How to Get the Best out of Your Occupational Health Referral Guidance for Managers

How To Get The Best Out Of Your Occupational Health Referral – Guidance for Managers

• Ensure that you have made the employee aware of the reasons for their referral so that they understand exactly why they are being referred.

• Ensure that all the fields on the referral form, relating to the employee and manager information, are accurately completed. This will ensure that we have the most up to date contact details as well as accurate information on their current job role. Perhaps attach a job description – needs to always be attached if ill health retirement is to be considered.

• If there are specific days/times that may make it difficult for the individual to attend their Occupational Health appointment, these should be included in the referral.

• Identify and highlight any key risks or hazards associated with the role, such as manual handling, exposure to noise, control and restraint, working with chemicals, etc.

• Provide as much information as possible about the individual’s short or long term absence history, including any patterns or trends that you may have noticed (eg repeated absence on a Monday). You may wish to attach an absence history report from the ESR system.

• Provide as much information as possible about the current issues and the reason for referral.

• Provide details of any adjustments or support that can be given in order to support the employee, especially in order to facilitate a return to work.

• Provide details of any adjustments or support that has already been provided to the employee, including information on what has or has not worked and your view as to why things have not worked.

• If there are certain adjustments that you would not be able to accommodate, for any reason, please state these in the referral. If you have specific proposals on adjustments/phased return that you are able to accommodate, especially to facilitate a return to work, include these in your referral.

• Include any information on any other issues which may be influencing factors to the absence, eg organisational changes.

• Include relevant information from other sources, eg work station and risk assessments.

• If there are specific questions that you want answers to, please ensure that these are stated in the referral, either by ticking one of the standard questions or writing your own specific questions (eg if the individual likely to be eligible for ill-health retirement?) This could also include a statement of management concerns and defined outcomes to be considered.