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Browse frequently asked questions and answers on key HR issues. Navigate by topic or key word search. View latest additions or suggest a question to the XpertHR editorial team.
What should an employer do if it suspects that an employee's reported sickness absence is not genuine and is due instead to him or her taking time off work to watch a football match? Will an employee who takes time off for fertility treatment be entitled to statutory or contractual sick pay? What steps should an employer take where an employee is off sick for over a week but has not submitted a doctor's certificate? Are employers legally required to notify employees who are on long-term sickness absence of any vacancies or promotion opportunities? Can an employer use its absence management procedure in relation to an employee who has been absent due to a disability if this could result in disciplinary action? How do fit notes differ from their predecessor, the sick note? What further advice should doctors include on a fit note where they tick the "may be fit for work taking account of the following advice" option? How will fit notes change the way in which employers deal with long-term sickness? Has the fit notes system changed employers' obligations under the disability discrimination legislation? What should an employer do if it receives a fit note saying that an employee "may be fit for work taking account of the following advice"? Is an employer obliged to comply with the advice on a fit note? How should an employer deal with an employee who fails to provide a fit note? In what circumstances might an employer need to obtain a medical report on an employee? From whom can an employer obtain a medical report on an employee? Which medical reports are covered by the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988? In what circumstances is a medical practitioner not obliged to give an employee access to a medical report prepared on him or her? Can an employee who initially indicated that he or she did not want to see a medical report before the medical practitioner discloses it to the employer subsequently request to see it?