FITNESS FOR WORK: GUIDANCE FOR EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES AFTER COVID-19 ABSENCE

The Health and Safety Authority HSA) has published interim guidance on its website to assist employers to manage workers’ return to work following Covid-19 related absence. The guidance can be considered within existing sickness and absence management procedures and policies.

Fitness for Work (FFW) refers to a state of physical and psychological health and well-being which enables a worker to carry out their work reliably, safely and efficiently and in a way that does not affect their safety or the safety of others. Most workers who contract Covid-19 will recover with no long term health effects. Some workers, however, may suffer serious or on-going health effects and need additional support to return to work.

​Maintaining communication with the absent worker is important and will help you in assessing whether the worker is fit / unfit to return
to work. Employers should apply existing policies and procedures to encourage workers back to work, after a longer absence due to COVID-19, in the same way that return to work following any long illness is managed.

Employers should establish whether workers, who are returning to work following COVID-19 infection, are fully fit to return to their pre-COVID-19 roles and responsibilities. In some instances, workers may be unable to resume their pre-COVID-19 roles and responsibilities and may require both transition arrangements or altered responsibilities. This can be done in line with the organisation’s existing policies and procedures. Employers should make workers aware of worker assistance programmes and or wellbeing initiatives that have been put in place by the employer, that may help workers adjust to returning to work after absence due to COVID-19.

On the return to work, the employer should inform the worker of any relevant changes in the COVID-19 response plan made at the workplace, e.g. specific COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures or any other changes to work practices. It is expected that there is a regular update issued to staff of relevant health advice to workers on COVID-19 in the workplace on an on-going basis.

In the event an employee is unable to return to their pre Covid-19 roles/responsibilities, employers may wish to consider the following options:

• relocation: same job in an alternative location (remote working arrangements) where the risk assessment indicates control measures can be put in place
• change in tasks: modification, adaptation or removal of higher risk tasks
• change in role and / or retraining: alternative roles such as office-based role with the required controls in place or the ability to work from home in the new role.