Managers Referral Guide

Transcription

1 Managers Referral Guide REFERENCE NO: [OHS-PRO-11-C REV 4.0] CREATED/ REVISED: May 2004/May 2006/ June2011/May2014 REPLACES: Version No 4.0 Dated VALID UNTIL: 5 years from approval date (unless superseded) Prepared by: Date Occupational Health Practitioner Newcastle University X J T Craggs 20/10/2014 Signed by: njtc1 Date Occupational Health Physician Newcastle University X Dr F C Pickering Occupational Physician Signed by: njtc1 20/10/2014 Page 1 of 12

2 Overview What Occupational Health will deal with: Assessment of individuals at pre placement medical Assessment of prolonged sickness absence caused by illness or injury Assessment of fitness for work Assessment of occupational ill health issues Assessment of work related accidents/injuries Assessment of employee disability issues Case conferencing on complex ill health issues Assessment of employees for ill health retirement Work related employee immunisation requirements Health surveillance assessment in compliance with COSHH Regulations Health assessment of new or expectant employee where specific health risks have been identified from the pregnancy risk assessment What Occupational Health does not deal with: Personal HR related issues including social/financial issues Personal medical problems for employees General Practitioners attention What Occupational Health needs from the manager: Completed on line referral form Additional supporting information e.g. job description, SAP sickness record to aid clinical assessment What Occupational Health will give the manager: Medical recommendations on:- Ill health/absence assessments Employees fitness or suitability for work Advice on any work restrictions/phased return to work programme following accident/injury or illness Advice on rehabilitation and resettlement requirements after illness or injury Advice on counselling support requirements for employee Advice on actions required for the management of musculo-skeletal problems Advice on ill health retirement Advice on reasonable adjustments relating to employee disability issues Advice on the actions required to protect the pregnant employee and unborn child Introduction Occupational Health (OH) concerns the effect of health on work and work on health. Occupational Health and Safety Service aims to protect the health and safety of staff at Newcastle University and to prevent illness and injury within the workplace. Provison for OH extends to employees and postgraduate students within the unvieristy with a teaching contract. (herewith both groups will be referred to as employees). OH are able to advise Page 2 of 12

3 employees, managers and Human Resources (HR) on all aspects of occupational health management. A cornerstone of provisions is a management advisory service:- o o o o To advise managers and HR staff on the occupational aspects of managing illness and absence in the workplace. To provide follow-up medical advice on work related and/or ill health injuries that may affect fitness to work. To advise HR managers (HRM) on the health management of individuals with disabilities. To assess and advise new or expectant mothers of occupational and lifestyle factors to consider whilst pregnant and when breast-feeding. Key interactions To enable timely advice to managers and HR it is important that the key responsibilities and boundaries of remits within the Occupational Health & Safety Service(OHSS), HR, Equality and Diversity team and Staff Development unit are understood. Appendix 1 provides the manager with guidance on where to direct the employee health and safety issue. Service scope Assessment of employees during or following a prolonged period of sickness absence caused by illness or injury advising managers/hr of the prognosis. If necessary OH will undertake a workplace visit to inform understanding on this case. Advise on any workplace restrictions, modifications or training required as part of the process of rehabilitation back to work following illness or disability. If returning to the present post is inadvisable advise on what possible type of work the employee may benefit from and/or options of re-deployment. If illness or disability is deemed to be critical or long-term and that no suitable accommodation can be made in the workplace advise whether early retirement on medical grounds should be considered, and a possible application to the relevant pension scheme. OH facilitate this process by obtaining the relevant medical evidence and liaison with the superannuation schemes via the relevant HR officer. Health assessment of pregnant employees where specific health risks have been identified from the pregnancy risk assessment and advising on the actions required to protect the health of the mother and unborn child. Assess and advise on any medical factors, which may contribute to irregular attendance and deteriorating performance at work. Performance Standards All referrals must be ed to OH with a copy automatically ed to the relevant HRM. Page 3 of 12

