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Incapacity benefit reforms

By TJ (20-11-2007)
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The CIPD has welcomed the government's plans to reform incapacity benefits eligibility by introducing a work capability assessment . However, it says that if the government really wants to end what Peter Hain has dubbed "sick-note Britain" more action is required to get GPs to work more closely with employers to stop people slipping into long-term sickness in the first place.

Research published by the CIPD last week highlighted the poor support many employers feel they get from GPs in this area - and reported the practical measures employers believe would help improve the situation.

Ben Willmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser,
said:

"Employers will welcome a refocusing of the incapacity benefits system onto what people can do, not what they can't. But the government rhetoric about 'ending sick-note Britain' will ring hollow until they do more to stem the tide of people falling into long-term sickness in the first place.

"What employers are crying out for is more support from GPs when they are dealing with people who are in danger of slipping into long-term sickness absence - particularly with problems with mental ill-health. All the evidence suggests that a phased return to work in the relatively early stages of such health problems can be far more beneficial than the disappointingly common response of GPs to simply 'sign people off for another couple of weeks'."

The latest CIPD / KPMG quarterly Labour Market Outlook report, published last week, included a focus on employer experiences of mental ill-health in the workplace, and the support they receive from GPs when trying to manage it. The report found:

• GPs are typically rated negatively by employers for the level of support they provide in helping people with mental health problems return to work. Almost 40% of employers rate GP support in this area as either very poor or fairly poor compared to only 20% who rate GP support as good or very good.
• Employers currently receive medical reports from GPs on just 50% of employees off work with long term mental health problems, even though seven in ten employers report they contact GPs to ask them to provide such a report.

Employers supported a range of proposals for revamping how GPs services are delivered. These included:

• A revamped Med 3 Sicknote including more information on phased return to work - 77% of employers thought this would be effective or fairly effective.
• Improved training for GPs on "fitness for work" issues - 77% of respondents rated this proposal as effective or fairly effective.
• Changes to GPs contracts to incentivise closer working with patients' employers and provision of advice on phased return to work.  This wasupported by 70% of respondents as effective or fairly effective.
• Employment advisers in GP surgeries.  This was supported by 60% of HR practitioners as likely to be effective compared to 13% who thought the opposite.
• An electronic sick note system to provide faster and clearer communication between GPs and employers - 52% rated this proposal as likely to effective or fairly effective, although 20% rated this proposal as ineffective or fairly ineffective.
  

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