Employers will welcome changes to transform sicknote culture to ìwell noteî culture, says CIPD

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) welcomes proposed changes to the sick note system to create a new ìwell noteî. The ìwell noteî will encourage GPs to offer fitness to work advice to patients and employers as part of the Governmentís plans to reduce the 2.64 million on incapacity benefit.

Mike Emmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, said: ìGPs are 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. Employers are willing to do their bit, but they need support and better communication from GPs to facilitate appropriately phased returns to work.

ìWe welcome the announcement from the Department for Work and Pensions 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.

ìAll too often the reality today is a quickly scribbled note signing someone off for another period of weeks. This can contribute to long-term sickness absence, and often to extended periods on incapacity benefits.î

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% of employers rate GP support in this area as either very poor or fairly poor compared to only 20% who rate GP support as good or very good.

The survey also shows that employers currently receive medical reports from GPs for just 50% of employees off work with long term mental health problems; even though 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 ñ 77% of employers thought this would be effective or fairly effective

Improved training for GPs on ìfitness for workî issues ñ 77% of respondents rated this proposal as effective or fairly effective

Changes to GPs contracts to incentivise closer working with patientsí employers and provision of advice on phased return to work ñ supported by 70% of respondents as effective or fairly effective

An electronic sick note system to provide faster and clearer communication between GPs and employers ñ 52% rated this proposal as likely to effective or fairly effective, although 20% rated this proposal as ineffective or fairly ineffective.

Employment advisers in GP surgeries ñ supported by 60% of HR practitioners as likely to be effective compared to 13% who thought the opposite