Thinking of using the service?

Will this service help reduce sickness absence?

Employee Counselling Service can fit in well with a sickness absence strategy.  Hopefully employees will use the service before they become ill and go on sick leave.  We have many hundreds of employees who attend because they are experiencing anxiety and depression, but are maintained at work while they deal with the underlying problems.  Often no one in the workplace even knows they have had a problem.  Ensuring a high awareness of the service can help prevent sickness absence.

If someone is on sick leave it can be helpful to remind them about the service.  If their sick line makes reference to anxiety, depression, stress, bereavement or other emotional/mental health problems then they could be encouraged to think about counselling.  They may even be on a waiting list for support through their own GP when they could get an earlier appointment at Employee Counselling Service.  Counselling can be over the telephone if they would have difficulty attending a face to face appointment.

When an employee has been away from the workplace for sometime, perhaps due to serious physical illness or accident, they may find it helpful to have a session with a counsellor to help prepare for returning to work. This can avoid situations where people come back and go off again, because they were poorly prepared for returning to a situation where they feel they have become a stranger.