Return to work assessments
Return to work assessments for employers
An independent clinician's view of what your employee can manage, and a phased return plan they have seen and agreed. Fixed price per case, no contract.
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- Registered, verified clinicians
- Independent & impartial
- GDPR-compliant
- UK-wide
- Employee consent-based
What is a return to work assessment?
It is an independent clinical assessment of how someone's health affects their ability to do their job, carried out before they come back from sickness absence, or soon after. It answers three questions: can they return, what can they manage now, and what needs to change so that the return holds.
It is not a medical examination, and it does not replace their GP or their treatment. Its job is to turn health information into decisions you can actually make about work.
Bringing someone back after absence is rarely straightforward
After a long absence, a sudden return to full duties often fails. Managers are left guessing what the employee can safely do, which adjustments are reasonable, and how to phase the return without triggering another absence.
An independent assessment removes the guesswork. You get a clear position on fitness for work, and a step-by-step plan you can put in place and stand behind.
This often looks like:
- An employee has been off for several weeks or months
- You're unsure what they can safely do on return
- A previous return didn't go to plan
- You're weighing up what adjustments are reasonable
- The absence was health- or stress-related
- You want a defensible basis for your decisions
How Return Well helps
Independent clinical guidance you can act on
Fitness-for-work opinion
A clear clinical position: fit, not yet fit, or fit with adjustments.
Phased return plan
A structured, week-by-week schedule that reduces the risk of a failed return.
Workplace adjustments
Specific, role-tailored recommendations you can implement and defend.
Fast turnaround
A manager-ready report, usually within 5 working days of the assessment.
If the fit note says "may be fit for work"
A fit note can suggest a phased return, altered hours, amended duties or workplace adaptations. What it usually cannot say is what any of that means for this job, this month. A GP has a few minutes and no view of the role.
An assessment turns those tick boxes into specifics: which duties, which hours, for how long, and when to review.
What you actually receive
- A clear position on fitness for work: fit, fit with adjustments, or not yet fit
- What the employee can manage now, by duties and by hours
- A week-by-week phased return plan
- Adjustments matched to the role, with timescales
- Guidance for the line manager
- A review date
The report is about work. Personal clinical detail shared in confidence stays out of it.
Your employee sees the report before you do
Return Well checks every report, and then the employee reviews it and can ask for factual corrections before consenting to its release. A plan someone has agreed to is a plan far more likely to hold.
If an employee declines release, we tell you that the assessment took place and that release was declined. The fee still applies, because the assessment and report have been completed. That is section 7 of our terms.
What it costs
A Return-to-Work Assessment is £495. No VAT is charged, so that is the total price.
- If the employee is still at work but struggling, the £425 workplace wellbeing assessment is usually the right one.
- If the absence has been long or repeated, there are several conditions at once, or a previous return has already failed, the case is graded as complex at £695.
We grade the case when you submit it, so you see the price before you pay.
Example
An employee returning after three months off with stress
After a remote assessment, the clinician recommended a four-week phased return: reduced hours building back to full time, protected focus time, and a temporary cap on concurrent projects, with a review at week four. The manager had a plan to follow rather than a judgement call to make, and the return held.
Illustrative example: every assessment is tailored to the individual case.
FAQ
Common questions
How is this different from an occupational health referral?
The clinician is chosen for the case rather than assigned from a rota, the output is a functional plan rather than a medical opinion to interpret, and your employee has seen and agreed the report before it reaches you.
How quickly can you assess our employee?
Usually within 5 working days of submission, remotely. The report is usually within 5 working days of the assessment.
Can you assess someone who is still signed off?
Yes, and it is often the better moment. Planning the return before the fit note expires gives you time to put adjustments in place.
What if they are not fit to return yet?
The report says so, sets out what would need to change, and gives a review point. That is a useful answer too, and a defensible basis for what you do next.
Who carries out the assessment?
Independent clinicians registered with the relevant UK statutory regulator, such as the HCPC or NMC, or an accredited register such as the BABCP. The network includes occupational therapists, occupational health nurses, mental health nurses and CBT psychotherapists.
Does the employee have to agree to it?
Yes. The assessment needs their consent and cooperation, and they review the report before release. If they decline release, we tell you that the assessment took place and that release was declined, and the fee still applies.
How much is it?
£495 for a return-to-work assessment, with no VAT to add. Simpler cases are £425, and complex ones £695.
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Related: Pricing · How it works · Sickness absence support · Reasonable adjustments