Process - Central Office Employees

PART 7 PROCESS – CENTRAL OFFICE EMPLOYEES

Identify employee absence or performance issues, reasonably believed to be caused by ill health.
Begin with informal discussions between the employee and supervisor. Consultation with the employee and the employee’s doctor (with the employee’s consent) may provide information to enable effective management of the employee’s absence or performance.
Where possible, attempt to resolve absence or unsatisfactory performance issues by developing a mutually agreeable action plan to address concerns and a timeframe for review of the action plan. Information should be shared in a respectful, timely and appropriate manner.
If all parties are unable to agree on an action plan or if there is no improvement in the employee’s absence or performance following the conclusion of the agreed action plan, the case should be referred to the employee’s Executive Director. Once the process becomes formalised, the employee must be advised that they are able to bring a support person to all meetings if desired. Discuss with the employee a possible letter directing them to attend an independent medical examination (refer to Managing Conversations about IME’s Fact Sheet). Gather all information for referral to the employee’s Executive Director.
Central Office, Organisational Health Unit reviews the case to determine whether the referral should be for either:

Absence:the employee is absent from duty (for more than 3 months in the last 12 months) and available evidence supports a reasonablesuspicion that the employee’s absence is caused by mental or physical illness or disability.

Performance:the employee is not performing his or her duties satisfactorily and available evidence supports a reasonable suspicion that the employee’s unsatisfactory performance is caused by mental or physical illness or disability.

If one of the above conditions are met, the Central Office Organisational Health Unit can consider recommending the Director, Organisational Health Unit, appoint a doctor to examine the employee in order to obtain a written medical report. Use the template Memo – Recommending the direction of an employee to an Independent Medical Examination to document the recommendation.
If the Director, Organisational Health Unit approves the independent medical examination referral, contact the Principal Human Resource Consultant (Injury Management) in the Organisational Health Unit in Central Office to seek funding to pay for the medical examination and report.
Once funding has been approved, an appointment is made with an appropriate independent specialist (refer to Choosing an Independent Medical Specialist Fact Sheet).
The employee is contacted to advise them of the direction and provide them with the details of the date and time of the appointment.
Prepare background information, background information must:
Be specific to either absence OR performance (not both).
Include paraphrased elements from WorkCover medical reports, but not quotes or attached copies of the reports (section 572A of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003).
Do not include or refer to QSuper reports, unless the employee has specifically provided a written consent for QSuper reports to be used in the IME process (Information Privacy Principal 12 under the Information Privacy Act 2009).
Include a chronology of the impact that the employee’s mental or physical illness or disability has had on work, and the supports and actions that the Department has implemented.
Include details of the employee’s role and responsibilities (position description, functional job requirements, Public Service Commission Capability and Leadership Framework), and relevant details of the work environment.
The Director, Organisational Health Unit signs and sends a letter to the doctor requesting an examination of the employee and a report. The letter must include the following attachments

Relevant background information, including a chronology of relevant events to allow the doctor to make an informed assessment of the employee’s condition;
A copy of Part 7 and Section 187 of the Public Service Act 2008;
A position description and/or functional job requirement report and/or the relevant Individual Profile from the Public Service Commission Capability and Leadership Framework;
Questions for the doctor;
A copy of performance report/s, if applicable;
Medical reports from QSuper can only be used as background information if the employee has provided written consent for this to occur by signing the Authority to use a QSuper Report for Independent Medical Examination form;
WorkCover reports must not be sent to the doctor as part of the background information, in accordance with section 572A of the Workers’ Compensationand Rehabilitation Act 2003.

The Director, Organisational Health Unit signs and sends the letter, via registered mail (CM15 Referral to Independent Medical Examination – Employee) to the employee advising of the details of the examination. The letter to the employee should provide at least five business days notice of the examination and advise the employee of:

The reason for the examination;
The process to be undertaken following the receipt of the medical report by the Department;
The steps the Department will take to ensure confidentiality/privacy of the information contained in the medical report;
The steps that will be taken if the doctor considers that disclosing the information in the report to the employee might be prejudicial to the employee’s mental or physical health or wellbeing;
Any background information provided to the appointed doctor;
A copy of Part 7 and Section 187 of the Public Service Act 2008; and
The employee’s appeal rights.

If the employee lodges a complaint about the decision to require them to attend the medical examination, or about another issue that has arisen in the course of the Part 7 process (excluding a decision to retire), the appointment should be stayed pending the resolution of their complaint.
The employee phones in 3 days to confirm they will be attending the appointment. If the employee is unable to attend for legitimate reasons, reschedule the doctor’s appointment.
If the employee does not attend the scheduled examination, the employee must not have any sick leave approved for any period that they do not submit to the medical examination (pursuant to section 176 of the Public Service Act 2008).
The Central Office, Organisational Health Unit reviews the doctor’s report and, in conjunction with all other relevant information, recommends to the Director, Organisational Health Unit a course of action in line with the principles of natural justice. In proposing the course of action particular consideration must be given to:
whether the provision of special services or facilities to accommodate the employee’s mental or physical illness or disability would genuinely impose unjustifiable hardship on the Department, and
whether the employee can perform the genuine occupational or inherent requirements of their substantive position.
The Director, Organisational Health Unit must provide the employee with a copy of the doctor’s report within a reasonable timeframe. However, if the doctor advises that disclosure of information in the report to the employee may be prejudicial to the employee’s mental or physical health or wellbeing, then the Director, Organisational Health Unit must not disclose the contents of the report to the employee. If asked by the employee in writing, the Director, Organisational Health Unit must make the disclosure to another doctor nominated by the employee.
If appropriate, theCentral Office Organisational Health Unit meets with the employee to discuss the proposed course of action.
The Director, Organisational Health Unit writes to the employee, confirming the proposed course of action.
The Director, Organisational Health Unitmust ensure the privacy of the information contained in the report of the medical examination. Only officers with legitimate reasons to consider the report should be allowed access to it (i.e. officers who are or will be involved in the decision making process). The independent medical report should not be stored on the employee’s Personnel File. An Independent Medical Examination corporate file should be created for the storage of all the documents associated with a Part 7 independent medical examination.

Uncontrolled copy. Refer to the Department of Education, Training and Employment

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