Management Referrals

Management Referrals

Management referrals are primarily designed to support the referring manager in their decision making when dealing with an employee’s health-related issue and to determine the employee’s ongoing fitness to work.

Short-term sickness absence and long-term sick leave are both costly, disruptive and stressful for both the employer and employee. It is good to bring in an independent third-party to review and comment on the situation in an impartial manner.

Our occupational health (OH) service aims to help by providing clear, practical advice and solutions contained in concise timely reports. Our advice and recommendations cover prognosis, return-to-work schedules, reasonable recommendations and risk assessments. Sometimes follow-up appointments are required but we can give clear timeframes, aims and reasons for why they are advised.

Early intervention and well directed care benefits both the organisation and the individual employee.

Depending on the complexity of the referral, you may require an occupational health nurse, an occupational health doctor or for the most severe circumstances, a specialist OH physician. We will triage your referral and decide which would be the most appropriate for your case.

All management referrals can be done either at our consulting room in Central London, at your business address, or virtually.

Independent & confidential advice.

What is a management referral?

A management referral typically involves a 1-hour appointment followed by a full report for the company.

Management referrals independently assess your employees fitness to work, and recommend any adjustments needed to enable a person to return to work if deemed fit; or other guidance and recommendations if an employee is currently not fit to return to work. Examples being where the employee is ill or incapacitated, where there is a history of absenteeism, stress, pregnancy issues or mental health concerns.

Any recommendations are guidance only, and not legally binding, however, it is usually in the employer’s best interest to try to accommodate any recommendations if deemed reasonably possible. We are unable to comment on any HR related, performance or management issues.

What concerns would be suitable for a management referral?

A manager may refer an employee to Occupational Health for a variety of reasons:

  • Short-term or Long-term sickness absence
  • Concerns over performance or behaviour
  • Concerns over employee’s capacity to continue to work
  • Whether an employee is fit to attend a disciplinary or other meetings
  • Serious accident or illness at work

How do I arrange a management referral?

Arranging an assessment is easy.

It simply involves the referring manager to complete a referral from outlining how we can support them and what concerns they have.

In order to arrange the assessment we will need a referral from the company and the consent of the employee.

We will triage the referral form to determine whether an Occupational Health Nurse, GP or specialist OH physician is appropriate for your case. Once triaged, the appointment will be scheduled and carried out. We will provide you with a full report, which we aim to provide with a fast turnaround, often provided on the same day. This gives rapid response to both employee and employer, with follow up available if needed. Referrals can be completed at your site, in a consulting room in our Fleet Street Clinic, or virtually.

Are you SEQOHS accredited?

Yes, we have held a SEQOHS accreditation since 2015.

SEQOHS stands for Safe, Effective, Quality Occupational Health Service and is a set of standards and a voluntary accreditation scheme for occupational health services in the UK. SEQOHS accreditation is the formal recognition that an occupational health service provider has demonstrated that it has the competence to deliver against the measures in the SEQOHS standards.

Can you do virtual appointments?

Yes, given current circumstances, virtual appointments tend to be preferred as many companies are still working from home.

We will conduct the assessment virtually where possible but will advise prior if the appointment needed to be in person.

Do you need employee consent?

Yes, we require employee consent twice throughout the process.

We require their consent in the first instance to proceed with a booking. Your employee will need to be willing to talk openly and honestly with a member of our OH team. After the assessment has been carried out, we will write up a report for the referring manager’s consideration. Prior to sending the report we require the employee’s consent to release the report.

In very rare circumstances an employee will withdraw consent, if this happens, we will update the referring manager at the earliest stage.

Protect your employees health - Enquire today.

    FAQs

    Typically the appointment with one of our occupational health clinicians takes 1-hour. A full report is provided post-appointment.

    It would be good to be aware of any disability or mobility difficulties your employee may have so that we can make suitable arrangements for their appointment.

    We are conscientious that some of our patients or their close family members are deemed clinically vulnerable. Therefore, all our staff are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 for your protection and peace of mind.