Quick answer
Use occupational health when professional work-and-health advice would help resolve questions about adjustments, return to work or how duties affect a worker. Provide relevant job information, explain the referral and report-sharing process and act on recommendations alongside your legal responsibilities.
Why a manager needs a work question, not a diagnosis
Occupational health is a medical service that considers health in relation to work. Acas describes when employers may use it, including support, reasonable adjustments and return-to-work decisions.
The useful referral asks what the person can do, what changes may help and when to review them. It should not be a request for a predetermined disciplinary or employment outcome.
Prepare the question and the relevant work information
| Referral element | Useful content |
|---|---|
| Reason | The work difficulty or decision requiring professional advice. |
| Actual job | Tasks, hours, relevant demands, hazards and existing controls. |
| Current support | Adjustments tried and the worker’s account of what helps or remains difficult. |
| Questions | Functional advice, suitable options, restrictions and review needs. |
| Process | How the assessment, relevant permissions, report and follow-up will be handled. |
Keep the information relevant and explain the purpose to the worker.
Distinguish advice, screening and statutory surveillance
A general OH referral, a wellbeing or screening activity and a legally required risk-based health-surveillance programme serve different purposes. Do not assume one replaces the others.
HSE’s surveillance-record guidance distinguishes employer health records from confidential medical records. The specific criteria and records for a required surveillance programme need their own assessment and competent arrangement; they are not established merely by booking a general referral.
Handle the report properly and decide the workplace action
Acas’s assessment guidance explains agreement, report-sharing permission and confidentiality for ordinary OH assessments. Make the process clear and seek advice if permissions or the applicable legal regime are uncertain.
Consider recommendations alongside other relevant advice and the employer’s duties, including reasonable adjustments where applicable. Record the workplace decision, owner and review point. Limit access to information to those who genuinely need it.
For NI, use the appropriate employment framework, including nidirect’s disability-adjustment guidance; do not present GB Acas guidance as NI legislation.
Example: seek advice about a changed return-to-work plan
A worker returning after sickness absence reports difficulty with part of their normal duties. The manager discusses the tasks and support already tried, then seeks appropriate professional advice about functional options and review needs.
The resulting plan records agreed work changes and a follow-up. It does not treat the report as permission to ignore an unsafe task or as automatic proof of a particular employment outcome.
Common mistakes
- A referral with no clear job information or question.
- Requesting unnecessary clinical detail.
- Filing recommendations without considering action.
- Using general screening as evidence that all workplace health risks are controlled.
Next steps
Define the work question, discuss the referral process and choose a suitable professional service. Use the advice to make and review an appropriately informed workplace decision.
Read Acas’s occupational-health guidance — The official guidance helps plan a focused referral and follow-up; clinical advice must come from an appropriate professional.