The rollout of Fit for Work (FFW) has now started in England and Wales.
The service is already available in parts of Wales and the Sheffield area, and the rollout map from the FFW website shows the remaining geographical areas, and indicates which ones will be able to access the service in the (fairly) near future. This will therefore be of use to any employer thinking about using elements of this service.
On a different, but not unrelated, topic, Jelf Employee Benefits has just launched an occupational health helpline. Full details on this service are available on the website.
This new service will be available to employers at an earlier point in the absence process than FFW (which has a four-week trigger point). The helpline will be able to take referrals where any absence is likely to exceed 21 days (or from day one for any stress-related absences), and so this could be a very useful additional tool for employers seeking to better manage sickness absence.
Please speak to your usual Jelf consultant for more details on this service.