CIPP POLICY SURVEY - REVIEW OF SICKNESS ABSENCE
8 June 2011 The Government has launched a major review of the sickness absence system in Great Britain in order to help combat the staggering £100 billion that working age ill health costs the economy every year. The independent review, jointly chaired by David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce and Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work, will explore radical new ways on how the current system can be changed to help more people stay in work and reduce costs. Under the current system employers bear the costs of short term sickness with the State, and ultimately the taxpayer, absorbing the cost of longer-term ill-health, with over 300,000 people leaving work to claim sickness-related benefits each year - making up around half the total flow on to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). The review, which is jointly sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, will include a panel of experts from business, trade unions and health representatives and will be conducted in the context of the Growth Agenda. It will also feed into the wider Employment Law Review, which is looking at measures to reduce red tape and remove the burdens on business, encourage growth and maximise flexibility for employers and employees. The policy team has created a survey to collect your opinions on sickness absence. Your views are very important if the review panel is to understand the impact that making payments during sickness absence has on employers. The policy team would be very grateful if you could spare a few minutes to explain how sickness absence payments affect your company. The survey will close on 15 June 2011. Thank you for your help. CIPP SURVEY RESPONSE: SICKNESS ABSENCE REVIEW 22 June 2011 The Policy team would like to thank all members who took the time to complete the recent survey on the Sickness Absence Review. Your views have been submitted to the Sickness Absence Review Team whilst they consider the next step forward. Follow this link to view the formal CIPP consultation response and the results of the membership survey. INDEPENDENT REVIEWOF SICKNESS ABSENCE REPORT PUBLISHED 23 November 2011 Today the long awaited report on sickness absence has been published. The review commenced in February 2011. The review has found that many GPs are not comfortable when deciding whether someone is fit for work. As payroll professionals will be aware the introduction of the “fit note” was designed to assist both GPs and employers when assessing an individual’s capacity to work. The review is recommending an independent panel be set up to advise on an employee’s fitness to work. The review also calls on Job Centre Plus to review its processes to ensure people go back to work speedier than they do now. The CIPP Policy team will be reading this 106 page document in more detail over the coming weeks.
CIPP Policy News Journal
09/10/2012, Page 200 of 234
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