IOSH, the Chartered body for health and safety professionals, commissioned the University of Nottingham, to conduct research involving employers, GPs and patients on the use of the ‘fit note’, introduced in 2010 to get employees back to work quicker or enable them to stay at work, by identifying potential improvements that could be made. This followed wide variations in their use, e.g. GPs reporting that employers seldom act on the advice given and employers complaining that GPs fail to use the fit note to provide sufficient advice. The report stresses that the issues raised need to be addressed urgently to improve the management of sickness absence and aid return to work, and sets out a number of recommendations, including radically improved training for employers and GPs.

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