Great Britain: new system to help sick employees go back to work

Whereas more than 130 million days a year are ‘lost’ to sickness absence in Great Britain, the Cameron administration is starting a new battle to help sick workers get back to work.  Indeed, workers who have been off sick for a month may be sent to the Health and Work Service, a new system to help employers deal with long-term illnesses.  The proposed measures include the possibility for employees to receive health assessments in order to get back to work as soon as possible.
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This new Health and Work Service will give advice, may recommend medical checks and, most importantly, will come up with a plan and timetable to get employees back into the workplace quickly. This new system, which will come into force in the coming months, though no one knows exactly when, will be funded by the end of the Statutory Sick Pay Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS), which used to be paid to employers when absenteeism was higher than average. Judging that this system didn’t...

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