Respond to contact from the Fit for Work service

NOTE: The Fit for Work service in England and Wales no longer accepts assessment referrals. Any employees already referred to the service before 15 December 2017 will continue to receive a service for up to 90 days. Fit for Work Scotland will not accept referrals from 1 March 2018.

Key points

  • Fit for Work is a Government-funded service that provides free assessments by an occupational health professional for employees on sickness absence and recommends steps to enable them to return to work.
  • A referral can be made to the Fit for Work service either by the employee's GP or by the employer.
  • With the employee's consent, a Fit for Work case manager may contact the employer for more information about the employee and his or her work. It is important that the case manager speaks to the appropriate person within the organisation.
  • The first contact that an employer receives from the Fit for Work service may be when it receives a return-to-work plan. Employers need to ensure that line managers understand the status and purpose of a return-to-work plan.

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