Fit notes ‘are still causing confusion’

Posted 05/04/2010

Many employers are still unsure about how to respond to fit notes, even though they officially replaced the sick note as part of employment law today (April 6th 2010).

According to research by Kronos, a management consultancy, 64 per cent of business owners claim to have had no official guidance on what to do when an employee produces a fit note.

Meanwhile, 80 per cent said they do not think they will reduce absence and 35 per cent said they were unaware of them altogether.

Fit notes have been introduced in a bid to reduce the number of people on long-term sickness leave in the UK and aim to demonstrate to employers what a person can do, which may result in them returning to work in a different role.

In February, Elaine Gibson of the Institute of Payroll Professionals said employers must be ready for fit notes in order to avoid breaching employment law and struggling to accommodate their staff.