Fit For Work Medical

The role of a fit for work assessment is to assess whether an employee is mentally and physically fit to carry out their job role, and the specific tasks that come as part of their role. Failing to have work medicals carried out not only puts your employees at increased risk, but also your business.

Deeming an individual fit to work is determined via a medical assessment, carried out by an occupational health service provider like David Barber Occupational Health. As part of this assessment, we will assess individuals on a case-by-case basis, according to their job role and in line with their medical history and/or needs. Our role is to investigate whether that person is fit to carry out their job or not, and whether measures can be put in place to protect them in their role. Make sure you are protecting your business and your workforce with fit for work medicals provided by DB Occupational Health.

Why is a Fit For Work Assessment necessary?

There are a number of reasons why fit for work assessments are necessary, some of these include:

• To protect employees at work, and to ensure they can carry out their job safely and in line with government regulations and guidelines.
• To determine whether their condition may affect their ability to carry out the job safely and effectively.
• Could their medical condition worsen by the job and responsibilities?
• Is the working environment a risk to them personally based on their condition?
• Does their condition have the ability to put themselves, or others, at risk within their role?

As well as keeping employees safe at work, fit for work assessments are absolutely necessary from an employment point of view to avoid litigation. We understand that there are many laws and regulations to think about, luckily we are able to ensure that you are acting in compliance with the rules and regulations for your industry.  It’s our duty to ensure you are doing everything possible to keep both your employees and your business safe at all times.

When is it important to have a Fit For Work Medical?

You should make sure employees have their fit for work medical at the right time. Some of these include:

• If you are recruiting a new worker for the role, it’s important to carry out pre-employment medical testing. Doing so will determine whether or not they are fit for the role, and are able to carry out the role effectively.
• An employee has had a shift in job role which involves them taking on a new role. In which case, just as you would with a new employee, they need to be medically assessed to deem them fit for their new role.
• If an employee has been off work following an injury or long term illness, their capabilities may have changed. In which case, a medical assessment is advised to see if they are still fit to do their job role.
• Health surveillance can be used in pretty much any job role, across any industry. This is usually carried out periodically to ensure an individual is suitable for the job, and to look at other issues such as an employee’s general health and wellbeing.

If you are wondering whether pre-employment health checks apply to your business, or whether it’s important for you to have fit for work medicals carried out, get in touch with our team and we’ll be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have.

What does a Fit For Work Medical involve?

The tests and checks that are carried out within a fit for work medical depend on the type of test that is taking place, how this relates to a person’s job role and their own capabilities.

Regardless of the nature of the fit for work medical, there can only be three outcomes as a result:

• Fit – The individual has been deemed fully fit to carry out their role.
• Un-fit – Unfortunately, the employee isn’t fit to carry out their role.
• Fit with restrictions in place – The employee can carry out their role and responsibilities, with certain restrictions in place. Our team will be able to advise what these restrictions are.

Statutory Workplace Medicals

Health surveillance and/or health & safety is required by law in some places of work. The HSE provides industry-specific guidance, which will help to give you a better idea on whether your business requires health surveillance and the next steps that you should take.

Medical surveillance is a legal requirement for workplaces exposing employees to any of the following:

• Asbestos
• Compressed air
• Hazardous substances
• Ionising radiation
• Lead

Safety-Critical Medicals

Safety-critical medicals go one step further, they are a more in-depth medical which is used to determine if an individual undertaking safety-critical tasks is fit to do so, and can carry out their job safely without putting themselves or others at risk.

Safety-critical work is defined as “Where the ill health of an individual may compromise their ability to undertake a task defined as safety-critical, thereby posing a significant risk to the health and safety of others.” CBH.

Who needs a Safety-Critical Worker Medical?

Those with the following roles have been defined as ‘Safety-Critical’:

• Asbestos Licensed Worker
• Confined Space
• Construction Worker (non-railway)
• Driver and Mechanical Handling Equipment Operator
• Electrician
• LGV / HGV Driver
• Plant Operator
• Roadside Worker
• Scaffolder
• Slinger/Signaller/Banksman/Traffic Marshall
• Steel Worker
• Tunnelling Worker
• Working at Heights

If you would like to find out more about Fit For Work, or Safety-Critical Medicals, get in touch with our team. We’re here to answer any questions that you may have, find out costs and book you in at a time that suits you best.