4 Upon receipt of referral the employee will normally be given an appointment to see the OH Nurse Adviser within 5 working days. Appointments with the Occupational Physician may take up to 10 working days. A report will normally be sent with the employees informed consent to the referring manager and copy to HR within 5 working days of consultation. A verbal report will be available on the same day if there are significant health or safety concerns. Significant delays can occur if medical reports have to be obtained from GPs or hospital specialists (4 to 6 weeks). We will endeavour to keep the manager and HR informed of progress with such cases. As the manager:- Ensure the reasons for the referral are fully discussed and agreed with the employee before completing the on line form. Where the employee refuses to undergo an Occupational Health appointment, the manager should explore the reasons for refusal. Where appropriate, the employee should be informed in writing that a decision will be taken on the information available to the manager. Submit referrals regarding fitness to work following sickness absence well in advance of the likely return date. Complete the on line referral form ensuring all highlighted mandatory fields are completed. Following the on screen guidance ensure you confirm the reason for referral, the specific questions on which you need a response from OH on and attach information relevant to this referral where indicated e.g. SAP absence record, job description. And any other supporting information. Be conversant with the case and able to respond to occupational health queries or advice promptly Consider the advice from OH and take the management actions required. 1) Job pre placement At the pre-employment stage, the manager/hrm must consider whether there are health and fitness requirements to enable a candidate to perform the job without risking their own health or the health of others. The important questions at pre-employment stage are: Will the candidate s own health allow regular attendance and regular and effective performance of their prescribed duties? In the event of a disability, what are the adjustments required to allow the candidate to render regular effective performance of the prescribed duties, without any ill health effects? Page 4 of 12

5 Are the adjustments required considered reasonable? OH will offer advice from an expert perspective on the answer to the first two questions. The third question remains a consideration for the management of the University alone. 2) During Employment OH can provide advice and practical assistance regarding the management of the health of employee in many ways. Typical areas for assistance are: Policy and procedural advice Statutory medical assessments Case referrals for specific ill health, sickness absence, work related health problems Case conferencing Specialist physiotherapy and/or counselling support The first two points illustrate activities that pro-actively try and promote good practice within the University. Statutory medicals and policy advice help to ensure that the University operates within UK laws with regard to the health and safety of employees. Sickness absence case referrals provide managers with advice so that they can manage specific cases of reported ill-health amongst staff, in this regard Occupational Health Services can; Advise whether the employee is suffering from, or has suffered from a recognised medical condition. Advise whether that condition is work-related and advise where appropriate on medical actions required. Advise whether absence from work is related to that condition. Offer an expert opinion as to the likely duration of absence. Where appropriate, suggest a programme of rehabilitation to allow the person to return to work. Where appropriate, recommend temporary or permanent adjustments to the person s work or the workplace. This advice is given primarily to enable the HRM and the manager to decide how to manage the case, with the advice from a recognised specialist to support their decision should it be challenged through appeal or tribunal. If necessary, a case conference between OH, HR, the appointed manager and employee can be held to agree the actions required. The decision as to what action should be taken rests entirely with management. Occupational Health Services provide advice so that the managers can consider the medical facts of the case prior to making an informed decision. 3) As Employment Ends Employment may end for a number of reasons, for example finding alternative employment, choosing to give up work or reaching normal retirement age. However, in addition to these, an employee may stop working on the grounds of ill health. OH can give advice to enable managers to decide whether there is a genuine health-related cause for absence from work. Page 5 of 12

6 The decision whether the individual benefits from the ill health early retirement provisions of a Pension Scheme rests with the trustees of that scheme who will take advice from their medical advisors. 4) Sickness Absence management The following recommendations should help when making a management referral to OH. For further guidance managers should refer to the University Sickness Absence Management Policy. An employee should be referred to OH for a review under the following circumstances: Where frequent absence is believed to be related to a medical condition or disability. Where an employee has been absent or is expected to be absent for a period of 20 days or more. Where health may be an underlying factor or contributory factor in work performance or disciplinary issues. Where the employee is deemed to be suffering from a work related illness and/or work related health problems e.g. work related stress. Where the employee or manager wishes to consider re-deployment or retirement because of health reasons. Where advice is required on how to manage an employee s health problem or disability e.g. advice on working patterns, modification of equipment, provision of assistance at work Where an employee reports that they are suffering from a musculo-skeletal condition in particular upper limb pain or back pain which may be work related. Where an employee is absent from work as a result of an injury sustained in an incident or accident at work. If management is concerned about a change in the work performance of an individual and suspect that the change may be related to the individual s health. In all cases the manager must discuss the referrals and the reasons for the referral with the employee.. 5) Occupational Health Referral In order for OH to construct and deliver evidence based reports for the line managers/hro s it is crucial that they receive the correct information relating to the employees condition, job role and working environment. To this end the OH on line referral form with mandatory fields ensures all relevant information is received to best manage the case from the outset. This will enable OH to provide the line manager/hr with specific advice on how best to manage an individual s situation and also allows all aspects of legal compliance to be considered, such as the individual s status in relation to the Equality Act Page 6 of 12

