Occupational Health Assessment & Occupational Health Report Employee Rights UK:

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This page last updated 7.7.26.

Are you nervous about attending occupational health and don’t know what to say to occupational health?

• Read This First!

Are you nervous about attending a sickness absence meeting with your employer?

How many sick days before disciplinary uk?

Can I be sacked for being off sick with depression?

My wife Amy & I have created some new webpages for 2026 for you to look at:

• Don’t use AI to write your grievance letter.
• 15 steps to take before you write your grievance letter.
• 20 Tips on writing your grievance letter.
• Free grievance letter example for ‘work-related stress, bullying, harassment and discrimination’.
• What not to say in a grievance meeting.
• How to win a grievance appeal.

Occupational Health Employee Legal Rights UK:

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This web page aims to answer your questions regarding occupational health and your employee legal rights UK.

Firstly, it is important to know that the occupational health doctor or occupational health nurse does NOT have a legal ‘duty of care’ to you (as the employee), but rather to your employer. See Kapfunde v Abbey National and Daniel [1998] IRLR 583 (CA)

“A doctor retained by an employer to carry out medical assessments of its prospective employees owes no duty of care to those prospective employees in carrying out and reporting the conclusions of such assessments to the employer.”

Thus, the Occupational Health Departments legal duty is not to you as the employee, but rather to your employer.

When the employer makes a referral to its occupational health provider, you need to be aware that the occupational health report could actually be to your disadvantage, especially when assessing your fitness to attend face to face meetings for either a grievance hearing or disciplinary hearing or in dismissing you on grounds of ill-health capability.

In the authority of Kelly v Royal Mail Group Ltd UKEAT/0262/18/RN (paragraph 61), the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that an employer can put “considerable weight” behind what the occupational health report says:

The Tribunal also noted, correctly, that an employer may attach considerable weight to the informed and reasoned opinion of an Occupational Health medical consultant in reaching its own assessment.”

Therefore, if your employer’s occupational health department drafts an occupational health report, which is not accurate and/or a true and reflection of what you stated during the occupational health assessment, then make sure you email us before agreeing to give your consent to the occupational health provider to release the occupational health report to your employer. Our email address is: myrightsuk@protonmail.com

What to say to occupational health about stress:

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The question is, what to say to occupational health about stress. The answer is to be honest. During your occupational health assessment you need to outline to occupational health the ‘root cause’ of your stress. If bullying, harassment or discrimination are the root cause of your work-related stress, then this needs to be included within the occupational health report to your employer. Put shortly, if your employer does not know of the ‘root cause’ of your work-related stress, how can you employer put things right for you?

When discussing work-related stress with occupational health we recommend asking occupational health to undertake a stress specific risk assessment in accordance with the HSE’s Management Standards.

By undertaking a stress specific risk assessment occupational health will then be able to identify which areas of your work are causing your stress. Usually, my wife Amy and I find that it is either the workload i.e., the demands of the job, or a breakdown in the working relationship with the line manager or workplace colleagues, which is causing the work-related stress.

Your employer is statutory obliged to render you with a ‘safe system of work‘, which system of work is free from bullying and harassment. Thus, if being bullied and harassed at work is causing your work-related stress then please visit our bullying and harassment web page.

You also want to inform occupational health that being bullied and harassed at work is the ’cause’ of your stress, and to ensure that bullying and harassment is mentioned within the occupational health report to your employer.

Amy & I also suggest that if you are being assessed by occupational health for stress at work, that the occupational health report should include the detrimental impact, which work-related stressors are having on your occupational health and safety. This is covered in the next segment – what to say to occupational health about anxiety.

What to say to occupational health about anxiety:

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Amy & I usually find that work-related stress has triggered anxiety. The key here is that when being assessed by occupational health, that you outline to occupational health the ‘causal link’ between your work-related stress, and your anxiety.

For example, if being bullied at work has caused your sickness absence from work, then there is a ‘causal link’ between the bullying and harassment, and your sickness absence from work. It is incumbent upon you to outline the ‘causal link’ to occupational health.

