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Advice on helping employees back to work after illness

Advice is available for employers and employees on getting back into work after illness.

Getting back to work after surgery

The Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have both published leaflets on recovering from surgery to advise patients what to expect after certain types of surgery, and how soon they might return to work.  The leaflets can be found via the previous links.

Getting back to work after a period of mental illness

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has launched a new online resource offering information and guidance about returning to work after a period of mental ill health, with specific sections for workers, employers, clinicians and carers. The Work and Mental Health resource explains how work can be good for people’s mental health and well-being – and that work can play a positive part in people’s recovery.  Click on the previous link for more information.

Guidance for employers on engaging an occupational physician

In April 2010 the Faculty published updated guidance for employers which can be downloaded from this website via the library or the previous link.

What are the benefits of employing an occupational physician?

Companies repeatedly say that people are their most precious resource. To protect that asset an occupational physician working with your business team can yield important bottom line benefits:

• Leaner company profiles mean that there are now fewer employees in organisations - which makes it crucial that employees are not incapacitated or lost through preventable ill health.
• Taking positive steps to improve employees' health will help recruit and retain staff, reduce staff turnover and enhance your image.
• Sound advice on compliance with legislation reduces the risk of costly prosecution and loss of image.
• Increasingly, employees and former employees claim compensation for work-related illness and injury, whether or not a particular hazard is covered by legislation. Noise-induced deafness, back pain, upper limb disorders and stress are good examples. These losses are preventable.
• Employers' liability insurers insist that employers demonstrate that they are adequately protecting the health of their employees. The involvement of an occupational physician helps to control employers’ liability insurance premium increases.

The message is clear. Preventive occupational health measures can be every bit as beneficial to the business as the maintenance of a company's other assets.

For further information please see the joint Faculty of Occupational Medicine/Society of Occupational Medicine on-line publication Managing the Health of your Business (1996) from which the above is adapted.