As far as I am concerned, home visits are a no, no, - unless there are
extenuating circumstances, such as you have mentioned. I feel it is a
management responsibility to do this, they manage attendance, and we, as OH
advisers, provide independent advice and support, as necessary.
It is vital for a company to have a detailed policy which sets out what is
expected, what is tolerated etc. It is useful for such a policy to have
targets such as "3 periods of absence in a given period (e.g. 6 months) will
trigger a management interview and/or referral to OH for advice". This
approach means both management and employees know the 'rules' and how they
apply. It means everyone is treated equally and fairly.
With long term absence there also needs to be a 'trigger time', I suggest
that this should be ASAP -max of 1 month, before questions are asked.
Research shows that the longer the absence the less likely it is someone
will return to work. What I am suggesting is 'active management of the
problem', don't just leave it to the GP's to decide.
One business I work with, refers cases to me, as outlined above, I see the
people and we have been very successful in getting people back to work, on a
rehab. programme as everyone sees the benefits of this - less money lost for
both employee and business and it aids recovery. Rehab has included,
alternative work, reduced hours/days etc. depending on the needs of the
individual and the business.
I have also introduced regular 'case conferences' with HR and Management, in
order to review cases, to provide advice etc. so that management are fully
informed of progress.
I hope this is helpful. I would be happy to share more detail with you if
you would like to call me. Tel: 01543 472776 or mobile 07712 815381.(mobile
is the best contact for me).
Cynthia Atwell
Independent Occupational Health Consultant
-----Original Message-----
From: SURGERY, GBR-Sutton <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 18 January 2001 10:35
Subject: Sickness absence management policies
>Dear Members
>
>I would be grateful to anyone who could give me any information regarding
>sickness absence management policies. We are currently trying to make
>improvements on our current policy, and the introduction of home visits to
>sick employees is something that we are looking into. Do any of you carry
>out home visits, and if so what are your protocols / procedures ? How do
>you report back to management and how do you deal with confidentiality
>issues etc ?. Are there any particular experiences that you have had to
deal
>with in this area that would help me? Do management decide on who they wish
>you to visit, or do you as the Occupational Health professional ? Also,
>what are your own organisational 'triggers' for bringing employees in to
see
>the Occupational Physician/Doctor? Basically I want to ensure that we run
a
>decent and fair system.
>
>I look forward to hearing from you.
>
>Regards
>
>Jill Rossiter
>
>
>
>CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
>The information contained in this e-mail is intended only for the
>confidential use of the above named recipient. If you are not the intended
>recipient or person responsible for delivering it to the intended
recipient,
>you have received this communication in error and must not distribute or
>copy it. Please accept the sender's apologies, notify the sender
>immediately by return e-mail and delete this communication. Thank you.
>
|