Public and Commercial Services Union

DWP/BB/119/08

Revised procedures introduced

DWP introduced revised procedures for the Occupational Health Service (OHS) provided by Atos Healthcare from 4 August 2008. The changes include:

• immediate access for managers to occupational health advice over the telephone.
• online referrals, case tracking and report downloads via a secure web portal.
• a Rapid Telephone Consultation with the employee for all referrals

The full OHS Policy, Procedures and Advice are published on the DWP HR Intranet.

This briefing provides guidance for Branches on the application of the revised procedures which now includes a Manager Zone (MZ) and Employee Zone (EZ).

Purpose of OHS

Managers are advised (MZ1) that they should seek OH advice when:

• you are supporting a disabled employee
• your employee has a health condition that could affect their work
• you require advice about how an employee’s health could be affected by their job
• you notice deterioration in your employee’s work performance, which could be caused by a health condition or a disability
• your employee is taking excessive sick leave or having repeated absences where there may be an underlying condition and you need to do something about it
• you are trying to help an employee return to work from long term sick leave, or need advice on a health condition to help you decide how long an absence can be supported
• you need advice on adjustments or a rehabilitation plan to support an employee’s return to work.

The Procedures (MZ3) also explain what advice is not available from the OHS:

Atos Healthcare will not:

• undertake workstation assessments except for employees with disabilities or chronic ill-health, where they would provide wider health advice which Land Securities Trillium could not provide
• provide a diagnosis
• disclose any medical information provided by the employee or obtained from the employee’s GP which is not mentioned in the manager’s referral
• stipulate a precise number of days or additional days of sickness absence because they cannot be precise
• decide whether warnings should be given or not. This is a management decision
• decide whether the Disability Discrimination Act applies or not. They will give advice about the nature, severity and possible duration of an illness. It is however for the Department and, ultimately, a Tribunal to decide if the DDA applies
• decide whether the criteria for ill-health retirement have been met, although they will give an opinion on the likelihood that they would be met.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality must be maintained at all stages of the OH process.

The confidentiality requirements are published under:

• Policy paragraphs 26 – 27
• Employee Zone Paragraph 6
• Employee Q&A 7

Informed consent

Obtaining informed consent from the employee is the first step, under the procedures published at Manager Zone paragraph 5, on how to make a health referral via OHS Online.

Employees sign a consent form on the basis that they have been informed:

• about what the manager intends to put in the referral. The Employee Zone provides further guidance
• they will be invited to a rapid telephone consultation and must keep the appointment
• Atos Healthcare may need to contact their GP or Specialist
• they may withdraw consent and stop the process at any time but then decisions would be taken without the benefit of OH advice
• they may consult a colleague or trade union representative and have a work colleague, TU rep or friend present at any consultation. The OH practitioner must be informed if there is anyone else present at the consultation.

The employee should be given reasonable time to reflect before giving consent (OH Policy Para 3). A copy of the referral may be printed out by the manager, once it has been submitted to Atos Healthcare, and provided to the employee upon request.

OHS telephone consultations

Manager Zone, paragraph 6, provides guidance on the management of the OH appointments.

All health referrals result in the employee being invited to take part in a Rapid Telephone Consultation with an OH nurse within an average 4 working days of the referral being made. In a minority of more complex cases it is necessary for this to progress to a face to face appointment, an assessment with a doctor or for a report to be requested from the employee’s GP.

Atos Healthcare will make several attempts to contact the employee by telephone to fix an appointment.

• the employee will be given a precise appointment time but will be asked to be available for up to an hour either side of this. An OH nurse will telephone the employee at the appointed time on the number provided
• if the OH practitioner has enough information in the referral they will produce a report based on that information and close the case. This is called a file opinion.

The manager must ensure that:

• Atos Healthcare is provided with an appropriate number and instructions on how to contact the employee (e.g. should the employee not have a direct phone number)
• the employee has access to a private room at the appointed time
• Atos Healthcare is informed immediately of a change in circumstances or cancelled appointment
• a room with a speaker phone is provided if a friend, colleague or TU rep is present. The OH practitioner must be informed if there is anyone else present at the consultation.

Alternative arrangements will be made if the employee has difficulties communicating over the telephone. (Policy Para 20)

Following the Rapid Telephone Consultation a clinical decision will be made on whether there is a need for a further consultation. This may take place over the telephone or face to face at a local examination centre within reasonable travelling distance. (Policy Para 21)

Outcome summary report

The manager will receive an email notification when the outcome summary report is available on OHS Online. The report will be in PDF format. This means that it can be saved electronically but cannot be altered. Employees have a right to see reports produced by the OHS and should request a copy of the Outcome Summary Report (OHS Policy para 26).

Disclosure of referrals and reports

Managers should provide copies of Referrals and Outcome Reports to the employee upon request and without the need for a formal SAR (Subject Access Request) under the DWP Data Handling Procedures. (Data Handling Procedures Para 7.5)

OHS bespoke services

Managers have access to bespoke services (MZ 10 ) to help promote good health or deal with health-related problems. These include :

• case conferences with a doctor or senior nurse to consider difficult sickness absence cases ( either singly or for groups of employees )
• health promotion and education
• health surveillance and screening

Where the outcome of a case conference is used to influence formal action under the Attendance Management Procedures the reasons should be discussed at the formal meeting at which such action is being considered and form part of the full written record of that meeting.

DWP grievance procedures

Discussion and consultation involving the employee, their PCS representatives and the manager should ensure that the contents of the referral are clear, complete and accurate. Unresolved concerns may be addressed using the grievance procedures.

Should the outcome report not meet the standards required by DWP (MZ para 7) the manager can request a rework. Any dissatisfaction with the service received from Atos Healthcare should be raised via line management.

OH reports inform management decisions rather than make decisions for managers.

The DWP grievance procedures should be used when concerns about management actions/decisions can not be resolved informally.

Branches which have evidence of:

• serious maladministration of the delivery of the OHS service, or
• serious unresolved problems upon conclusion of the grievance process;

should provide such evidence to PCS DWP group office.