The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has welcomed proposed changes to the sick note system to create a new “well note”.

The CIPD said that the planned “well note” would encourage GPs to offer fitness to work advice to patients and employers as part of the Government’s plans to reduce the 2.64 million on incapacity benefit.

Mike Emmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, added that GPs were letting down patients signed off work with mental health problems by not communicating effectively with employers. 

"All the evidence shows that a phased return to work can play a beneficial role in the recovery of people suffering with this kind of illness. Work has a huge part to play in the early treatment and rehabilitation of people experiencing mental ill health," according to Emmott.

He added that employers were willing to do their bit, but needed support and better communication from GPs to facilitate appropriately phased returns to work.

The CIPD welcomed the announcement from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that GPs are to be required to provide better advice to employers and patients on return to work options.

"Our research shows widespread employer support for measures that would make a real difference. If government wants to achieve its objectives on welfare reform, it must act to ensure GPs are fully aware of the crucial role they have to play in working with employers to prevent people slipping in to long-term sickness absence," Emmott explained.

He added that the reality was all too often a quickly scribbled note signing someone off for another period of weeks. Emmott claimed that this could contribute to long-term sickness absence, and often to extended periods on incapacity benefits.

Recent research from the CIPD shows employers are calling for a radical revamp of the way in which GPs work to help people with mental health problems successfully return to work.

GPs are typically rated negatively by employers for the level of support they provide in helping people with mental health problems return to work. Almost 40 per cent of employers rate GP support in this area as either very poor or fairly poor compared to only 20 per cent who rate GP support as good or very good.

The survey also shows that employers currently receive medical reports from GPs for just 50 per cent of employees off work with long term mental health problems. This is despite the fact that seven in ten employers report they contact GPs to ask them to provide such a report.

In light of these findings it is not surprising that employers supported a range of proposals for revamping how GPs services are delivered.  These included:

• A revamped Med 3 Sicknote including more information on phased return to work – 77 per cent of employers thought this would be effective or fairly effective;
• Improved training for GPs on “fitness for work” issues – 77 per cent of respondents rated this proposal as effective or fairly effective;
• Changes to GPs contracts to incentivise closer working with patients’ employers and provision of advice on phased return to work – supported by 70 per cent of respondents as effective or fairly effective;
  
• An electronic sick note system to provide faster and clearer communication between GPs and employers – 52 per cent rated this proposal as likely to effective or fairly effective, although 20 per cent rated this proposal as ineffective or fairly ineffective;
• Employment advisers in GP surgeries – supported by 60 per cent of HR practitioners as likely to be effective compared to 13 per cent who thought the opposite.
  

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