Complex workplace assessments
Complex workplace assessments for employers
Some cases have been going on too long, have already been through one failed return, or carry risk nobody wants to get wrong. These are the ones we assign to our most experienced clinicians.
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What makes a case complex?
Rarely one thing. It is usually several at once: a long absence, a return that has already failed, more than one health condition, a role where the consequences of getting it wrong are serious, and a manager who has run out of adjustments to try.
You do not have to make that judgement. Every case is graded when you submit it, on the length of absence, any risk identified, whether a previous return held, the demands of the role and what support is already in place. If it grades as complex you will see that, and the price, before you pay.
When a case has stopped being straightforward
A standard assessment answers a clear question about someone who is otherwise doing reasonably well. A complex case is different: the question itself is unclear, the history is long, and there is usually more than one thing going on.
These take longer, need a clinician who has handled them before, and produce a different kind of report: less a set of adjustments, more a staged plan with decision points and a view on what happens if it does not work.
This often looks like:
- The absence has run for six months or more
- A previous return was tried and did not hold
- There is more than one health condition in play
- Risk has been raised, to the employee or to others
- The role is safety-critical or carries high responsibility
- Adjustments have been tried and nobody knows what is left
How Return Well helps
Independent clinical guidance you can act on
Assigned, never broadcast
Complex cases are never put on the open list. Return Well selects the clinician for each one.
A longer assessment
A 75–90 minutes consultation, because there is more history to work through.
A staged plan
Sequenced steps with decision points, not a list of adjustments to try at once.
A defensible basis
An independent clinical view you can rely on when the decision is a difficult one.
What complex actually looks like
These are the situations employers bring us at this level. Most cases involve two or three of them together.
- Long-term absence with no clear end. Six months or more, a return date that keeps moving, and a manager who has stopped knowing what to ask.
- A return that already failed. Sometimes twice. The employee came back, lasted a few weeks and went off again, and nobody established why.
- Several conditions at once. A physical condition and a mental health difficulty interacting, where treating either in isolation misses the point.
- Risk has been raised. The employee has disclosed something concerning, or there are worries about safety at work. These are handled carefully and are never left sitting in a queue.
- A safety-critical or high-responsibility role. Where being wrong about what someone can manage affects other people, not just them.
- A formal process is already running. Capability, long-term absence or redeployment, where you need an independent clinical view before making a decision you may have to justify.
Who carries out a complex assessment
Complex cases are only offered to clinicians we have assessed at that level, and they are never released to the open case list: Return Well selects the clinician for each one, on the nature of the case and that clinician's background.
Depending on what the case needs, a complex assessment may be carried out by an occupational therapist, an occupational health nurse, a mental health nurse or a psychologist, among them clinicians with more than twenty years of practice. Which discipline fits is our judgement to make rather than yours.
- Registration checked on the public register before a first case
- Professional indemnity insurance checked
- Assessed at complex level before being offered a case of this kind
- Every report checked by Return Well before it is released
What you actually receive
A longer report than a standard assessment, because there is more to account for.
- A clear position on what the employee can manage now, and what they cannot
- An account of why previous attempts did not hold, where that applies
- A staged plan with decision points, rather than everything at once
- Adjustments matched to the role, with timescales and what each one is for
- Guidance for the line manager, including what to do if the plan stalls
- A review point, and a view on what should happen if the position has not improved by then
The report is about work. Personal clinical detail shared in confidence stays out of it, and your employee reads it and agrees it before you do.
If risk is identified
Return Well is not an emergency or a crisis service. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999. Where a clinician identifies serious or immediate risk during an assessment, they act on their own professional and safeguarding duties straight away rather than waiting for us, and we are told as soon as practicable.
What it costs
A Complex Workplace Assessment is £695. No VAT is charged, so that is the total price, and there is no contract or retainer.
- If the employee is still at work but struggling, the £425 workplace wellbeing assessment is usually the right one.
- If they are returning after a straightforward absence, that is the £495 return-to-work assessment.
We grade the case when you submit it, so nobody is guessing which one applies, and you see the price before you pay.
Example
Eighteen months, two failed returns, and a capability meeting booked
An employee had been absent twice with a combination of back pain and anxiety, returning briefly each time before going off again. HR had a capability meeting in the diary and no clinical basis for it. The assessment set out which duties were realistic now, why the previous phased returns had collapsed in week three, a staged plan over eight weeks, and what to do if it stalled again. The employer went into that meeting with something independent to work from.
Illustrative example: every assessment is tailored to the individual case.
FAQ
Common questions
How do we know whether our case is complex?
You do not have to decide. The case is graded when you submit it, on the length of absence, any risk identified, whether a previous return held, the demands of the role and the support already in place. You see the tier and the price before you pay.
Why does it cost more than a standard assessment?
The consultation is longer at 75–90 minutes, there is more history and documentation to work through, and the report is longer because it has to account for what has already been tried. The clinician is also paid more for it.
Who will carry out the assessment?
A clinician we have assessed at complex level and selected for your case. Complex cases are never released to the open case list. The discipline depends on the case, and may be an occupational therapist, an occupational health nurse, a mental health nurse or a psychologist.
Can you assess someone who has been off for over a year?
Yes. Long absences are one of the main reasons a case grades as complex, and they are among the most useful to assess, because the longer a case runs the less clear it becomes what would actually help.
We have a capability process running. Can you still assess?
Yes, and employers often ask at exactly that point. The report gives you an independent clinical view of what the employee can manage. It does not determine the outcome of your process, and it does not decide questions of capability, conduct or fairness. Those remain yours.
What if the employee is too unwell to take part?
The clinician will say so, set out what would need to change and when it would be worth reviewing. That is a legitimate outcome and often a useful one.
How quickly can it happen?
The assessment usually within 5 working days of submission, and the report is usually within 5 working days of the assessment, once we have checked it and your employee has reviewed it. Complex cases depend more on the employee's availability, so we will tell you if a date is likely to take longer.
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Related: Pricing · How it works · Return to work assessments · Sickness absence support