What is an occupational health referral?
An occupational health referral, also called a management referral, is how you request an independent occupational health assessment when an employee's health may be affecting their work, or their work may be affecting their health – and is a critical step before any decision on absence, adjustments or capability.
Our clinicians focus on the relationship between health and work, and every report is written for managers and HR, so you get practical advice you can act on.
Meet the clinical team →When should you refer to occupational health?
A referral gives you independent, work-focused advice so you can make a fair decision and help people stay in or return to work. Common reasons to refer include:
Long-term sickness absence
Understanding the likely prognosis and planning a safe, sustainable return.
Frequent short-term absence
Identifying underlying health issues behind a pattern of absence.
Return after illness or injury
Confirming fitness and any phased return or adjustments after time off or surgery.
Stress or mental health
Assessing how work and health interact, and the support that will help.
Performance and health
Understanding how health is impacting performance, so you can manage the situation fairly.
A condition needing adjustments
Advice on reasonable adjustments and your duties under the Equality Act 2010.
Not sure whether a referral is the right step? Call us and we will advise. For more complex or sensitive cases, extended appointments with additional consultation time are available.
How an occupational health referral works
The framework our clinical team uses with HR teams and managers. Here is the overview – the full guide is free to download below.
Be clear on the reason
Pin down exactly why you are referring. Earlier is almost always better, especially for stress and mental-health absence.
Share the facts
Include absence records, fit notes and specific, objective examples. Factual statements produce focused reports.
Ask focused questions
Limit the referral to six clear questions. Well-framed questions produce clear and actionable reports.
Get the employee's consent
The employee must understand the referral and see the form before it is sent. How you frame it matters – we can help.
The consultation
Our clinician assesses medical history, job demands and workplace factors, by video, telephone, or in person.
The report
Plain-language advice, based on guidance and evidence. The employee can review it before it is issued.
Reports within 72 hours of the appointmentThe full referral guide
A full guide for HR teams and line managers, written by our clinical team. It covers six topics.
- The six steps, from the reason for referring to the report
- The questions to ask and the questions to avoid
- How to combine overlapping questions
- What to say to an employee when you refer
- What occupational health can and cannot answer
- A checklist to complete before you submit
What our occupational health reports cover
Written for managers and HR, not clinicians, with the advice you need to make a fair decision.
Fitness for work
Whether the employee is fit for their role, with or without adjustments.
Return to work
Likely timescales and any phased or adjusted return.
Reasonable adjustments
Practical adjustments to support the employee and reduce future absence.
Equality Act 2010
Whether the condition is likely to be covered, so you can act fairly.
The report gives you clinical advice. The decision on adjustments, duties or a capability process stays with you – the report informs your decision, it does not make it for you.
How to make an occupational health referral
Submit via the client portal
Existing clients submit referrals through our client portal – guided forms, stored referral history and real-time report tracking.
Log in to the client portalNot yet a client? Send an enquiry and we will set your organisation up to refer.
Management referral FAQs
Answers to the questions HR and managers ask most.
Yes. Explain the purpose and obtain consent before submitting, and let the employee see a copy of the referral form first. If an employee declines, seek advice from us or your HR team.
Once submitted, we aim to offer an appointment within 5 working days, with the written report available within 72 hours of the appointment.
From £255, including the consultation and the written report. Extended appointments for more complex cases are priced on request.
The referral is the employer's request; the occupational health assessment is the appointment that follows it. The two terms are often used for the same process.
A maximum of six focused questions. More than six is unlikely to be addressed fully in a single consultation, and well-framed, specific questions produce far more useful reports. For more complex cases, extended appointments with additional consultation time are available.
Not on the report alone. The report gives clinical advice on fitness for work, adjustments and outlook. The employer makes any decision, taking that advice into account.
Yes. In line with GMC guidance, the employee may see the report before it is issued and request factual corrections. If they disagree with a clinical opinion, the clinician is not obliged to change it but may note the disagreement.
No. Medical detail disclosed in the consultation is confidential and is not shared without consent. The report focuses on fitness for work, adjustments and recommendations, not diagnosis or treatment.
Related services
Management referrals often work alongside these:
Absence management
Supporting safe, sustainable returns to work and reducing the true cost of long-term absence.
Learn more →Pre-employment
Confirm fitness for the role and enable reasonable adjustments before day one.
Learn more →Drug & alcohol testing
Pre-employment, random and post-incident testing for regulated environments.
Learn more →This page is general information for employers and is not individual medical or legal advice.
Make a management referral
Send an enquiry and we'll guide you through it, or submit a referral via the client portal. We answer enquiries within 3 working hours and turn reports around within 72 hours.