Seeking experiences with the Occupational Health referral process

I’m looking for some advice/experiences regarding Occupational Health (OH) referrals.

My partner has dyslexia and ADHD and was recently diagnosed with ASD. He has been experiencing significant difficulties at work and is currently off sick due to anxiety related to his work environment.

He requested an OH referral through work about a month ago, after discussing it with a specialist at his GP practice. He is hoping that an OH assessment could help identify appropriate workplace adjustments and support.

We also found in the sickness policy that his manager should normally have initiated an OH referral after around four weeks of sickness absence.

What I have found online mostly concerns employees being referred to OH. I haven’t found much about situations where the employer is reluctant or difficult about making the referral in the first place.

Has anyone experienced something similar?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you.

Parents
  • I haven’t been through this myself, but I’d keep chasing it, especially if the policy says an OH referral would normally be made after four weeks. I’d send a short email to the manager or HR asking whether the referral has been submitted and, if not, when they expect to do it. Having everything in writing is helpful too.

    It also seems worth checking if he can contact Occupational Health directly or if HR can arrange the referral instead of waiting for the manager. I’d be interested to hear what others have experienced because this sounds more difficult than it needs to be.

Reply
  • I haven’t been through this myself, but I’d keep chasing it, especially if the policy says an OH referral would normally be made after four weeks. I’d send a short email to the manager or HR asking whether the referral has been submitted and, if not, when they expect to do it. Having everything in writing is helpful too.

    It also seems worth checking if he can contact Occupational Health directly or if HR can arrange the referral instead of waiting for the manager. I’d be interested to hear what others have experienced because this sounds more difficult than it needs to be.

Children
No Data