5 Return to Work Plan
5.6 Post-RtWP support
Yes, definitely 165 33
Yes, possibly 259 51
No 30 6
Not applicable 12 2
Unsure/don’t know 37 7
Total 504 100
Base: All respondents (N=504). Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation employer survey.
5.6 Post-RtWP support
5.6.1 Support from other organisations
All employees surveyed two to three months after using the service were asked whether they received any help with the obstacles affecting their return to work from anyone else whilst they were in contact with Fit for Work. About two-thirds of employees (65 per cent) were not receiving help for the obstacles affecting their return to work from anyone else whilst 35 per cent reported they were receiving additional support (Table 5.36).
• Those with mental health conditions were more likely to be receiving help (49 per cent) than those with musculoskeletal (26 per cent) or other health conditions (29 per cent) (see TA Table 5.105 in the Technical Annex).
• Employees aged under 35 were more likely (39 per cent) than those aged 55 or over (29 per cent) to have received help with obstacles affecting their return to work from organisations other than Fit for Work (see TA Table 5.106 in the Technical Annex).
• Employees in managerial and professional occupations were more likely (44 per cent) than those in sales, process and elementary occupations (27 per cent) to be receiving help from others (see TA Table 5.107 in the Technical Annex).
Table 5.36 At the same time as you were in contact with Fit for Work, did you receive help with the obstacles affecting your return to work from anyone else?
(Weighted data)
Categories N Col
% Received additional support 362 35 Did not receive additional support 675 65
Don’t know 9 1
Total 1,045 100
Base: All respondents (N=1,045). Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation Wave One employee survey.
Employees who reported receiving help from other organisations alongside working with the Fit for Work service were asked from whom they had had support. The most frequently cited response about who provided additional support was another health professional (40 per cent) or their GP (35 per cent). Fifteen per cent of employees who were receiving additional help stated this was from their employer’s occupational health department or provider (Table 5.37).
Table 5.37 Who was the additional help from? (Weighted data) Multiple responses included
Categories %
Other health professional 40
GP 35
Your employer’s occupational health department or contractor 15
Other 8
Counsellor/counselling/therapist 8
Colleagues at work 7
Family/friends 7
Employer/manager 5
Base 484
Base: All respondents who had additional help with obstacles affecting return to work (N=484). Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation Wave One employee survey.
Respondents to the Wave Two employee survey were asked whether they had received any help with the obstacles affecting their return to work from anyone other than Fit for Work since their Wave One interview. The majority of respondents (71 per cent) had not received any further support. Fourteen per cent of respondents had received support from another health professional and seven per cent received support from their GP (see Table 5.38).
• Respondents in organisations with 250 or more employees and organisations with less than 50 employees were less likely to have received no further support (67 per cent and 71 per cent respectively) than those in organisations with 50-250 employees (84 per cent) (see TA Table 5.109 in the Technical Annex).
• Respondents with mental health conditions were more likely to have received further support (38 per cent) than those with musculoskeletal (22 per cent) or other conditions (25 per cent) (see TA Table 5.111 in the Technical Annex).
Table 5.38 Subsequent support received from other sources (Weighted data) Multiple responses included
Categories %
No further support 71
Another health professional 14
GP 7
Employers occupational health department or contractor 6
Other source 6
Base 492
Base: All respondents reporting subsequent support (N=492). Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation Wave Two employee survey.
5.6.2 Support from case managers
Employees were asked whether they had any further contact with their Fit for Work case manager once they had agreed their RtWP. Fifty-one per cent of employees had further contact with the service after agreeing their RtWP (Table 5.39).
• Employees in England and Wales were more likely to report that they had had further contact with their Fit for Work case manager (53 per cent) than employees in Scotland (32 per cent) (see TA Table 5.115 in the Technical Annex).
• Employees in managerial and professional occupations were more likely (57 per cent) than employees in administrative and skilled trades (47 per cent) and sales, process and elementary occupations (51 per cent) to have had further contact with a case manager after agreeing their RtWP (see TA Table 5.116 in the Technical Annex).
Table 5.39 Did you have any further contact with your Fit for Work case manager once you had agreed your RtWP? (Weighted data)
Categories N Col
% Had further contact with case manager after agreeing RtWP 417 51 Did not have further contact with case manager after agreeing RtWP 369 45
Don’t know/can’t recall 27 3
Total 813 100
Base: All who received their RtWP (N=814). Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation Wave One employee survey.
Employees who had additional contact with their case manager were asked what this contact was about. Reasons cited by five per cent of respondents or more are detailed in Table 5.40. Just under half of employees who had had additional contact with their case manager (48 per cent) explained that additional contact with the service was about the progress with their RtWP. Nineteen per cent of employees stated that their case manager had been in contact to find out whether they had returned to work.
Table 5.40 What was the contact about? (Weighted data) Multiple responses included
Categories %
Asking about the progress with your RtWP 48
Asking whether you had gone back to work 19
Asking how you were getting on/how you were doing/about your progress 11
Asking whether you needed any further support 11
Problems with employer 5
Return to work date/changing/extending return to work date/plan 5
Base 418
Base: All who had further contact with their Fit for Work case manager (N=418).
Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation Wave One employee survey.
Employees who had had further contact with their case manager were asked about the helpfulness of this additional support (see Table 5.41). Three-quarters of employees (75 per cent) felt that additional contact with Fit for Work was helpful.
Table 5.41 How helpful did you find the further contact with your case manager? (Weighted data)
Categories N Col
%
Very helpful 211 51
Fairly helpful 101 24
Neither helpful nor unhelpful 67 16
Fairly unhelpful 13 3
Very unhelpful 22 5
Don’t know 3 1
Total 417 100
Base: All who had further contact with their Fit for Work case manager (N=418).
Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation Wave One employee survey.
All employees who received a copy of their RtWP were asked whether they would have liked any further contact beyond that. More than two-thirds of employees (71 per
Table 5.42 Would you have liked further contact beyond that? (Weighted data)
Categories N Col
% Would have liked further contact 214 26 Would not have liked further contact 577 71
Not sure 22 3
Total 813 100
Base: All who received their RtWP (N=814). Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation Wave One employee survey.
At the Wave Two survey, employees were asked whether they had received any further contact from the service either from a case manager or by contacting the advice services. Only five per cent had had further contact with the service, although it should be noted that once an employee is discharged there is no requirement for the service provider to continue support (Table 5.43).
Table 5.43 Further contact with the service (Weighted data)
Categories N Col
%
No further contact 447 94
Received some further contact
(e.g. case manager, contacted advice services) 27 5
Base 474 100
Base: All respondents reporting further contact with the service (N=474). Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation Wave Two employee survey.
Nearly one-fifth of respondents (17 per cent) would have like more support from the service (see Table 5.44). A number of statistically significant relationships were found.
• People with good current self-reported mental health were more likely to report that Fit for Work could not have done any more to support them (88 per cent) compared to those whose mental health was changeable (78 per cent) or whose health was fair or poor (72 per cent) (see TA Table 5.120 in the Technical Annex).
• Respondents aged under 35 and 55 and over were more likely to report that Fit for Work could not have done any more to support them (87 per cent and 89 per cent respectively) than respondents aged between 35 and 54 (78 per cent) (see TA Table 5.122 in the Technical Annex).
Table 5.44 Further support desired from Fit for Work (Weighted data)
Categories N Col
% FfW could not have done more 407 83
FfW could have done more 85 17
Total 492 100
Base: All respondents reporting whether or not they wanted further support from Fit for Work (N=492). Unweighted.
Source: Fit for Work evaluation Wave Two employee survey.