Your employer has a statutory duty of care to ensure a working environment free from bullying and harassment as held in the authority of Waters (A.P.) v. Commissioner of Police For The Metropolis [2000] 1 WLR 1607; [2000] UKHL 50; [2000] IRLR 720:

 “If an employer knows that acts being done by employees during their employment may cause physical or mental harm to a particular fellow employee and he does nothing to supervise or prevent such acts, when it is in his power to do so, it is clearly arguable that he may be in breach of his duty to that employee. It seems to me that he may also be in breach of that duty if he can foresee that such acts may happen and, if they do, that physical or mental harm may be caused to an individual.”

It could also be that your workload has caused your anxiety, or your relationship with your workplace colleagues or line manager has broken down to the extent that you are currently signed off from work with a sick note. In order for your employer to put things right, your employer has to know what the triggers for your anxiety are. To this end, if work-related stressors have triggered anxiety and anxiety attacks, we suggest raising a letter of grievance to your employer to enable your employer to address the bullying, and moreover, to accommodate, to facilitate, and to rehabilitate your return to work, so that you can return to work. However, before you submit your grievance letter to your employer, we suggest you visit our webpage on our 20 hot Tips on how to write a grievance letter, and furthermore, what not to say in a grievance meeting.

If you suffer from anxiety attacks, it is very important that this information is imputed by occupational health on to your occupational health report. Like depression, anxiety is a mental health impairment, which may qualify for protection under the auspices of The Equality Act 2010 as a ‘disability‘.

Therefore, a failure by your employer to disregard some or all of your sickness absence (if you are signed off from work with anxiety or depression) could amount to discrimination on protected grounds of disability. Please visit our web page on attending sickness absence meetings.

What to say to occupational health about depression:

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The question is, what to say to occupational health about depression. Again, we suggest being honest with occupational health about your depression. Specifically, you need to inform occupational health what the triggers for your depression are, whether work-related stress, harassment, a bullying line manager, or too much workload.

Whatever the reason, occupational health needs to be informed what it is at work, which is ‘exacerbating’ your depression.

When suffering from anxiety or depression or any other mental impairment such as ADHD, autism, Aspergers, PTSD, it is incumbent upon you to inform occupational health of the following:

• What medications you take.
• The dose.
• How long you have been taking the medication.

In accordance with Schedule 1 of the Equality Act 2010, the Employment Tribunal looks at what is called the ‘deduced effect’. The ‘deduced effect’ is to establish what affect does the impairment or disability have without the medication or treatment.

For example, I have asthma. With my medications and inhalers I can do most activities. However, if I come off those medications for a few days, simple tasks like climbing the stairs or walking the dog became much harder. As such, when assessing the matter of ‘disability’ the Tribunal looks at the effect of the impairment or disability ‘without treatment’ i.e, you taking your medications or where you are undergoing a course of cognitive behavioural therapy to assist you putting in place coping mechanisms for your anxiety / depression:

An impairment is to be treated as having a substantial adverse effect on the ability of the person concerned to carry out normal day-to-day activities if—

(a) measures are being taken to treat or correct it, and

(b) but for that, it would be likely to have that effect.

Thus, if measures are being taken to treat your anxiety or depression, then make sure you inform occupational health to impute this information to your employer on the occupational health report.

If the occupational health report is inaccurate or does not contain the information, or lacks vital information, which you feel is relevant, then you must not allow occupational health to send the occupational health report to your employer without amending the report. If the occupational health doctor or nurse refuses to amend the report, then contact Amy & I to book a consultation (£35 up to one hour) on 0777 59 43 414 (9-5 Monday to Sunday) or email us at – myrightsuk@protonmail.com

What to say to occupational health about mental health:

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Discussing your mental health with occupational health is a really good idea, not least as discussing your mental health issues with occupational health will assist occupational health in identifying the reasonable adjustments, which you need to return to work.

Chances are, discussing your mental health with occupational health will assist occupational health in making recommendations to your employer. These recommendations could include:

• Working from home.
• Phased return to work.
• Disability-awareness training for your manager and co-workers.
• Mediation.
• Counselling.
• Reduced hours.
• Amending policies and procedures.

