Small businesses want GPs to help end 'sick note culture' in the UK

The UK Business Barometer survey reveals that GPs should help to put an end to the 'sick note culture' that is rife in the UK according to small business owners.

The survey, which is run by The University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation, found there was strong support for a change to the way employees are signed off sick by doctors.

Almost two-thirds of respondents to the latest survey felt it would be better if GPs issued ‘fit notes’, spelling out what a person can do, rather than sick notes signing them off work completely. ‘Fit notes’ would give details of the type of tasks that a person was still capable of, despite their illness.

The latest edition of the survey follows hot on the heels of the the publication of ‘Working for a Healthier Tomorrow’ - the first government review into the health of the working age population. The report put the total cost of ill health to the British economy at £103bn - a higher amount than the annual NHS budget.

In an associated survey, run simultaneously, smaller business owners were also asked about employment rights for agency workers, in the light of government moves to give them the same rights as full-time employees. The Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill 2007-08 passed its second reading in February 2008 and has strong support from backbenchers.

But among employers, there is significant resistance — with 65 per cent of respondents saying they would be ‘less’ or ‘much less’ inclined to employ agency workers if they are given identical rights to those of full-time employees. Only two per cent said they would be ‘more’ or ‘much more’ inclined to employ them on this basis.

‘Keeping it in the family’ makes companies better able to bounce back from adversity, the latest surveys found. Of the business advisers responding to the UKBAB survey, 55 per cent thought that family-run businesses were ‘more’ or ‘much more’ resilient than comparably-sized non-family businesses. Only 15 per cent took the opposite view.

Around two-thirds of smaller businesses and just over half of medium-sized businesses are family-owned. According to the government’s business advisory service, the benefits of family-run businesses include common values, strong commitment, loyalty, stability and decreased costs.