Much of the content of this blog arises directly, or otherwise, from Government initiatives and interventions in the world of employee benefits.

I would be the first to admit that the topics covered are hardly Rock n’ Roll, but I do my humble best to unpick the works of Whitehall and provide our followers with edited highlights on any given area. I am usually helped in this by documents issued by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) which, whilst understandably detailed, are generally well structured and reasonably well written.

But this is not always the case, as demonstrated by the recent DWP publication:

“Telephonic support to facilitate return to work: what works, how, and when?”

This sizable document is rather ponderous, and uses such rare and lengthy words that at times it began to feel like I was partaking in a Christmas edition of the word game Call My Bluff. On several occasions I found I could not read further without looking up the definition of a key word, with my personal favourite being: Biopsychosocial. Answers on a postcard to that one please.

So it was not an easy read. But what did this document tell us of importance to those involved in managing sickness absence and/or employee benefits?

Although not immediately apparent from the title (or indeed much of the opening text) the document focused on how telephonic support can be used alongside the Health and Work Service* (HWS). HWS is of course one of the key recommendations of the Sickness Absence Review, and a service that every employee who is absent from work through illness or injury will be able to access after 4 weeks absence.

So to a quote direct from the source document…

“There are several key aspects of telephonic approaches that facilitate early return-to-work outcomes. They have optimal effect when used in combination:

• Assessment: identifies the client’s needs and their obstacles to return to work, which

guide the return-to-work plan.

• Triage**: allocates cases to the most appropriate rehabilitation pathway using a

stepped-care model.

• Advice and information: fostering positive beliefs, setting expectations and giving

self-management advice.

• Case management: managing the client’s journey has cost benefits: telephonic approaches provide clear advantages through speed and ease of access, shorter waiting times, optimised referrals to face-to-face interventions, efficient use of resources.

A well-designed and delivered telephonic service can enable a substantial proportion of cases to entirely self-manage their health problem and work participation.”

The above four bullet points pretty much sum up the document – which is a strong argument for creating the HWS service largely on a telephonic (or call-centre if you prefer) basis.

Some might well shudder at this thought, given that call-centres are often far from the most user friendly experience. Yet it was inevitable that remote assessment and tools would be used in the service, given the nominal budget that has been allocated to the HWS at outset.

And budget is probably the key to this. The last bullet point above recognises “cost benefits”: but in reality I suspect that this was at the forefront of the DWP’s thinking. Much of the document goes on to cite evidence of how effective telephonic services can be in this area. Or to put it another way, this is a document that provides justification to a direction of travel which is already decided.

Yet there are also hints of how this service can act as a gateway to other forms of interaction in resolving health issues for the absent employee. For instance:

“Provision of advice will include general advice on the nature of obstacles, self-help techniques, work and signposting. While telephonic transaction is verbal, other forms of information (e.g. written, email, websites, etc.) can supplement this effectively.”

Much of the supporting text focuses on helping the absent employee self-manage their condition – and that will probably be one of the keys to the success of this service. Regardless of the above, I suspect it is likely that more complex cases will end up with face-to-face contact at some point, but it is clear that these will be the exception rather than the norm.

So this document, coupled with recent announcements from HRMC re the tax-exemption for medical interventions, are beginning to flesh out our understanding of how employers and employees will be able to manage sickness absence in 2014 and beyond. We will of course keep you posted as more detail becomes known.

Best regards

Steve

*previously known as the Independent Assessment Service (IAS)

**Triage: To decide the order of treatments

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