NHS Employers and NHS trade unions have agreed a set of new policies to help manage sickness absence and ill health retirement in the NHS.
The new arrangements include:
• A two-tier system for ill health retirement benefits, with those unlikely to ever work again due to ill health receiving greater benefits than those who have a reasonable prospect of finding alternative work
• Minimum standards for employers on the management of sickness absence ensuring employers support staff who are off sick, offering options including phased return, redeployment to another job and access to support services to help them get them get back to work
• Scope to reinstate sick pay when entitlements have been exhausted where, exceptionally, employers have not reached an appropriate outcome for staff on long term sickness absence.
The enabling agreement and framework for managing sickness absence will be incorporated into the NHS terms and conditions handbook from 1 April.
For more information email.
• Partnership review of ill health retirement, injury benefit and sickness absence in the NHS.
• Ill health retirement and sickness absence management:new arrangements for the NHS.
• Pay Circular (AforC) 2/2008 Managing Sickness Absence.
