Letters to GP

Dealing with an absent employee’s GP over long-term sickness absence can be frustrating due to the lack of information provided. You can combat this by using a letter to obtain the necessary details.

Dealing with GPs

At some point you’re likely to need to deal with an employee’s GP, and for many businesses this will be a frustrating process. This is because the information provided is often too vague to give you hard information on the key issues; namely what the problem is and when your employee is likely to be fit to return to work. For this reason, it’s advisable to write to a GP early on in the absence to find out more detailed information. We have included two sample letters.

Manual handling

The first letter focuses on musculo-skeletal disorders, which is one of the most common reasons for longer term sickness absence. The Letter to GP - Manual Handling can specifically ask the GP to provide a report regarding the diagnosis of your employee’s condition.

Stress

Equally, a similar letter can be used where an employee has been signed off with “stress”. You can use a Letter to GP - Stress to enable you to find out more about the condition. It contains a series of bullet point questions that focus on what can be done to facilitate the employee’s return to some form of work, e.g. on reduced hours.