Are You Still Writing for GP Reports to Manage Absence? - 5 Reasons To Think Again

Are You Still Writing for GP Reports to Manage Absence? – 5 Reasons To Think Again

Are You Still Writing for GP Reports to Manage Absence? - 5 Reasons To Think Again

As an experienced Occupational Health Nurse, I have always wondered why it is that some HR professionals and managers write to GPs rather than ask an Occupational Health specialist for a report to help them to manage absence. Occupational Health is the speciality of medicine which has the knowledge skills and training to provide advice on fitness for work in any industry setting and also has specialist knowledge of the diseases of occupations

Asking a GP, who has never had any occupational health training or even visited a workplace, for an opinion on fitness to work, rarely provides any useful advice on capability. It generally lengthens the management of the absence as GPs are very busy and can take weeks before a response is received and the report can be expensive.

Maybe it’s time to review your approach?

1. In my experience, non-medical people writing for a GP report are mostly wasting their time. I know that seeking further medical evidence is advised in many management of absence procedures, but I do not believe writing to a GP will give you anything other than a report which states the employee’s perspective on their medical condition. Once that is written in a report, it can sometimes ‘stranglehold’ the employer into a corner it is difficult to get out of without being seen to be unreasonable.

‘If Mrs Jones could be given a job nearer to home with light duties, reduced hours and a different Manager, I am sure she would be …

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The Best Thing an Owner Can Do for Their Business Is Continue to Breathe

The Best Thing an Owner Can Do for Their Business Is Continue to Breathe

The Best Thing an Owner Can Do for Their Business Is Continue to Breathe

One of the best things a business owner can do for their business is continue to breathe. It sounds simple but for some business owners the hardest part about business ownership is finding time for themselves.

Health can be defined in a range of ways but the way I see it is; health is the absence of illness and the presence of vitality. Vitality is that energy and exuberance that comes from someone who is well rested, with energy to burn and the focus to put that energy to good use. I know many business owners that miss the mark when it comes to their own health.

Often business owners believe they need to work 24/7, putting themselves into a situation where it is difficult to sustain for the long term. If your business does not allow you the time to look after yourself over the long term, what makes you think the business will even last that long… Or that you will? By having your business over reliant upon you, it is likely you are starting a cycle that will turn into a cyclone, that can only result in a path of destruction.

What happens is this: first you begin to work all of the time. You are working in your business and doing the hard yards and there is a part of you that thinks ‘this is what I have to do for my business to continue’. You are being a martyr. The pressure on you builds until …

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