Here at ViewHR, from time to time we find ourselves suggesting that our clients work with an Occupational Health practitioner. But what is Occupational Health, and how can it help with managing employees and their wellbeing? In this blog, we explain and provide some potential scenarios where Occupational Health may be beneficial.
Occupational Health (OH) is concerned with the physical and mental wellbeing of employees, specifically in the context of the workplace. Doctors working in OH have specialist training to enable them to act as advisers to both the employer and employee on the relationship between work and health.
There are a range of scenarios where input from OH may be helpful, including the following:
Pre-employment screening
Some employers will undertake pre-employment screening for new employees before they start in a role. This may be because there is a need to check that the new employee meets necessary requirements to be able to do the job safely, or may be to ensure that all new starters are appropriately supported (including the implementation of any reasonable adjustments they may need as the result of a disability). An OH provider can support this process, ensuring that any information the new employee provides is appropriately interpreted for the context of the role.
You can read more about when it may be appropriate to use pre-employment screening in our blog here: https://viewhr.co.uk/5-top-tips-for-pre-employment-medical-screening/.
Reasonable adjustments
Under the Equality Act 2010, employers are required to make reasonable adjustments for employees who have a disability, so that they are not unfairly disadvantaged in comparison to colleagues who do not have a disability. Sometimes this disability may arise during the course of somebody’s employment, and so would not have been picked up during pre-employment screening.
A referral to OH under these circumstances can be beneficial so that a greater understanding of the impacts of the disability on the employee in their working life can be understood, and appropriate support measures are suggested for the employee to consider. The expertise and experience of an Occupational Health practitioner can sometimes mean that they are able to make helpful suggestions that the employee and employer might otherwise not have thought of.
Long-term sickness absence
If an employee has been off sick for a long period of time, an occupational health referral can be helpful for a number of reasons. It can help the employer to better understand the current state of the employee’s health, and likely timescales for a return to work. If the employee is ready to return to work, OH can suggest an appropriate plan for this (which may include a phased return or other supportive measures), taking into account the needs of the employer and employee, and hopefully meaning that the return is more likely to be a success.
Statutory medicals
Employees in certain roles (such as divers) and those who work with certain materials and substances (like asbestos) are statutorily required to have regular medical examinations by a suitably qualified doctor. An Occupational Health practitioner can help you to identify which employees this applies to, and undertake the necessary checks.
Medical data is considered a special category of data under the Data Protection Act 2018, and specific legislation controlling consent to release this applies. An OH practitioner can guide both employer and employee through the relevant steps, and set out the employee’s rights. ViewHR are able to work closely with any Occupational Health practitioner (subject to appropriate agreements) to ensure that both employee and employer are appropriately supported from an HR perspective.
If you are an employer and would like to learn more about supporting employee wellbeing, please contact ViewHR for an initial discussion. We have a number of Occupational Health contacts, and so will be able to make an introduction if appropriate.
