Ill Health at Work

Abstract

Amidst all the discussion on self certification and statutory sick pay one point should be central — how does the employer deal with ill health at work? Self certification is a means by which the absence due to sickness is accounted for; and, if it is accounted for, then payment may come from two sources. One is statutorily based, i.e. DHSS sickness benefit: and the other may be part of the contract of employment between the employer and employee. The fact that after April 1983 the employer becomes the paying agent for the state component for the first eight weeks will not of itself change any existing contractually based arrangements. The basic questions remain whether the payment in total is made against genuine sickness and whether the extent of the absence (continuous or an accumulation over a period) is such that it calls into question the very contribution of employment.

Citation

Muir, J. (1983), "Ill Health at Work", Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 83 No. 3/4, pp. 2-3. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057301