New ‘fit notes’ in effect

In the past, doctors have either said that 'you should refrain from work' or 'you need not refrain from work'. As such, they have commonly issued what has been come to be known as “sick notes”.

The aim is to provide more useful information on how an employee's condition affects what they do and how they might be able to return to work.

With the fit note the doctor will be able to advise a patient if they are 'not fit for work' or a new option - 'may be fit for work taking account of the following advice'.

A doctor will be able to suggest ways of helping an employee get back to work. This might mean discussing:

• a phased return to work
• altered hours

• amended duties

• workplace adaptations

The doctor will also provide general details of the functional effect of the individual's condition.

Whilst an employer is not duty bound to act upon a doctor's advice in a 'may be fit for work' statement, it may help employers make simple and practical adjustments to help an employee return to work and reduce unnecessary sickness absence.

There will be no option for a doctor to certify a patient as fit for work. This is because it was not felt that doctors would have the appropriate knowledge about an individual’s job role to be able to assess this. The onus will be very much on the employer to make a decision as to whether they can accommodate any changes to facilitate a return to work.

The maximum period such a medical statement can cover will be reduced from six to three months (during the first six months of a health condition).

Given these changes it is not hard to see that the new fit notes could become areas for disagreement between employers and their employees as well as potentially important evidence in disability discrimination cases involving a failure to make reasonable adjustments.