What is an Occupational Health Assessment?
The purpose of an OH assessment is to assess an employee and provide clear, impartial, professional, OH advice to the line manager/HR who has made the request. Advice is often also given to the employee. The assessment is conducted by telephone or at a face-to-face consultation with an occupational health clinician (Doctor or Nurse).
As part of this process the referring contact should have internal communication with the employee so that the process is transparent and they are aware of why the referral is being made. To aid this communication we have an ‘Example Occupational Health Assessment Employee Referral Cover Letter’.
What does an occupational health assessment letter need to contain?
For the Employer:
It is important to state that you should have discussed the referral with the employee verbally prior to releasing a letter/email. The letter will then support the internal communication. You should be clear on the reason for referring the employee to the Occupational Health Provider, so clear concise and empathetic wording can be effective. The cover letter should help the employee to understand the content within:
- Referral Form.
- Employee Guide to Occupational Health.
- Any other relative employer communication.
The Referral form should contain health reason for referral, job description, sickness absence record, performance issues, stage of sickness process policy and any specific aspect of role causing issues for employee/employer.
For a number of employers, starting this process can be daunting but we have a ‘Guidance for Occupational Health Assessments’ document to help explain, support you and make this process easier.
For the Employee:
Many employees will not have heard of Occupational Health and have a limited understanding of what an assessment involves. It is not uncommon for employers to obtain independent OH advice when they have concerns over health issues in the workplace.
The aims of OH are to support your business to make informed decisions about how your health and work are managed and protected. The advice is evidence based and adheres to legislation.
The OH assessment gives you the opportunity to discuss any medical conditions, medication, how it impacts on your work and how work impacts on your health with an OH professional who is an impartial adviser. Have a look at our ‘Employee Guide to OH Assessments‘ document for more information.
Our Role:
We encourage the employer to provide relevant content onto the referral form to give the Clinician as much information and background to the case as possible.
As the independent Occupational Health provider we aim to provide clear concise Occupational Health advice that will enable the business to progress the case forward and agree upon business decisions to then discuss with the employee.
We are here to help – Remember you can give us a call at any time to discuss the referral process or any scenario you have for that matter.
