Return to work assessments

What is a return to work assessment?

A return to work assessment is a meeting with an occupational health professional, such as a doctor, nurse or therapist, to check how you're doing after a period of sickness absence and what support you might need to come back to work. It focuses on how your health affects your job, and how your job might affect your health.

Why might I need it?

Your employer might ask you to have this assessment if you've been off work for a while due to illness or injury, or if you're finding it difficult to do your job because of an ongoing health condition. This could include physical conditions such as joint or chronic pain, or difficulties with your mental health or fatigue.

What are the benefits of having it?

Having an assessment can help you get the right support to feel better and manage your job. It can help you return to work safely and more quickly, and can reduce the chance of your health or absence getting worse in the future.

It also means your employer has more information to work with, rather than making decisions about your job without understanding your health needs.

Are there different types of assessment?

Yes, and what's involved depends on your situation. An assessment might include:

• a medical assessment, looking at your physical health and any conditions affecting your ability to work
• a psychological evaluation, if there are concerns about your mental health, cognitive function, or readiness to return
• a functional capacity assessment, checking your strength, flexibility and stamina against what your job requires.

It's often carried out by an occupational health adviser or doctor, though physiotherapists, occupational therapists, or mental health professionals may also be involved depending on your needs.

How do I prepare for the assessment?

There's nothing formal you need to do beforehand, but it can help to think about:

• how your health is affecting your ability to do your job
• any treatment you're having
• any concerns you have about returning to work, such as specific tasks you're worried about.

You don't have to agree to an assessment, but thinking these through beforehand can help you get the most out of it.

What happens during the assessment?

1. The occupational health professional will usually ask about your health, any treatment you're having, and any concerns you have about returning to work.
2. If they need more information, they might ask your doctor for a report. You'll be told why and asked to sign a consent form; you also have the right to see the doctor's report before it's sent on.
3. They'll consider your health alongside the specific demands of your job to work out what support or adjustments might help.
4. At the end, they'll usually discuss the outcome and any recommendations with you.

What happens after the assessment?

The assessment findings aren't automatically shared with your employer. The professional carrying it out must ask your permission first, and you have the right to see any report before it's passed on.

If you agree to share it, your employer will consider the recommendations alongside any advice from your GP, and decide what support to put in place. This might include more time off, a referral to physiotherapy or counselling, workplace adjustments such as a different chair or equipment, or a phased return with reduced hours or lighter duties to begin with.

Depending on your health condition, you may be assessed again before a final decision is made about returning to full duties.

What are the risks?

There's no physical risk from having this kind of assessment, but there are a few things worth knowing:

• you don't have to agree to an assessment, though this could mean your employer makes decisions about your job without full information
• whether you're paid for attending should be set out in your employer's policy, so it's worth checking
• your employer must keep any information about your health confidential, sharing it only with those who genuinely need it, such as your line manager or HR.

If you're unhappy with how the assessment was used, or how your information was handled, you can raise this with your employer, usually informally at first.