Q: Has the sick note system improved sickness absence levels?

A: A recent report found that 60% of employers believe that the fit note has made no difference to sickness absence levels since its introduction in 2010. A further 11% of organisations thought that the fit note was less helpful than the previous sick-note system.

Although we know that there has been a continued decline in short-term absence over the last five years, the overall rate of sickness absence has leveled out and there are now signs that the ways to reduce short-term absence are being exhausted.