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When your employee becomes ill it is important that they are managed with sensitivity and consideration. Confidentiality and trust are essential.
STEP 1: Know what to do when an employee reports an illness irrespective of the work they do.
If a worker has been absent , or has suffered an illness which may affect their ability to do their job safely without putting others at risk, you may wish to carry out a ‘fitness for work' assessment to confirm that it is safe for them to start back at work. The type of assessment will vary depending on the job which the worker does.
STEP 2: SAFETY CRITICAL WORKERS need special consideration
Where you have identified that a worker is to do a safety critical job, and has a health condition which may affect their ability to do the job safely, you will need to make sure that their work will not make the condition worse, or create conditions which could trigger an attack.
If you have concerns about a particular worker, you should seek expert advice from an occupational health practitioner, doctor or from the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS).
The ‘fitness for work' of safety critical workers will need to be assessed at regular intervals.
STEP 3:Know the protocol and legal issues relating to medical reports from GPs
- There may be times when you wish to receive a medical report from your employee's GP.
- You can only do so if you get the consent of the employee
- Remember that the GP will know about the patient's illness but will have virtually no information about the work risks
- There are times when you may have to consider getting a report from a specialist occupational doctor.
STEP 4: Explain to your employee why extra information is needed and that you owe a greater duty of care to ill employees.
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