Another very good reason to discuss your mental health with occupational health, is by reason that if your sickness absence is disability-related i.e., your sickness absence is because of your anxiety or depression, then your employer should amend the sickness absence trigger points, and furthermore, disregard some or all of your disability-related sickness absence as a ‘reasonable adjustment’. A failure by your employer to disregard some or all of your sickness absence (if you are signed off from work with anxiety or depression) could amount to discrimination on protected grounds of disability. Please visit our web page on attending sickness absence meetings.

How many sick days before disciplinary UK?

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If you are worried about being subjected to a disciplinary because of your sickness absence UK, you are best to reach out to us to assist you in making sure that your employer complies with UK law, especially if your sickness absence is because of a physical or mental health impairment such as anxiety, depression, CFS, ME, cancer, ADHD, PTSD etc.

For the avoidance of doubt, if your sickness absence is ‘disability related’ then your employer is statutory obliged to disregard some or all of your disability-related sickness absence as a reasonable adjustment. If your employer does not disregard some or all of your disability related sickness absence then reach out to us so we can write you a grievance letter for disability discrimination. You can contact us 7 days a week on 07775943414 (9-5) to arrange a telephone consultation, which initial telephone consultation is only £35 up to one hour.

We suggest you look at your employer’s sickness absence policy and procedures in addition to your employer capability policy and procedures.

As such, how many sick days before disciplinary UK depends on your own employer’s policies and procedures. Notwithstanding, how many sick days before disciplinary UK also depends on the size, scope, and resources of your employer. For example, the NHS don’t usually dismiss until the employee has been off sick 12 months. The same applies to larger employers especially in the public sector. However, how many sick days before disciplinary in the private sector is usually 6 months.

Please visit our attending sickness absence meetings webpage.

Can I be sacked for being off sick with depression?

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The answer is yes, but very unlikely. If you are concerned about being sacked for being off with depression we suggest you reach out to us. You can contact us 7 days a week on 07775943414 (9-5) to arrange a telephone consultation, which initial telephone consultation is only £35 up to one hour.

The reason why we say that it is unlikely that you will be sacked for being off with depression in the UK, is because depression is a recognised ‘disability’ under the auspices of The Equality Act 2010. Therefore, if your employer is looking to sack you for being off work with depression or some other medical condition, we strongly recommend you reach out to us.

UK law regarding being sacked for being off sick with depression or some other mental or physical impairment is fairly robust in the employee’s favour. In any event, the employer will want to seek occupational health advice to establish a return to work date before sacking you. Thus, if there is no reasonable prospect of you returning to work within a ‘reasonable timeframe’ say the next three months, the employer will likely commence its sickness absence procedures with a view to dismissing you on grounds of ‘capability’ in accordance with s.98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Please visit our attending sickness absence meetings webpage.

Can I refuse an occupational health assessment?

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Can I refuse an occupational health assessment – yes you can. Under the auspices of The Access to Medical Reports Act you can refuse to be assessed by your employers occupational health department.

However, be aware that your contract of employment might stipulate you being assessed by occupational health, and if the contract of employment does say that you are contractually obliged to being assessed by occupational health, then you will need to do so.

The dilemma is whether to consult your employer’s occupational health department or not.

Our view, is that it always best to be ‘seen’ to be acting reasonably. However, that is not to say that you have to actually ‘act reasonably’.

Case in Point:

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In 2013, Amy & I helped a client who was being forced to attend her employer’s occupational health department. Her contract of employment stipulated as such. The HR Department made that perfectly clear to our client. Our client would have been in breach of her contract of employment if she did not allow her employer to assess her via occupational health.

However, our client had a fit note from her GP which stated that she was unfit to attend face to face disciplinary hearing or grievance hearings.

The employer however, wanted its occupational health department to state that our client was fit to attend face to face grievance hearings and disciplinary hearings. The employer wanted to subject our client to a disciplinary to rush the disciplinary hearing through before investigating our client’s letter of grievance.

The employer insisted that our client was contractually obliged (as part of the employee’s terms and conditions of contract of employment) to consult the employer’s OH Department. As stated above, the employer wrote that a failure to be assessed by occupational health would amount to a breach of contract.

