Signing on for JSA while the MR takes place

I don’t know a lot about employment law so i thought i should float this and see if anyone has any ideas.

A relation of mine who has some dealings with the HR side of her company has suggested that it would be unlawful for an employer to allow a person to carry out their employment duties when that person has a med cert from their GP.

Most of our ESA appellants have got med certs to say that they should refrain from work but have to sign on for JSA while the MR takes place.

If it is in fact unlawful for an employer to permit an employee to carry on with his or her duties while the sick note is in force then surely the requirement to sign on for JSA is, by extension, also unlawful as the jobseeker cannot take up any work offered.

To be clear i am not talking about a ‘fit for some work’ sicknote but the ‘refrain from working’ option.

Even if it is not actually unlawful I wonder what the employers insurance position would be if the person had an accident while at work.

I don’t think it is unlawful (though In certain situations it might be) but any negligent conduct on either side might provoke a law suit.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2559.aspx?CategoryID=190&SubCategoryID=1903

You could have stopped at HR…..

A Medical Certificate is an expression of a doctor’s opinion.

It is not unknown for employers to disagree with that opinion, particularly in cases when their employee has had repeated short spells of sickness, or fails to return to work after a longer absence than would be expected for their illness.  In fact there is a procedure by which employers can approach Medical Services for advice as to their employee’s fitness for work.

on staying at work when ill/injured, it’s about the risk assessment, and whether the person can do the job without causing harm to themselves/others. some employers get it right, some get it wrong

on claiming jsa etc whilst being employed - that’s a whole other ballgame.