Occupational Health

The Occupational Health Service provides pre-employment health screening, night worker assessments, management referrals and health surveillance.

The service will also work on the promotion and improvement of employee health and wellbeing. Other services such as counselling, physiotherapy and specialist medical referrals will be carried out by partner organisations.

Initial contact will usually be made by managers on the Occupational Health Portal. 

The Occupational Health Service will then contact the manager/employee either on the portal, by phone or with a face to face appointment. Face to face appointments may be with an occupational health nurse or doctor and will be held at various clinics around the county.

Access the Occupational Health Portal

Manager assistance

The Occupational Health service is available to advise managers at any time about how best to support an employee who is off sick. Managers are encouraged to contact the service as soon as possible where an employee's medical condition is causing concern.

If you would like advice, please contact the Occupational Health Service through the portal and a member of the team will be in contact with you as soon as possible.

You will need to log into the Occupational Health managers portal. The Managers Portal Guidance  provides a step by step guide to the new system.

Occupational Health Portal Guidance (DOC 6MB)

Pre-employment health screening

Medical clearance must be obtained before the preferred candidate can take up their employment. Preferred candidates must complete a pre-employment health questionnaire. They will be sent details of how to log onto the Occupational Health portal and access the questionnaire, by the Service Centre with their offer of employment letter.

Their completed questionnaire will then be triaged by an Occupational Health nurse. If there are any concerns then the Occupational Health nurse will contact the preferred candidate to obtain further information. The results regarding medical clearance will be sent to the Service Centre who will inform the recruiting manager.

If a candidate has not completed the questionnaire within 10 working days the Service Centre who will inform the recruiting manager.

Fitness for work referrals

Managers must refer employees to the Occupational Health Service as any of the following apply:

• when an employee has been absent for three weeks
• when an employee is absent for any period with stress or a stress-related illness
• for a work-related injury that may lead or has led to absence from work

Managers will need to discuss the referral with the employee concerned.

Then complete a questionnaire on the Occupational Health portal.

Fitness for work - Guidance for Managers (DOC 232KB)

Fitness for work - Guidance for Employees (DOC 221KB)

Ill health retirement referrals

If a manager is considering ill health retirement for the employee then they must first contact People Management.

The criteria for ill health retirement are that the employee is permanently incapable of their current employment and either:

• Tier One - are unlikely to be capable of undertaking gainful employment before their normal pension age or
• Tier Two - are unlikely to be capable of undertaking any gainful employment within three years of leaving but are likely to be capable before their normal pension age or
• Tier Three - provides a reviewable pension for a member whose Scheme employer terminates their employment because they are permanently incapable of their current job but are likely to be capable of undertaking gainful employment within three years or before their normal pension age, if earlier. These tiers are for the Local Government Pension scheme, however similar tiers are used for other pensions schemes - for example Fire and Teachers

An Independent Registered Medical Practitioner (IRMP) will assess if the employee meets one of the above tiers. In the Occupational Health Service this role is the Occupational Health Physician.

If the employee does not meet one of the above tiers them ill health retirement will not be granted. Their absence will be managed through the absence management process.

Managers should ask the individual to complete the consent form below and then complete the ill health retirement questionnaire on the Occupational Health portal and attach the completed consent form to the ticket. They will then be referred to the Independent Medical officer for a medical assessment.

Medical Consent Form (DOC 179KB) 

YPS Employer Ill Health Certificate Active Member (DOC)

IHR What to Expect (DOC 240KB) 

Night worker assessments

Under the Working Time Regulations any employee who works at least three hours between 11pm and 6am on a regular basis is a night worker.

Certain health conditions may be affected by night work. For this reason the regulations require employers to make health assessments available to all night workers prior to undertaking night work and thereafter at 12 monthly intervals.

The initial health assessment is undertaken with the pre-employment medical screening when you joined the organisation. Future assessments are facilitated by completion of an online questionnaire. The online questionnaire can be accessed using a work or personal computer using the link on the next page.

You will be asked to complete a series of questions and depending on your responses you will either be cleared straightaway or referred to the occupational health advisor to discuss your responses in more detail. Your line manager will be notified of the overall result but not informed of your medical information without your consent.

Night Workers Portal Guidance (DOC 3.5MB)

Self referral scheme for counselling

The Occupational Health Service also operates an employee self-referral scheme for counselling.

Please note counselling can be provided as an interim measure of support while the employee seeks longer term treatment and support through First Step. The First Step contact details are:

Telephone:  03001 239122 

Email:    firststep@nhs.net 

Web:     www.cumbriapartnership.nhs.uk

Once your referral has been triaged then you will be referred to a counsellor initially for up to four sessions.

Self Referral for Counselling Portal Guidance (DOC 3.5MB) 

Hepatitis B - risk assessment

The council is introducing a Hepatitis B vaccination programme for those staff identified as being potentially at risk of occupational exposure to the virus. Staff who have been identified as at risk of exposure will be contacted and offered the vaccination. For all other staff a local risk assessment should be undertaken to determine if they would be classed as "High risk". 

"High risk" would be working with service users with severe learning disabilities and also dealing with the high risk group of bodily fluids:

• Blood
• semen
• vaginal secretions 
• breast milk

The Manager should complete the risk assessment. They may need to discuss it with their Health and Safety Advisor if they need further advice on the risk assessment.

Risk assessment template (DOC 31KB) 

If the member of staff is deemed at risk then, the manager should email the Occupational Health Service to arrange a vaccination programme.  A copy of the completed risk assessment should be attached along with the individuals contact information. The Occupational health service will then arrange appointments (vaccinations are given at 0, 1, 6 months followed by a blood test to check that the immunisation programme has been effective).  

The Occupational Health service can be emailed at occupational.health@cumbria.gov.uk 

Health surveillance

Health surveillance is a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  In addition to this, some assessments, which cover driving standards set out by the DLVA.  There are a number of occupations in the council that are classed as a safety critical roles and national medical standards are in place to ensure the safety of the employee, other workers and the public.

If a post has been identified as 'safety critical', these employees will receive 3 yearly health surveillance appointments  (or every year if they are over 55). The health surveillance will be identified through risk assessment and may include:  

• General health questions  
• Hearing test 
• Vision test
• Lung Function test
• HAVS assessment

Employees are notified of their appointment by the Occupational Health team and it is vital that they attend the appointment otherwise Occupational Health will be unable to confirm them "Fit" to undertake their work. 

For Highways, Fleet, Ferry and the Port staff prior to the appointment both the manager and the individual should complete a Health Surveillance Questionnaire. This can be done on the portal.

Health Surveillance Guidance (DOC 3MB)

Unfortunately the appointment cannot go ahead if the questionnaires have not been received.