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The recent government move for staff to have fit notes will not work nor give increased flexibility for employers, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) says.

Hugh Robertson, head of health and safety for the TUC, says the new initiative from the government to replace sick notes with 'well notes' should work, but will not.

The scheme will see GPs produce electronic fit notes which state what work their patients can do and what tasks they are not able to achieve.

'We are not against anything that is going to encourage people to get back to work as soon as they feel comfortable and able. But we are not actually sure whether this is going to make that happen,' he says.

Robertson states good employers will already have sickness absence policies in place, which negates the need for this scheme.

He adds that bad employers will not have such schemes in place, but will also not use this new plan effectively, meaning no benefits will be seen.

Robertson says GPs are not sufficiently trained in occupational medicine to know what people do for a living and what duties they can carry out, adding the proposal is 'absolute nonsense'.

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