How can you progress a challenging situation when an employee refuses consent for a medical report?

Employers may need to request medical reports for an employee for plenty of reasons:

• When considering making reasonable adjustments
• When an employee has been long term absent
• When there has been repeated absence
• Or when there may be a concern about whether an employee is medically fit for the tasks involved in their job

The Access to Medical Reports Act of 1988 requires that an employer obtains explicit written consent from the employee to make the request and then provides for the employee to review the report before it is given to the employer.

But what if they refuse? Here’s how to progress a challenging situation.

Explain What is Being Asked for and Why

It may be that the employee has some genuine concerns about what information will be in the report, for example whether it will contain their entire medical history or reference to an unrelated medical condition.

Taking the time to reassure the employee of what is going to be asked and why can often help. Many employers will show the employee the list of questions or information that will be asked of the medical practitioner as good practice regardless of whether an employee has refused a request.

Be sure to remind the employee that they will have the right to review the report before you receive it.

Explain What Will Happen if the Employee Refuses Consent for a Medical Report

If the employee still refuses to provide consent, then as an employer you can only base your decisions upon the information you have available. Make sure that the employee is made aware of this, preferably in writing and give them an opportunity to reconsider.

If consent still isn’t forthcoming, confirm to the employee that you will review all the information available and come to a decision based upon that which you will then discuss with them.

Inform the Employee of your Decision

When you have reached a decision, you will need to communicate this to the employee in writing. If the decision is going to lead to a disciplinary or capability process, then you will need to follow your procedure for this.

Is Occupational Health the Only Option?

Where we have referenced ‘medical reports’ above, we have assumed this will be an occupational health (OH) report. This should be the first port of call in terms of obtaining a medical report, but if you are having difficulty getting consent, you can also obtain a report from the employee’s GP or another medical professional.

Some may feel this is a less intrusive option, particularly if their reluctance to provide consent stems from not wanting to visit OH for a consultation. Their GP may be able to provide a report based on information they have from the employee’s records. This will likely provide less detailed information, but it is something worth considering if we have an outright refusal to visit occupational health.