Health & Safety Update (March 2009)
Back to Work
The Departments of Health and Work and Pensions are calling on
organisations to participate in a pilot scheme aimed at helping
people on sick leave return to work more quickly.
The £13m 'Fit for Work' Programme will test a range of services
designed to help those on long term sick leave to recover more
effectively and support them back into work. Rather than focus
solely on health care, each pilot will include a variety of
services, including:
- skills advice;
- employment advice;
- health and well-being services, with a particular focus on
vocational rehabilitation;
- wider social support, such as debt or housing advice;
- Conciliation to overcome serious disputes between employees and
employers.
Work and Pensions minister Lord McKenzie said: "Now, more than
ever, it's important to help people who are sick to stay in work so
that they can support themselves and their families.
Workshops for those interested in applying to take part in the
pilots will be held in the city centres of Edinburgh, Birmingham
and Cardiff, on 16, 17 and 18 March, respectively.
Good health for the workforce is good for business – every
employer knows that. In the current economic climate it's even more
important to address the £100 billion cost of absenteeism due to
ill health.
The programme is part of a package of measures announced last year by the
Government in response to Dame Carol Black's review of Britain's
working age population. This package also includes focussing on
what an individual can do instead of what they can't, a
national centre for working-age health and well-being and the
introduction of health, work and well-being co-ordinators.