'Returning to work can be a daunting prospect’
Returning to work can be a daunting prospect. Coping with ill health can impact on confidence, and recovery after physical or mental ill health can be slow and unpredictable.
Sickness absence is estimated to cost the UK economy around £15 billion per year.
With proper planning and management, returning to work after a period of absence should be a positive and uplifting experience. Before a return to work, communications should take place to consider how the health issues affect the ability to work and understand what adjustments might be needed to help you to return safely.
Returning to the same workload, commitments and responsibilities at work can often be too much, particularly in the early stages of your return to work, managers need to make sure that support is in place at the early stages of the return to work to ensuring the best outcome is achieved and the individual feels well supported. Open and honest communications are encouraged.
Should there be changes in individuals health that may impact on an ability to undertake a job, the employer should make reasonable adjustments are made in the workplace or working conditions to help you stay in work.
Reasonable adjustments are a key part of the Equality Act (2010) and require the employer to adjust the workplace or working conditions so return to work can be achievable.
Consideration of the following; make changes to a job to allow a to return to work or provide an alternative job, if no adjustments can be made; prevent individuals from being at a disadvantage because of a disability; ensure the same access to everything that’s involved in getting and doing a job is made available to everyone.
Help remove and prevent obstacles that impact a return to work.
Actions and attitudes can be crucial to a successful return. The way people are treated them while they are off work will have a profound effect on how they view the organisation.
Making a change
We want to make Barts Health an outstanding place to work.
Improving the policies which shape our experience as employees is the aim of a major initiative being led by the employee relations team in partnership with staff side colleagues.
You can play a part in developing the new sickness absence policy by attending a focus group on August 16th.
Jonathan Crabtree
Senior Occupational Health Nurse Advisor