Croner Training

Employment & HR

Croner Training's 10th Update on Fitness for Work 2010

Date	19 October 2010
Duration	1 Day
Price	GBP 649 + VAT Membership Price: 324.5 + VAT
Location	London
Venue	Rubens Hotel
Registration	9.00-9.30
Close of Seminar	16.00
Our code	35503
Also held on	23 March 2011, London

• Why you should attend this seminar
• Who should attend?
• Key benefits
• Programme - updated for 2010
• Seminar presenters
• In-house training
• What past delegates have said about this course
• Are you a Croner publications subscriber?
• A total compliance solution

Why you should attend this seminar

Most employers and occupational health staff are faced with difficult decisions concerning fitness for work, whether these are recruitment decisions or decisions concerning a return to work after a spell of sickness absence. The impact of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has made itself felt in many important decisions covering how employers should treat employees with disabilities and the role of Occupational Health.

This leading one-day event will help you answer the following types of question:

• Would it be lawful to refuse to recruit someone with a previous history of mental illness?
• What action can an employer take if he finds out that an employee has lied at the pre-employment interview about a significant ill health problem?
• What is the evidence base for effectively helping employees with common mental health problems?
• How to deal with genuine ‘stress’ illnesses? How to distinguish mental ill health from employees who are just not coping?
• How should employers deal with allegations of bullying and its effects on the health of a worker?
• What is the new law on disability discrimination and the Equality Act 2010

Who should attend?

• Experienced practitioners who wish to update themselves in areas of occupational health and the law
• HR managers
• Occupational health physicians/Nurse
• Line managers/Health and safety managers
• Trade Union representatives

Key benefits

This one-day seminar will help you:

1. Improve your understanding of the law and good practice in dealing with ill health cases

2. Gain an understanding of the ethical issues of confidentiality and informed consent and what your doctors and nurses can and cannot tell you

3. Receive the most up-to-date information on the new data protection rules and guidance from the Information Commissioner on information on workers’ health and medical records

4. Learn about the impact of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the new DDA Regulations 2004 and the most recent case law

5. Model precedents for sickness absence and other ill health policies

6. Have your questions answered by two leading experts in the field of occupational medicine and the law

Programme - updated for 2010

1 Medical ethics, confidentiality and the DPA 1998

• Latest guidance from the GMC
• Confidentiality and informed consent, definition of 'sensitive' data under s.2 of DPA 1998
• Information Commissioner's Code of Practice on Health Records
• Difficult situations

2 Disability Discrimination and The Equality Act 2010

• New law Equality Act 2010
• Latest case law on reasonable adjustments
• When to take advice on employing or retaining older workers

3 Stress, anxiety and depression – how to deal with these issues

• When does an employer become liable? What effect does a counselling service have on liability? Intel Corporation vs. Daw Court of Appeal
• Making reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as amended
• Examples of reasonable adjustments
• Sickness and stress
• Triggered by discipline or performance investigations
• Drafting a sick pay clause to deal with ‘stress’ absences caused by disciplinary issues
• Offering options to those who go off with stress to avoid a disciplinary hearing – latest guidance from ACAS
• Conduct during sickness absence
• Using private detectives and Human Rights Act 1998 and the use of covert surveillance
• HSE Stress Management Standards – how to adapt them to your own organisation, the law and medical issues
• How to deal with stress in an organisation; relevant policies and procedures, focus groups, risk assessments, round table discussions, provision of cognitive behavioural therapy, change management and stress awareness training and increasing resilience
• The policy at EDF Energy

4 Bullying at work

• Latest case law
• Practical tips on how to deal with bullying

5 Sickness absence – getting staff back to work

• New 'Fit Notes'
• HSE Guidance on managing sickness absence
• Understanding sickness absence - recent case law and good practice
• Obtaining medical records and conflicting reports
• Employees who refuse to give consent to disclosure of medical records and medical reports
• Hanlon vs. Kirklees Borough Council
• MED 3 – are they meaningless and can you challenge them?
• How to deal with malingerers
• Drawing up an effective policy
• Conflicting medical advice

6 How to assess fitness to return to work

• Asking the doctor the right questions
• Expert evidence
• Rehabilitation
• Early retirement on ill health grounds
• Permanent Health Insurance cases

Seminar presenters

Gillian Howard LLB, Dip Comp Law (Cantab) FFOM (Hon) and Senior Lecturer (Hon) Institute of Occupational Medicine, University of Birmingham is an employment lawyer specialising in employment law, personal injury, medical negligence and defamation. She has both corporate and individual clients and over 20 retained clients. She has a wide–ranging practice

in both contentious and non–contentious work. She represents clients at tribunals and in the High Court as well as advising and drafting on company policies and procedures. Her latest books are Drafting Contracts of Employment published by The Law Society of England & Wales, October 2004; Vetting and Monitoring Employees at Work, published in 2006 by Gower Press and Drafting Directors’ Service Agreements to be published in 2006 by the Law Society of England & Wales.

Dr Margaret Samuel, MSc, FFOM, FRCP, Performance Assessor for the GMC, is Chief Medical Officer to EDF Energy, formerly Senior Employment Medical Advisor (HSE) for North London and former Assistant Registrar of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine. Margaret's special interest is in the risk management approach to work related ill health, particularly mental ill health and musculoskeletal disorders. She has developed the Occupational Health Risk Management Programme, Fit For Work, implementation of which has resulted in a significantly increased awareness amongst the workforce of potential exposure to health risks and how these can be controlled. EDF Energy has won Beacon Company status from the

HSE for their Stress Management Programme. Both speakers are authors of Chapters in Fitness for Work – Medical Aspects published by the Royal College of Physicians.

In-house training

This seminar can be presented exclusively for your organisation on an in-house basis. You can:

• Have the programme designed for your specific needs
• Choose your preferred date and location
• Save on staff travel, time and accommodation costs
• Maximise the impact of the training by putting an entire team through the same programme

For more information about this service - and a no-obligation quotation - please call Daniel Townsend on 0207 960 5673 or e-mail daniel.townsend@cronertraining.co.uk

What past delegates have said about this course

“Excellent course, very relevant to current occupational health practice”

Beth O’Brien, Lyons Davidson

“ Well presented and informative event”

Chris Long, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust

Are you a Croner publications subscriber?

If so then you are entitled to an additional 5% discount on your booking. Simply enter your Croner BP number on our online booking form to qualify (offer applies to online bookings only).

If you are interested in subscribing to any Croner title and receiving this and other benefits then call 020 8547 3333 for more information.

A total compliance solution

Whether you’re an HR professional in a multi-national, managing personnel issues in a medium-sized organisation or running a small business we have the HR information you need to get the most out of your staff and comply with the law. From consultancy, and comprehensive online information services to books we have you covered. Simply visit www.croner.co.uk for more information.

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