Consequentially, Amy & I suggested that our client attend the arranged occupational health assessment. We wanted our client to be seen to be acting reasonably. However, whilst there was a contractual duty for our client to be assessed by the employer’s OH Department, pursuant to s.4 and s.5(1) of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, our client was within her legal rights to refuse the Occupational Health Report being physically released to her employer:

“Where an individual has been given access to a report under section 4 above the report shall not be supplied in response to the application in question unless the individual has notified the medical practitioner that he consents to its being so supplied.”

Thus, we had met the contractual terms of the employee’s contract of employment. Our client had undergone an assessment as per her contract of employment. However, we had refused the employer receiving the actual Occupational Health Report by reason that this was our client’s legal right pursuant to both s.4 and s.5 of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988.

As such, we had outwitted the employer!

Notwithstanding, the fact remained that the employer was already in receipt of a letter from our client’s GP to state she was unfit to attend face to face meetings to attend the Disciplinary Hearing. As such, the employer was already in receipt of ‘medical evidence’ and should not have gone behind the medical evidence, which is was already in receipt of i.e. the sick note / fit note.

Therefore, we drew our client’s employer’s attention to paragraph 16 of Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board -v- Taylor [1975] ICR 185]:

“The Court of Appeal made observations on the significance of a medical certificate, but in the absence of any contradictory medical evidence, the thrust of the decision is that in that case a tribunal should not go behind what appears on the face of the medical certificate. It was not open, once that medical certificate had come in, for the Respondent to maintain any doubt as to the reason for absence in the absence of any contradictory medical evidence.”

Referral to Occupational Health:

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In another case, Amy & I had a client who had attended her employer’s Occupational Health Department 5 times in a space of two years. In each case, the OH Doctor was bias in the employer’s favour, basically writing what the employer wanted.

We considered this to be a ‘bought medical opinion’.

As such, on the 6^th visit to the same OH Doctor, we had our client attend with her mother. We also instructed our client to inform the OH Doctor that the mother was there to take notes. In addition, we suggested our client inform the occupational health doctor that she was recording the conversation on her i-phone, and that if the occupational health report did not reflect the audio recording, then our client would report the occupational health doctor to either the General Medical Council or his equivalent governing body.

I can state as a matter of fact, it was the first ‘honest’ occupational health report, which our client had ever received. There was no way the occupational health doctor was going to risk an investigation by the General Medical Council for the sake of a couple hundred quid.

Amy & I have used this same tactic previously. On another occasion our client had a hostile OH Doctor who was ‘indifferent’ to our client.

We wrote our client a letter to give to the occupational health doctor upon attending the occupational health consultation. The letter basically stated that if the occupational health doctor produced an occupational health report, which put our client at a disadvantage or substantial disadvantage because of her disabilities, that our client would adjoin the occupational health doctor as an additional named respondent in any civil proceedings, which she brought against her employer for disability discrimination. On this occasion, the occupational health doctor refused to undertake the occupational health assessment. The doctor did not wish to become embroiled in a potential legal dispute between the employee, and her employer.

The moral to the story is that on occasions, the occupational health report can be a ‘professional medical opinion’ which is ‘purchased’ by the employer, and moreover, in the employer’s favour. Remember, as held in the authority of Kapfunde v Abbey National and Daniel[1998] IRLR 583 (CA), the occupational health doctor or nurses ‘duty of care’ is not to you, but the employer.

Equally, however, Amy & I have seen many occupational health reports which are scathing about the employer, and which point out the employers’ duty of care to the employee under the HSAWA 1974. There is no saying whether the occupational health report will be for, or against you.

Can occupational health overrule GP sick note?

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Not really, no. Your own doctor’s ‘duty of care’ is to you whereas the occupational health doctors ‘duty of care’ is to the employer.

For example, your GP has your entire medical records and medical history to hand, whereas the occupational health department doesn’t. Therefore, your own GP is better placed to know what is best for you.

If your employer is seeking to overrule the advice of your GP, get in contact with Amy & myself so we can draft you a letter of grievance.

Do employers have to follow occupational health recommendations?

