A new UK Government scheme to get those facing long-term sickness back to work has been rolled out across Caerphilly County Borough.
Fit to Work, a free, voluntary and confidential service, provides the services of occupational health professionals to employed people if they have been, or are likely to be, off work for four weeks or more.
According to Government statistics around 48,000 Welsh workers a year have a sickness absence of four weeks or more and research indicates that, without support, a significant proportion will struggle to return to their jobs at all.
All GPs in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area can now offer their patients a referral to the new service, which includes an in-depth assessment, followed by a personalised Return to Work Plan and managed support to get back to their jobs.
The privately run scheme is voluntary for employees and is run by Health Management Limited.
Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb said: “The Fit for Work initiative will give tens of thousands of people across Wales the support they need to return to their jobs more quickly. This is clearly good for the Welsh economy.”
I dare say that out of the 48000 who have sickness absense of four weeks or more 99% will be public sector workers where there seems to be an ingrained culture of habitual sickness.
That is because the `benefits` of public sector emloyees who take sickness leave is so generous and largely uncontrolled, the `rights` to these benefits are writen into their contract of employment, and, were hard won benefits years ago, who is brave enough to review and alter that position???? If it needs altering at all.
It is interesting to compare how the status of public employees and private industry employees has changed during the last 35 years or so. Back in 1980 a worker for a private business usually enjoyed better wages than a public employee. On the other hand the public sector worker, ranging from police to council ‘bin man’ would get paid for sickness absence and could look forward to a pension, often payable before normal retirement age. This was then 65 years for men and 60 for women.
The coming of Thatcher changed this and her sucessors have continued in the same vein. The result is that the formerly better paid private industry worker is now generally worse paid than a public sector employee, does not normally get extra for weekend working, bank holiday working or night work and those who used to enjoy a final salary pension often do not have a pension at all.
The epitome of this system is represented by the chief executives of the various councils who enjoy £120,000 plus salaries, with added perks and final salary pensions. I believe that not one of these ‘exectutives’ could aspire to earning anything like those salaries in the private sector nor be capable of building a business that could bring them this kind of remuneration.
Urgh! Most of these public sector workers could have a pay cut, a pension cut, and a perk cut, yet still be on a better footing than their private sector equivalents.