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This is a fairly modern problem, with calls being made to our advice line on a daily basis about yet another employee who is now on long-term sickness absence. The most common issues occurring appear to be related to stress (personal as well as work-related); depression; bad backs; and illnesses with no specific diagnosis to date.
Long-term illness is very hard to manage, particularly when you have no knowledge about likely return to work dates from one sick note to the next, and when GPs provide so little information in medical certificates.
We always advise you start to formally manage long-term absence from about the four week mark. Leaving it until your employee has been off for months on end is too late, particularly given the time it takes to procure GP reports and occupational health reports which will guide you in terms of making decisions about their return to work, light duties, ill health dismissal etc.
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