Half of HR professionals do not think 2022’s overhaul of fit notes have made them more useful in absence management.
However, there is some support for the system as a whole.
In spring 2022, the government introduced digital certification removing the requirement for fit notes to be signed by healthcare professionals in ink.
Additionally, the right to certify fit notes was extended to other healthcare professionals, including registered nurses, occupational therapists, physios and pharmacists, in the summer of that year.
Ineffective changes
Asked specifically whether fit notes have become useful in absence management since these changes, 49% of 160 employers polled by Occupational Health Assessment Limited said they had not.
There was some support for the changes as 17% said they were a little more useful, but just 2% thought they were much more useful, while 6% were unsure, and 26% did not know about the changes at all.
However, 61% of those surveyed did see some positives from the fit note system first introduced in 2010.
One in every 10 respondents (10%) considered fit notes to now be “pivotal” to their absence management procedures, with others suggesting that fit notes were of some use (16%) in this objective.
A significant number of employers (35%) found the fit note system useful, but rather inconsistent in quality.
However, the vast majority of HR professionals would welcome further improvements to the fit note system.
Almost nine in every 10 employers (86%) questioned would like to see fit notes improved or replaced by an alternative system.
Almost half (47%) called for a complete redesign of fit notes, with a further 39% calling for minor improvements to make the system work better.
Just 5% of HR experts believe that the current fit note system is sufficient.
‘Genuine value’
Magnus Kauders, managing director of Occupational Health Assessment Limited, said: “It has been many years since the first fit note was issued in the UK, and our research suggests that employers are finally starting to see some genuine value from the system which replaced sick notes more than a decade-and-a-half ago.
“Our survey suggests that the fit note system is showing signs of working as originally intended, and this may reflect the improvements made to the system in 2022, when the system was digitised and certification was widened to include healthcare professionals other than the employee’s family doctor.”
Steve Herbert, brand ambassador for Occupational Health Assessment Limited (pictured), said: “There is always room for improvement in any system, and it is clear that HR professionals are still largely underwhelmed with the fit notes they are receiving.
“Yet our survey suggests that as the system beds-in it is becoming more relevant in absence management and may become even more useful in the years ahead.
“A wholesale replacement of the current system might take a similar time to make a positive difference, not least because the recommendations made by the Keep Britain Working Review in this regard was embryonic.
“At this stage, we would encourage HR experts to make the best use they can of the current system.”