7 Consultations usually last up to and can be of minutes duration depending on the complexity of the referral. During the consultation, the OH Nurse/Physician will explain the role of OH and emphasise their impartiality as health professionals. Open questions will be asked to ascertain more about the individual s health and work. Signed consent to provide a report to the line manager/hrm will be obtained during the consultation. Referral process For summary details see Appendix 2. o Complete all relevant sections of the on line referral form. Upon submission the referral form will be send to OH and copy to the relevant HR team. The employee has a right to request a copy of the completed report from. The Occupational Health Professional will review the circumstances of the individual referral and decide on the most appropriate course of action to facilitate the provision of advice. Where the Occupational Health Professional decides the most appropriate course of action is a consultation, an appointment will be notified to the employee either by and/or in writing. Appointments will be scheduled for 20 minutes duration but may take up to 40 minutes depending on the complexity of the referral. In the event of the individual has not attended, the Occupational Health Administrator will contact the employee to arrange a further appointment. The referring manager and HRM within the University will be updated. As a result of the face-to-face consultation, it may be necessary in some cases for the Occupational Health Professional with the employees informed consent to seek further advice from a third party clinician prior to respond to the specific ticked question on the referral form if this information hasn t already been requested). If this is the case, an interim report will be provided to the manager and HRM. The need to seek further information may impact on the time taken to conclude the case. The report will be requested with the individual s signed consent. Either as a result of the consultation alone or following a consultation and additional information from a GP or treating Specialist, the OH professional will be able to make a report back to the referring manager/hro on key recommendations and/or the individual s fitness or otherwise for work within the University. The report should address specific questions raised and areas covered will include where appropriate: Current fitness for work When a return to work with or without adjustments is likely Advice on how best to manage the case from a medical perspective Advise on whether the individual has an underlying medical condition Page 7 of 12

8 Advise on whether the individual has a disability as defined under the Equality Act 2010 Advise whether a phased return to work, temporary alternative work, reduced duties or adjustments would be appropriate Advise whether the employee would benefit from a referral to physiotherapy services Advise whether the employee would benefit from a referral to counselling services Whether there is a need to consider redeployment to alternative duties within the service, school or university because of medical reasons Whether the criteria for ill health retirement are likely to be satisfied The OH report will provide expert/impartial information to help the manager/hr manage the case to an optimum conclusion. However, the responsibility for managing this case remains with management. OH are able to state where, in their opinion, there are medical factors justifying management action. 6) Data Protection To comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 managers must ensure all information pertaining to the employees health is securely stored. 7) Further Queries In all cases if you have any queries regarding the report received from OH you should contact the appointed case manager as detailed on the OH report.. 8) Key Contacts for Occupational Health Occupational Health Basement B25 King George VI Building Queen Victoria Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU Tel: +44(0) OH Main Office: Tel: +44(0) Conf. Fax +44(0) occhealth@ncl.ac.uk Page 8 of 12

9 Occupational Health Team University Occupational Health Practitioner University Occupational Health Physician (4 hrs wkly) Janice Craggs Dr Antony Moore University Occupational Health Physician (1 day per month) University Occupational health Nurse (0.9fte) University Occupational Health Administrators (1.1 FTE) Counsellors (contact hours vary subject to demand) Dr. Jo Pickering Lorraine Skeen Nicola Stelling-Laws Lisa Gilmore Sandra van Larr Jane Coulson Physiotherapists (Wednesday all day and Friday a.m. clinics) Tracey Thompson Amy Archer Rosie Lynch Page 9 of 12

10 Appendix 1 - Key management responsibilities for dealing with employee occupational health and safety and welfare issues Key points of intervention Key management responsibilities X Involvement - * HR Line Manager Occ. Health Safety Equality & Diversity SDU Topic specific Policy and standards X X X X * Recruitment and selection X X * * Job specific pre placement screening * * X Employee relations/employee communication and consultation X X * * * * Training & development in safety related issues X * X * Training & development for managers and peers of disabled staff X X * * Attendance and absence management X X * X * Performance management X X * * * Health capabilities * X X * Employee counselling support * X * Immunisation * X * DSE standard chair assessment * * X Complex DSE musculoskeletal issues/specialist chair * * X * * assessment Risk Assessment * * X Health surveillance * X Employee disability management X * * * * Safety awareness X * X * Personal emergency egress plans * X * X * * Accidents X * X Fire evacuations X * X * Health & Safety/disability adjustments x x * X * Page 10 of 12

11 Appendix 2 Referral process to Occupational Health Page 11 of 12

12 Employee Health Issue Discuss referral fully with employee and secure agreement for referral Line Manager completes on line referral form which will be sent to OH and relevant HR team Employee given copy of the referral form for retention Occupational Health contacts Employee and manager notified on date/time of assessment appointment Employee reviewed by either OH nurse or OH physician Employee consent for report from GP/consultant Report to Manager/HRM with Occupational Health key recommendations Employee follow up review Case Conference discussion convened if required Page 12 of 12