Occupational Health Referrals – Providing the right information
The occupational health service gives advice on issues where there is some relationship
between health and work. Typically we advise about fitness for work and workplace
adjustments that would benefit the employee. We give advice on functional rather than
medical terms (i.e. what the person can or can’t do rather than what is ‘wrong’ with them).
Where we include medical detail, to assist management understanding, this is with the
consent of the employee. Details of all medical conditions are not needed and are unlikely to
add value to referral cases.
The quality of the advice report will be directly influenced by the quality of the information
that you provide to us in the referral form. Providing background information will help our
medicals teams understand the referral and enable them to provide you with relevant advice
and support.
Background Information
Please provide all relevant background information about the employee’s role, health status
and history. It’s important to include any known diagnosis or reasons given for the absence.
If the employee is at work with a health issue, please advise us on how this is impacting
them in their role. Please provide background information about the employee’s working
context and environment. If the employee is unable to perform all aspect of their work then
please let us know.
Tell us about the current absence time scale – When did the current absence commence?
Do you have an estimated return to work date? Does the employee have a GP fit note, if so
what is the expiry date and reason detailed on the fit note
Is the employee being performance managed?
Is the employee currently involved in grievance, disciplinary or legal proceedings? This is
particularly important and relevant.
Is the employee working on restricted duties? If so:
 Why are the restrictions in place,
 What are the restrictions and how long have they been in place?
 When they were last reviewed?
For employees with on-going health issues;
 What adjustments have you made for the employee?
 What reasonable adjustments are you able to accommodate?
 Are there any adjustments that you would be unable to accommodate operationally?
Please also provide any other background information that you feel may be relevant to the
case.
Things to avoid
The referral form that you submit will form part of a medical record. This means that it could
be disclosed if the colleague makes a subject data access request. You should therefore
avoid comments such as:



We believe that the employee may have issues with alcohol but we have not
discussed this with him directly.
We have Facebook evidence that the employee is…
May have personal issues (anecdotal).
Questions
The questions in tab 04 should cover the majority of eventualities but it is possible to ask
additional questions if required. Please bear in mind that the clinician consultation will last
between 30 to 45 minute and we therefore recommend that additional questions are only
posed if necessary.
We are unable to ask questions on the manager’s behalf and we recommend that such
questions are discussed directly with the colleague as part of the management process.
Good Questions
Questions types to be avoided
What short term adjustments could you Please ask him about…
recommend to assist John back to work?
Please find out why….
What is John’s likely recovery period and
How will she react to others critiquing her
when could we expect him to resume his
work?
duties.
Is salt intake impacting on his blood
Please can you review John’s current
pressure?
adjustments and restrictions to see if they
What options are available to him to improve
are still appropriate?
his lifestyle?
Can John work in a cold storage area given
How will he cope with future change?
his heart condition?
Referral tips
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ensure that the employee is aware of what is a happening and is comfortable with
the process.
Tell us about any dates or times where the employee is unavailable to help minimise
appointment late cancellation and no show charges.
Make sure that the employee understands the importance of attending the
appointment so that advice can be given and to avoid additional charges to the
University for non-attendance. If the employee does not attend their
assessment/appointment you as their manager will need to make decisions/take
action based on the information you have.
Make sure that you complete all the sections of the form as missing information such
as employee date of birth will result in delays to the processing of the referral.
Append supporting documents such as absence records, previous medical reports
and job descriptions.
Keep it factual and concise. Please avoid information overload.
Avoid assumption and emotion.