Return to Work Services

Returning to work after a period of absence can be difficult, especially for individuals who have been off sick with a psychological issue, such as anxiety, trauma, an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or other mental health issue. A return to work programme provides employees with the professional support they need to overcome a variety of mental health concerns and complexities that might otherwise result in long-term absence or performance issues.

Every person who has a mental health condition is different in terms of their experiences, challenges, their causes of mental ill-health and how they respond to the therapy provided by a return to work programme. That’s why we provide an upfront return to work risk assessment, to understand the underlying issues and provide recommendations on the treatment required, time and cost required to provide this and likely prognosis for recovery.

Yes. In addition to our mental health return to work services, we also provide occupational health return to work services, or a mixture of the two, because even after someone has physically recovered from an operation anxiety about returning to work or how their role might have changed in their absence can prove just as debilitating as the original illness.  While people affected by Long Covid, for example, need help to overcome both physical and mental symptoms.

A stepped care approach is based on the NHS Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, which matches treatment to the individual’s needs. Moving them up or down a ‘step’ depending on how they are responding to a particular therapy. For example, once they no longer require counselling, they can be provided with digital tools to continue managing their recovery, to ensure the most effective, least intrusive and cost-effective treatment.

Yes. Part of the success criteria we use involves a return on investment (ROI) analysis to weight up the cost of salary, extra staff training costs and other business costs associated with the employees absence or presenteeism issues. This can then be weighed up against the cost of providing return to work services to decide if investment in this represents a reasonable step for the employer to take and the ROI associated with returning absent people to work.

Our return to work services are designed to not only help employees, but also to provide managers with valuable support. It’s therefore the manager who raises a management referral for the employee to be considered for the programme. Managers are kept updated on progress and provided with valuable support, in terms of how best to communicate with the employee, provide work that aids their recovery and increase their working ability as their symptoms improve.