Anne makes cogent points.
If your OccPhys's assessment is that the person is fit to do more, then HR
should be advised of this. It is Occhealth's role to suggest the rehab
programme, not HR. Their role is to decide whether it is feasible. & If the
DDA applies, then they should work at making it feasible.

Also, sounds like this firm has an unusually miserly sick-pay scheme. How
come this person has run out of entitlement after 8 weeks. Or has their been
other recent significant absence?

Dr. Alan Swann, BM, AFOM
Director of Occupational Health
Occupational Health Service
Imperial College London
Southside building
South Kensington Campus
London
SW7 1 LU
Tel:    +44 (20) 7594 9385
Fax:    +44 (20) 7594 9407
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/spectrum/occhealth/ (intranet)
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/




 -----Original Message-----
From:   Anne Harriss [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   18 August 2003 16:05
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: RTW on reduced hours

on 18/8/03 2:51 pm, Bonser Julia at [log in to unmask]
wrote:

> I am seeing an employee on Wednesday who has been off sick for 8 weeks, I
> will be discussing a staged RTW with her. She is a member of staff so is
on
> a salary, her usual hours of work are 28hrs/week. HR have suggested she
> return 1 hour per day for the first week and they only plan to pay her for
> the hours she works. This lady's health problems fall within the
Disability
> Discrimination Act.
>
> My question is, it is HR who have suggested 1 hour per day, which would
mean
> that in the first week she will earn less than what see would get SSP (her
> company sick pay has now run out) can they do that?
>
> She has been seen by the company doctor who is happy for her to RTW and
who
> thinks that she could manage more than 1 hr per day. He wondered where the
> 1hr had come from.
>
> The money side of things is obviously a worry to her so could exacerbate
her
> illness.
>
> I know that this isn't an occ health problem as such, but any advise would
> be appreciated.
>
> Julia
> RGN
>
>
>
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>
This should be viewed from the perspective of the employee, the manager and
the OH practitioner. It is difficult to comment as we are not aware of the
diagnosis and circumstances related to the person's absence. However these
are some of the considerations I would make:

From the employee's perspective: If I were the client I would probably be
less than happy returning to work for just one hour a day and getting paid
for only that hour. The effort involved in getting to work and paying travel
expenses may not really be worthwhile compared to the remuneration received.
She is likely to go off sick again. The worker would probably be better
served continuing to receive sick pay (statutory or company). I don't know
where you are based but in London the daily cost of getting to work could be
as much as, or in excess of, the payment received for one hour of work.

From the manager's perspective: how much, if any, productive work can be
done in that hour.

From the OH practitioner's perspective: Is this really worth pursuing as
part of a well planned return to work recovery programme? What do HR have in
mind for the second and subsequent weeks? Do they anticipate her returning
to her full contracted number of hours. If so is this really a useful phased
return to work programme? Perhaps a better plan would be to consider her
working more hours on fewer days. In the first week perhaps consider half
the number of working hours she would work in a usual day on alternate days,
say 4 hours on 3 days planned for the first two  weeks with regular OH
review appointments over the first few weeks when she returns to work. The
first meeting  planned at the start of the second week. The programme can be
amended for the second week and subsequent weeks  depending on how she
manages.

I have found this to be a useful strategy in my practice as an OHN.

Hope this is helpful

Anne Harriss