Refusal of GP input for long term absence

Posted by Nichola Devey on February 26, 2015 at 7:02pm in Employment Law

Hi there,

What, if anything, is the best next steps when a long term absent employee due to health refuses to allow you access to their GP or Occupational Health?

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employment law, health issues, occupational health

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Replies

Sarah Loates April 21, 2015 at 10:47am

Hi Nichola

Great post thank you for sharing.

I have adopted the same approach as Matthew we can only take next steps based on the information we have. etc.

I think my first step though would be to understand the employees' concerns (which I am sure you have explored) and ensure that they understand that the Access to Medical Reports Act e.g. they can see the report before the Company and that they have the right to change and in some cases modify the information provided by their GP.

It may also be worth checking the contract as many of the contracts I see nowadays have a clause which require the employee to attend a medical examination (paid for by the Company). So this would potentially mean they are in breach of contract and can in some cases also affect entitlement to Sick Pay.

As always it depends on the facts of the case and what they are absent from work with etc. I also find that in some cases it can be difficult for the employee to come to terms with their illness especially if it is long term one or a difficult prognosis and that this can sometimes be a factor in how they respond to their employer.

In some cases I have (with the employee's consent) involved a close family member to help support the employee. As can often be the case in long term ill health case it may ultimately result in a dismissal on the grounds of capability and although this can take time I have found that most employees when it gets to this point have accepted this and having the support of their partner has helped.

Regards

Sarah
Mani Malhotra April 20, 2015 at 11:28am

Depending on your policy, if the requirement for the report is deemed as a reasonable request, it could be perceived that they are refusing a reasonable request which could result in disciplinary action. Would very much need to be depending on the circumstances, and an alert in your mind if there is a potential for the employees absence to be protected under the Equality Act 2010.
- Nichola Devey > Mani Malhotra April 22, 2015 at 6:57am
  
  HI Sarah
  
  Thank you for your reply. Yes, she was going to come under Disability I believe with her symptoms although her GP had put onto his last note that she should be able to return within a few weeks (end of that sick note). As responded to Matthew, she subsequently resigned following a request for 12 months away, which was denied.
  
  I wonder now if she will decide to take this further following her denied request however we are confident that we have been more than supportive in the options offered to her.
  
  Thank you again for your reply. Nic
Mike Collins March 12, 2015 at 9:37pm

I think this pretty much agrees with Mathew but gives quite a lot of detail about it

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/employees/employer-access-to-medical-recor...

How have you dealt with it Nichola?
- Nichola Devey > Mike Collins April 22, 2015 at 6:59am
  
  HI Mike
  
  Thanks for the info. We have all of the relevant materials for absence and have put together a plan for long term sickness. To be honest, this takes up quite a bit of time and is still a work in progress.
  
  Again, many thanks Nic
This reply was deleted.
- Nichola Devey April 22, 2015 at 6:54am
  
  Hi Matthew
  
  Thank you for your reply. I absolutely agree and we have taken all reasonable steps. The employee concerned was advised of her rights and our need to understand in order to make a realistic decision - this has been going since September 2014. She subsequently requested a 12 month sabbatical in April which we refused; she has now resigned. Don't panic, we offered her several options once this was received and implored her to reconsider but she felt she needed 12 months away. Unfortunately this was not resolved in the way we would have liked but it is now, I believe, resolved.
  
  Thanks for the support and back up. Nic