's workplace or the
health will impact their ability to meet obligations (CIPD) and whether the
GP’s may have limited understanding of how health can
(CIPD), before making a decision. These GP or OH report to help answer crucial
8
First and foremost, the GP is the
4.
GP’s have around seven minutes for patient assessment and can provide repeat fit notes without further evaluation. With the current COVID situation, obtaining appointments can be difficult in some areas (BMA). Fit notes are often provided with little understanding of the impact on employment, and GP reports follow a similar vein.