Workers off sick for a month to obtain wellness assessments

Ministers think the programme – covering England, Wales and Scotland – will conserve employers £70m a yr and minimize the sum of time folks invest off work by between 20 and 40 per cent.

It will be funded by abolishing a compensation scheme for companies paying out lengthy-term sick shell out to their personnel.

Nowadays, the move was criticised by union leaders who claimed it would lead to sick people getting forced back to operate just before they are in very good wellness.

Hugh Robertson, head of wellness and safety at the Trades Union Congress, explained: “The emphasis of this support must be about getting them far better as opposed to just back to function and the two are not necessarily the same.”

But Mike Penning, the Disabled Folks Minister, mentioned: “A lot more than 130m days a 12 months are misplaced to sickness absence in Great Britain, which has a significant influence on workers, employers and taxpayers.

“As component of the Government’s extended-phrase financial strategy, we are taking action to receiving men and women back into perform.

“This is a triple-win. It will imply a lot more men and women with a work, reduced cost for company, and a far more financially secure long term for Britain.”

Below the scheme, employers or GPs will be ready to refer employees for a operate-targeted occupational wellness assessment.

It will identify the troubles avoiding staff from returning to function and draw up a strategy recommending how they can get back into the workplace. This may possibly consist of fitness for operate guidance, medical care, doing work from property or retraining.

The DWP mentioned the service would commence working this yr and would be run by the private sector, with companies tendering for a contract to run the program.

To cover the fees, ministers will scrap the Statutory Sick Pay out Percentage Threshold Scheme, which gives compensation to employers faced with higher ranges of sick depart.

Mr Penning stated the compensation amounted to only £10 a week on typical for each and every worker, adding: “We consider we can use that cash considerably much better.”

Modest organizations which do not typically have occupational health solutions would notably advantage from the move, the Government claimed.

Workers off sick for a month to obtain wellness assessments