Today sees the introduction of a new 'fit note', which replaces the former 'sick note'. The fit note will outline what work an employee can do and is intended to help more people stay in work rather than drift into long term sickness.

The new fit note will help people to get the advice about staying in work, and if they can't work what their employer can do to help them return to work sooner. For example, if the employee has a problem with mobility, suggesting a job where they can work sitting down rather than standing up.

Commenting on the new system, Lord Bill McKenzie, Work and Pensions Minister, said: "Employers tell us that managing sickness absence can be a challenge. This is compounded by a 'sick note' system that makes sickness absence a black and white issue - either you are unfit for work or you are not.

"We recognise how important it is to help people who are sick to stay in work or get back to work quickly - the new fit note will help do just that."

But what effect will this new 'glass half full' approach have on EL?

"The purpose of the fit note is to give both the employer and the employee the opportunity to get a person back to productive work as soon as possible after a period of sickness. However, the new scheme could potentially raise some questions with regards to employer's insurance liability in the event of a claim from an employee," commented Robert Tailby, a loss control specialist at Chubb Insurance Europe.

"To make an employer's liability claim against their employer, an employee has to prove the employer has been negligent. In the case of the fit note, this might arise if the employer failed to take sufficient account of the information on the fit note when bringing the worker back into the workplace and the person suffered harm as a result.

"However, following a good practice approach to managing absence and return to work should be sufficient to ensure that no additional harm is caused to the employee from being at work and hence that no grounds arise on which a personal injury claim could be made.

In other words, the fit note does not create any new 'duty of care', but it does highlight the need for employers to ensure that all instances of actual or potential absence and return to work after sickness are properly managed.

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