Another of the NI Update lectures
Dr Leslie Hawkins
Absence management
Facts & figures: CIPD survey July 2005
- Analysis based on 1110 organisations & over 2.9m people
- Average cost is £588 per employee per year
- Most important cause is minor illness; 61% – 5 days
- Manual workers – back pain
- Non-manual workers – stress
Absence management policies
- 87% organisations have absence management policies
- Return to work interviews are regarded as the most effective method of managing short term absence
- Involving OH is seen as most effective tool for managing long term absence
What is rehabilitation?
- An approach whereby those who have a health condition, injury or disability are helped to access, maintain or return to employment – DW&P 2003
- Is a process that, for the client, should develop better life quality, vigour, knowledge, capacity for coping with disease and recognition of opportunities and limitations – K E Anderson in Practical Ethics in OH 2004
- Occupational rehabilitation is the process of assisting employees back into the workplace following injury or illness whether it is work related or not – Hughes 2004
Why Rehabilitation?
- Financial
- Reduces costs
- Reduces claims
- Moral
- Return someone to where they want to be, usually to where they were before the accident or illness
- Legal
- Management of Health & Safety at work 1999 Reg 6 Health Surveillance
- HSC’s strategy 2010 & beyond – to work with stakeholders to strengthen the role of H & S to getting people back to work through much greater emphasis on rehabilitation
Government statistics
- 1995 – 27,000 people forced to give up work
- Each week – 3000 people move from SSP to Incapacity Benefit (IB)
- 90% on IB believe they will return to work
- 5:1 odds against returning to work
Research & Pilot studies
- Job retention & vocational rehabilitation: the development of a conceptual framework. (James & Cunningham 03: HSE 106)
- The Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot DW&P 02-04
- Developing a framework for vocational rehabilitation. A discussion paper DW&P May 04
Case study
- British Telecom v Pelling (May 2004)
- YET
- PersonnelToday 07.09.04
- BT boasts 8000 home-workers, 70% of their 90K workforce working flexibly
Principles of Rehabilitation
- Policy
- Commitment of stakeholders
- Eligibility criteria & support
- Budget & resources
- Commitment to confidentiality
- Accountability
- Dispute strategy
- Early contact
- Referral to OH
- Developing an agreed rehabilitation plan
- Support with therapeutic interventions
- Flexible return to work – recuperative duties
- Work adaptations or adjustments
Those involved
- Employee
- Line Manager
- OH
- Therapeutic services e.g. physiotherapists, ergonomists, counsellors
OH role
- Referral process
- Referral circumstances
- Serious &/or long term medical conditions
- Stress related problems
- MSDs
- Work related illness or injury
- Frequent periods of absence
- Assessment of the individual
- Identifying health problem
- Obtaining further medical information
- Length of absence or likely return to work
- Residual disability
- ? DDA applies
- ? Restricted duties long or short term
- Ongoing treatment e.g. physiotherapy, medication
- Review of refer?
- Assessment of the workplace
- Risk assessment or “job analysis”
- Focus on capabilities and not disabilities
- Travel to and from work
- Access & egress in emergencies
Advising on “recuperative duties”
- Points to consider
- Reasons for length of absence
- Acute or chronic condition
- GP/specialist opinion
- Job analysis
- “Psychological” fitness
- Employee attitude
- Travel arrangements or home working
- Company policy or insurers conditions for payments
Tolley”s recommendations for reduced hours
- >16 hours per week and >4 hours per day
- Agreed gradual increase over 6-8 weeks
- Rehab treatment outside these working hours
- OH review progress
Prevention is always better than cure, however there will always be the need for rehabilitating the sick and injured employee
References & bibliography
- Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2004) Employee absence 2004: a survey of management policy and practice http://www.cipd.co.uk
- Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2004) Absence Management fact sheet http://www.cipd.co.uk
- Walters M (2005) One stop guide: Absence Management http://www.personneltoday.com
- HSE (2004) Managing absence and return to work: an employers and managers guide HSG249
- Waddell G, Burton A K (2004) Concepts of Rehabilitation for the management of common health problems, London: TSO
- Hughes V et al (2004) Tolleys Guide to Employee Rehabilitation, Lexis Nexis UK
- Better Routes to Redress http://www.brtf.gov.uk
- P James et al (2003) Job retention and vocational rehabilitation: The Development and evaluation of a conceptual framework, HSE Contract Research Report 106
- Department for Work and Pensions (2004) Building Capacity for Work: a UK Framework for Vocational Rehabilitation http://www.dwp.gov.uk
- Access to work, information for employers Ref No:DS4JP July 2004
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