What do you think of the 'Fit note'?

[lou031205]

fit note coming in on Thursday?? Good, bad or just more confusion for everybody?

I think its good, it will hopefully see more people move off benefits and into work they can do and will give employers the chance to reduce duties/change roles etc rather than paying for staff to be off on pay. If there is genuinely a reason to do no work at all, the new note wont change anything for those people.

Fab idea. Will put a stop to a lot of long term sick leave and give people more chance to earn proper wages rather than relying on SSP.

Have always thought the 'all or nothing' approach to sick leave was a bit too black and White.

Sorry, I'm a grumpy old cow and I think they're pretty useless.

I already say too many sick notes in which GPs make wildly unrealistic pronouncements on how someone's job should be changed (no physical duties for a nursery nurse, no stress for a city trader...) and I think that these notes just encourage that. I think it will end up with more people being signed 'maybe' and I think it's ridiculous that there isn't a 'fit to work' box. But then I'm a cynic...

I agree RB, and I think the onus on 'agreement' between the employer and employee will lead to strife. What happens when the DR gives a vague statement of adaptation, so employer says 'I can do this, but the employee feels it is not enough? The employee will be stuck between a GP who feels they have done enough, and employer who says they've done what the GP said, and they will then be stuck potentially having to return to work too soon.

Also, guidelines seem very vague. What makes a GP qualified to make judgements on changes to a working environment? How can he/she judge when they can't see that environment or the factors within it?

Yes, I hate the fact that GPs seem to believe that they are qualified to pronounce on a workplace that they know sod all about. I have even seen notes where the doctor suggests a change of manager because x is being bullied (not says that they are, not feels that they are, is). I think it is really wrong to have a GP (who sees themselves as an advocate for the patient, not an impartial third party) writing notes of this sort left right and centre. At least with occ health the employer gets to brief them...