Medwyn Insights
Guidance and briefings on workplace health, compliance and wellbeing, for HR and business leaders.
Editor's pickMeasles is back: what losing elimination status means for healthcare employers
In January 2026 the UK lost its WHO measles elimination status. For anyone employing patient-facing staff, proven MMR immunity has moved from good practice to a compliance priority – here is what changed, and what to check first.
Read the article →Keeping people in work: what the Keep Britain Working review means for employers
5 min readRIDDOR reform: what the proposed changes mean for employers
6 min readSickness absence is at a decade high: how employers can respond
6 min readManagement referrals that get you a useful answer
6 min readDay-one sick pay: what the Employment Rights Act 2025 means for absence
6 min read
Compliance & lawOccupational health vaccinations for healthcare workers: a guide for employers
A guide for HR and practice managers to the vaccinations and checks GP, dental, hospital and laboratory staff need, who pays and when exposure-prone procedure clearance applies.
Policy & HRHome and hybrid working: an employer's guide to health, law and wellbeing
More than six years after the first lockdown, home and hybrid working are a settled part of working life, and the law around them is changing again. This guide sets out the occupational health considerations, the legal position and how to support the wellbeing of people who work from home.
Compliance & lawWorkplace adjustments under the Equality Act: a step-by-step guide for employers
The duty to make reasonable adjustments is simple to state and easy to get wrong in practice. A six-step process for recognising the trigger, deciding what is reasonable, acting in time and keeping the adjustment under review.
Absence managementPhased return to work: a manager's guide
A phased return is one of the most common recommendations in an occupational health report, and one of the most often done badly. What a phased return to work is, how to structure one, what to pay, and how to keep it on track.
Absence managementFit notes and occupational health reports: what each one does
A fit note tells you an employee is not fit for work, or might be. It does not tell you what to do next. What a fit note can and cannot do, whether someone can come back before it ends, and where an occupational health report fits.
Compliance & lawPre-employment health questionnaires and the Equality Act: getting the process right
Section 60 fixes when you can ask. Data protection law fixes who sees the answers. What a pre-employment health questionnaire should contain, who should read it, and what to do when a new starter discloses a condition.
Policy & HRWhat not to say to occupational health (and what to say instead)
People search this phrase because they are worried. There is no script to follow and nothing to hide, but there are things that make an assessment less useful for you. An occupational health advisor explains what they are.
Compliance & lawRIDDOR reform: what the proposed changes mean for employers
The HSE has proposed the biggest changes to RIDDOR in over a decade – expanding the list of reportable occupational diseases from six to nineteen, and widening who can diagnose them. Here's what's proposed, and how to prepare.
Policy & HRKeeping people in work: what the Keep Britain Working review means for employers
The Keep Britain Working review is shifting the national approach from signing people off to keeping them in work. Here's what it means for employers, and how to get ahead of it.
Policy & HRManagement referrals that get you a useful answer
A vague referral gets a vague report. How to frame your questions – and handle consent – so the advice comes back useful.
Absence managementLong-term sickness absence: a framework for HR
A practical, humane framework for managing a long absence – from staying in contact to planning a return that sticks.
Compliance & lawPre-employment health checks: what you can and can't ask
Section 60 limits what you can ask before a job offer. Where the line sits, the exceptions, and how to run checks properly.
Policy & HRWorkplace health policies: do yours stand up to scrutiny?
Policies are only useful if they are current, clear and actually followed. A practical look at the health-related policies every employer should have, and keep up to date.
Compliance & lawHepatitis B and the healthcare worker: getting clearance right
Hepatitis B clearance for healthcare workers causes more confusion than almost any other piece of occupational health. Here's what the numbers mean, who needs what, and where the real decisions sit.
Health surveillanceSleep, fatigue and shift work: a guide for employers
Fatigue is a health and safety risk, not just a personal matter. What shift work does to the body, the employer's duties, and how to manage the risk.
Policy & HRLone workers: a guide for employers
Lone working is more common than most employers realise. Who counts as a lone worker, your duties, fitness to work alone, and the wellbeing risks that are easy to miss.
Compliance & lawDay-one sick pay: what the Employment Rights Act 2025 means for absence
From 6 April 2026, statutory sick pay is payable from the first day of absence. What is changing, why it matters, and what employers should do now.
Policy & HRWhat happens at an occupational health assessment?
Being referred to occupational health can feel unsettling. Here is what an assessment involves, what you will be asked, who sees the report, how long it takes and whether you can say no.
Mental health & wellbeingNeurodiversity at work: an employer's guide
Around one in six or seven adults is neurodivergent. What that means for employers, the legal duties involved, and the adjustments that help people do their best work.
Policy & HROccupational health in 2026: what employers need to know
A look at the year ahead for workplace health: the legal changes coming, the pressures continuing, and where employers should focus.
Mental health & wellbeingSupporting employees through grief and bereavement
Grief reaches every workplace eventually. What the law provides, what good support looks like, and how to help someone return to work.
Compliance & lawReasonable adjustments: what counts as "reasonable"?
The duty to make reasonable adjustments is one of the most misunderstood in employment law. What it means, what "reasonable" involves, and how to get it right.
Compliance & lawCan an employee refuse a drug or alcohol test at work?
One of the most common questions employers ask about workplace testing. The short answer is nuanced, and getting it right depends on your policy and contracts.
Medicals & fitnessSupporting employees through menopause at work
Most women will go through menopause during their working lives, and for many it affects their work. What the evidence shows, and how employers can help.
Health surveillanceHand-arm vibration (HAVS): a guide for employers
One of the most common and most preventable causes of occupational ill health. What HAVS is, who is at risk, your legal duties, and how surveillance catches it early.
Health surveillanceDSE and homeworking: getting workstation assessments right
Display screen equipment rules did not go away when staff went home. What employers must do about workstation assessments for office and home-based workers.
Medicals & fitnessSupporting men's health at work
Men are less likely to seek help and more likely to delay it. What that means for employers, and the practical steps that make a difference.
Absence managementManaging musculoskeletal disorders at work
Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the largest causes of work absence. What they are, why they happen at work, and how employers can prevent and manage them.
Mental health & wellbeingHow to carry out a workplace stress risk assessment
Work-related stress is the leading cause of work-related ill health. A stress risk assessment is how employers identify and reduce it, and it is a legal duty, not only good practice.
Absence managementA manager's guide to occupational health referrals
If you have been asked to refer someone to occupational health without much explanation, here is what a referral is for, how to make a good one, and what to do with the report.
Absence managementSickness absence is at a decade high: how employers can respond
UK sickness absence has reached its highest level in over a decade. What the figures mean for employers, and the measures that bring it down.
Interactive tools and guides
Each interactive tool and guide on our service pages is listed here.
Written and reviewed by our clinical team
Every Insights article is grounded in first-hand occupational health practice – written by the team who deliver our services and clinically reviewed by our physicians and occupational health advisors.
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A short, practical email when we publish – workplace health, compliance and wellbeing, written for HR and business leaders.