No. However, if the employer does not follow occupational health recommendations outlined within the occupational health report, the employer is putting itself at risk of litigation by being sued by you.

It is important to note, that in accordance with section 110 of The Equality Act 2010, individuals are ‘personally liable’ for their own acts and omissions. This means that managers and HR personnel who omit to observe the recommendations within the occupational health report can be sued in addition to your employer, in the event the omission to follow the recommendations within the occupational health report leads to discrimination or personal injury.

What not to say to occupational health UK:

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As above, if being assessed by occupational health either in person, via video link, or telephone we would suggest the following steps:

• Ask to see the specific questions, which you employer wants to ask occupational health in advance of the occupational health assessment. Your employer will have to make a referral to occupational health in order for you to be assessed by occupational health. You have every right to see that referral in advance of the occupational health assessment. If the employer objects to you seeing the occupational health referral or is not amenable to providing you with the specific questions, which the employer wants occupational health to answer, contact Amy or myself at myrightsuk@protonmail.com
• When attending the occupational health assessment, inform the person assessing you that you are audio recording the OH assessment on your iPhone. If occupational health object, ask them why they are objecting given the fact it is ‘your medical information’, which is being discussed.
• If they still object, and you have a medical condition such as anxiety, depression, cancer, asthma or PTSD, ask the person assessing you, why they are failing to make a reasonable adjustment for your disability.
• Point out to the occupational health nurse or doctor that you have medical conditions, which have a substantial adverse effect on your cognitive function and thought processes, and therefore if they object to the recording then you will perceive that as a relevant failure of a statutory duty to make a reasonable adjustment as a ‘service provider’ under the auspices of The Equality Act 2010, which OH are. Put shortly, occupational health provide services to your employer and are statutory obliged to make reasonable adjustments as a ‘employment service provider‘.
• Remember, the occupational health doctor or nurses ‘duty of care’ is not to you, but the employer!
• If you are suffering from anxiety or depression, then I would NOT make eye contact and keep your answers monosyllabic. Less is more. The less you say during the occupational health assessment the better.
• Don’t seem to bright and bubbly, especially if signed off with work-related stress, anxiety or depression. You don’t want to come across as being too coherent during the occupational health assessment if you are suffering from anxiety, depression, cancer, PTSD etc,.
• If you are a woman, we would recommend not wearing makeup.
• The last occupational health assessment I underwent in 2009, I grabbed a shirt out of the laundry bag and wore it to the OH assessment. The fact is, I looked like crap. I didn’t shave either. I gave the impression to occupational health that I couldn’t be bothered to shower, shave or iron my shirt or trousers. In the occupational health report, it was noted by the occupational health doctor that my anxiety was having a substantial adverse effect on my day-to-day actives, not least because the doctor outlined within the occupational health report that I had not shaved or ironed my clothes and looked ‘dishevelled’. Remember, first impressions are made within the first 5 seconds of meeting someone. If you look run down, then that will likely be noted by occupational health in the occupational health report.
• If you don’t agree with the occupational health report, you can ask occupational health to amend the occupational health report.

Example – Disagreement with occupational health report:

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Dear Sirs,

I am in receipt of the OH Report dated 10.1.26. I wish to outline the fact that that during the OH assessment I informed you of the substantial adverse effects, which the cumulative effects, which my anxiety and depression are having on my day-to-day activities. Therefore, I am at a loss to understand how you say in the OH Report that I am fit to attend a disciplinary hearing on 15.1.26?

I am profoundly concerned that you have misrepresented the facts within the OH Report. The audio recording, which I made during the occupational health assessment demonstrates that I did not feel able to attend the disciplinary hearing on 15.1.26, by reason that I would be placed at a disadvantage because of something arising in consequence of my anxiety and depression, which anxiety and depression cause loss of concentration, reduced cognitive function, and impaired memory function.

To this end, I am asking you to amend the OH Report to reflect these facts. I am profoundly concerned that the OH Report, which you have produced, will lead to my being further discriminated against by my employer, based on your assessments within the occupational health report.

Please confirm receipt of this letter.

Yours faithfully,