Considerations before making an Occupational Health referral

On rare occasions when your referral is both critical and urgent and you need to fast track an OH appointment, for example the individual has stated that they are unable to attend a formal meeting and you need immediate OH advice as to their fitness to attend or you have immediate concerns regarding their or others safety. You should:

• contact the Occupational Health Advice Line on 023 8062 6600
• discuss your referral with the team who will advise if the referral needs urgent attention. If this is the case the team will flag the incoming referral as needing immediate attention
• submit the referral immediately so it can be picked up by one of the team who will arrange for an urgent appointment as soon as is practically possible

Making a referral

If there is a health issue impacting on work, or work impacting on health, a manager should consider a referral to OH.

It is sometimes difficult to decide whether referring to OH is the most suitable next step. Our guidance will assist you in determining if an occupational health referral is appropriate.

If a referral is not appropriate, online signposting and resources are provided which you can access and share with your team member, as required.

After completing the relevant questions, if a management referral is deemed appropriate, a referral form must be completed.

A referral may result in an appointment for the individual with an OHA, but it may be that the individual has already shared information with you, which results in you having sufficient knowledge of the current impact on their ability to fulfil their role. In these cases, an advice call will be arranged for you to discuss further with an OH Adviser to advise you on managing the situation.

Top Tips for Making an Effective Referral

• Always discuss the referral with the individual, explaining the reasons for the referral and the questions you will be asking.
• Ensure the referral is made by the individual’s line manager or second/grandparent line manager.
• Complete the referral form accurately and ensure all contact details are correct.
• Provide as much background information as possible, including any health/wellbeing issues you are aware of, the normal duties of the role, what barriers there are and what advice you are seeking to manage the situation.
• If an appointment is arranged with the individual we would encourage you, with their consent, to attend the end of the appointment.
• Occupational Health specialists do not usually undertake a physical examination of the individual and, therefore, appointments may take place on the phone or MS Teams rather than face-to-face
• An OH report will be written within 5 working days of the appointment and released as per the individual’s consent. If they wish to view the report before release to the organisation, they have a period of 14 days to review it before deciding if it can be shared with you. Once the individual has released the report, you will be able to access it on the Meddbase system.
• You should arrange to discuss the report with the individual at the earliest opportunity. This could be done as part of a routine management one-to-one or a meeting under the Managing Sickness Absence policy.

It is important that when discussing the referral that you provide a copy of the individual guide to a management referral {link}, as well as offer a copy of the referral form. You may also wish to share the details of the Employee Assistance Programme  

Please note: If you do not discuss the referral with the individual, it will result in the referral being rejected by OH.

If an Occupational Health referral is not appropriate, Occupational Health will aim to signpost you to an alternative resource. This could be internal e.g. EPS and Health and Safety or external e.g. the individual’s GP, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) or other support group.

An Occupational Health referral must be made by an appropriate manager or exceptionally by HR/EPS. An individual may not refer themselves. The purpose of a management referral is to provide impartial occupational health advice to a manager to help resolve health related issues.

When a referral is appropriate

An Occupational Health referral is appropriate (the list is not exhaustive):

• where full recovery or return to work is unlikely in the immediate future and occupational health advice and support is needed
• if recovery and return to work is likely but the sickness absence is recurrent i.e. the individual exceeded sickness absence trigger points and you need occupational health advice to manage their attendance or capability performance
• if you and the individual are unable to agree arrangements for a return to work or ongoing adjustments. This may be based upon information stated in the Fit Note
• if the individual has a health issue that has not yet caused a problem but may do so without Occupational Health advice
• for advice on health or wellbeing issues which may have a significant impact on work
• if the individual’s case with Occupational Health has been closed, but there is a significant change in their health status or the individual’s role that requires further occupational health advice
• if a work station assessment(s) was conducted but the health issues or difficulties have not been resolved
• if the individual is pregnant but is unwell and the illness cannot be managed through a pregnancy risk assessment.

An occupational health referral may not be appropriate or necessary:

• for short-term one-off conditions that are expected to resolve soon for example minor ailments or injuries
• if the individual wishes to access the Employee Assistance Programme

The team cannot influence the NHS. The team are unable to fast track appointments or treatment.

An occupational health referral may not be appropriate or necessary:

• for short-term one-off conditions that are expected to resolve soon for example minor ailments or injuries
• if the individual wishes to access the Employee Assistance Programme (if the school has bought into this service)

The team cannot influence the NHS. The team are unable to fast track appointments or treatment.

Employee Assistance Programme

Support can be accessed via the employee assistance programme. It is free and available 24 hours a day.

Phone number: 0800 028 0199

Visit Health Assured for details of available services.

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