Sick leave becomes unpaid leave??

[Lucie8881]

My DH had been off long term sick, however, he felt able to return to work and subsequently was signed fit for return by his gp the beginning of March. At this point he had been claiming SSP for 8 weeks.

He had been liaising with his workplace through regular meetings so they were kept informed of his condition and his intention to return. On his last meeting he was informed he would need an occupational health review. The week following that meeting was when gp deemed DH fit to return. DH contacted work who then (after speaking with HR) said that before he returns he must be assessed by their occupational health, this assessment occurred the beginning of April. Occupational health assessed DH and agreed he was fit to return to work, they said they would forward their report to his workplace. 4 weeks on and still no report, DH has been chasing it up not all he gets is that "these things take time".

Now it transpires that SSP has been stopped from the time the gp agreed him for to return (understandable as he is no longer "sick"). He is currently not being paid at all, can he be put on unpaid leave? Is there any guidance as to how long they can keep him on unpaid leave?