Services

Management Referral

ServiceLine Occupational Health provides independent, impartial occupational health advice to help employers understand how an employee’s health may be affecting their work and how work may be affecting their health.

Management referrals can support employees who are absent from work, experiencing recurrent sickness absence, struggling with a health condition at work, or where there are concerns about their fitness to undertake their role. Following a clinical assessment, employers receive a clear, practical occupational health report focused on the questions raised within the referral.

Advice may include recommendations around fitness for work, return-to-work planning, workplace adjustments, likely timescales, rehabilitation and longer-term management options. Where appropriate, the report can also provide advice relevant to the Equality Act 2010, while recognising that the ultimate determination of whether the Act applies is a legal rather than clinical decision.

Appointments can be conducted by telephone, video consultation or face-to-face, depending on the circumstances and clinical need. ServiceLine uses Apollo OH software to provide a straightforward and secure process for referrals, case management and access to occupational health reports.

The aim is simple: to provide balanced clinical advice that gives managers and HR the information they need to make informed, fair and practical decisions.

Pre-Employment Screening & Medicals

ServiceLine Occupational Health provides pre-employment health screening and medical assessments to help employers determine an individual’s fitness for their proposed role and identify any health considerations or workplace adjustments that may need to be considered.

Pre-employment screening is normally undertaken following a conditional offer of employment and can also support existing employees who are moving into a new role or taking on different duties. Screening considers the health requirements of the role alongside the individual’s health and helps employers make informed decisions while meeting their health and safety and equality responsibilities.

Depending on the role and level of risk, assessment may range from a health questionnaire and clinical review through to a more comprehensive medical. Where appropriate, this may include:

Height, weight and BMI
Blood pressure and pulse
Near and distance vision screening
Colour vision
Audiometry
Spirometry
Urinalysis
Drug testing (safety critical roles)
Musculoskeletal assessment
Review of relevant medical and occupational history

ServiceLine can provide role and industry-specific medical assessments, including safety-critical medicals, with the assessment tailored to the duties, hazards and fitness requirements of the role. Baseline health surveillance can also be incorporated where employees will be exposed to relevant workplace hazards.

Following assessment, employers receive clear advice regarding fitness for the proposed role and any recommendations or adjustments that should be considered. Where the applicable medical standard requires assessment or certification by an Occupational Health Physician or another specifically qualified medical practitioner, this can be identified as part of the process.

The aim is simple: to help employers place people into roles safely and appropriately, while identifying health needs and reasonable adjustments at the earliest opportunity.

Health Surveillance Programmes

ServiceLine Occupational Health provides health surveillance programmes designed around the workplace hazards identified through an employer’s risk assessment. Health surveillance helps employers monitor the health of employees who are exposed to specific workplace hazards and identify early signs of work-related ill health.

Where employees remain exposed to certain health risks despite appropriate control measures being in place, health surveillance may be required as part of an employer’s health and safety responsibilities. A well-designed programme provides ongoing monitoring and can help identify changes in an employee’s health at an early stage, allowing appropriate action to be taken.

ServiceLine can provide health surveillance including:

Audiometry for employees exposed to workplace noise
Spirometry/lung function testing for employees exposed to relevant respiratory hazards such as dusts, fumes or substances that may affect respiratory health
Skin surveillance where employees are exposed to substances or workplace activities that may contribute to occupational skin disease
Vision screening, where appropriate to the role or workplace requirements

Health surveillance programmes can include baseline assessments for new employees and periodic assessments for existing employees, helping employers monitor changes over time. Where an assessment identifies a potential concern, the employee can be referred for further clinical assessment or medical opinion where appropriate.

Following assessment, the employer receives appropriate fitness and health surveillance outcomes, while confidential clinical information remains within the employee’s occupational health record. Where required, recommendations can be provided regarding further assessment, workplace controls or restrictions on exposure.

ServiceLine can work with employers to establish a proportionate health surveillance programme based on their identified workplace risks, as well as providing ongoing surveillance for established programmes.

The aim is simple: to help employers identify work-related ill health at an early stage, protect their workforce and meet their occupational health and health surveillance responsibilities.

Workstation & DSE Assessments

ServiceLine Occupational Health provides workstation and Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessments to help employers create safe and comfortable working environments and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal discomfort and other problems associated with prolonged screen-based work.

Assessments can support employees working in the workplace, from home or in hybrid roles, particularly where an employee is experiencing back, neck, shoulder or upper-limb discomfort, or where a health condition means their workstation needs to be adapted.

A workstation assessment considers the employee, their work activities and their overall working environment. Depending on individual circumstances, this may include:

Desk and chair set-up
Computer screens and monitors
Keyboard and mouse positioning
Laptop use and associated equipment
Working posture and positioning
Lighting and the surrounding working environment
Working patterns and breaks
Existing health conditions or symptoms affecting workstation use
Potential ergonomic equipment or adjustments

Assessments can be undertaken remotely or face-to-face, depending on the employee's needs and working arrangements.

Following assessment, ServiceLine provides the employer with clear, practical recommendations regarding changes or adjustments that may help the employee work safely and comfortably. Where appropriate, this may include advice on workstation configuration, working practices or ergonomic equipment.

Workstation assessments can also complement a wider occupational health management referral where an employee has an underlying health condition or musculoskeletal problem requiring broader advice about their fitness for work or workplace adjustments.

The aim is simple: to identify practical changes that support employee health, comfort and productivity while helping employers manage DSE and workplace health risks effectively.

Drug & Alcohol Services

ServiceLine Occupational Health provides workplace drug and alcohol testing services to help employers manage safety, fitness for work and workplace risk where the use of drugs or alcohol may affect an employee’s ability to undertake their role safely.

Drug and alcohol testing can form part of an organisation’s wider health and safety, fitness for work or drug and alcohol policy, particularly within safety-critical environments or roles where impairment could present a risk to the individual, colleagues or others.

ServiceLine can support employers with a range of workplace testing requirements, including:

Pre-employment testing – where drug and alcohol screening forms part of the employer’s recruitment or fitness-for-role process.
Random testing – planned testing programmes used by organisations where this forms part of an established workplace drug and alcohol policy.
For-cause testing – where there are reasonable grounds for concern that an employee may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol at work.
Post-incident testing – where testing may be appropriate following a workplace accident, incident or near miss and is undertaken in accordance with the employer’s established procedures.
Safety-critical testing – supporting organisations where employees undertake roles in which impairment could have significant consequences for workplace safety.

Testing arrangements can be tailored to the employer’s requirements, workforce and level of occupational risk. ServiceLine can work with employers to establish an appropriate testing approach and ensure that the purpose of testing, the circumstances in which it is undertaken and the process for managing results are clearly understood.

Where testing identifies a result requiring further investigation, appropriate confirmatory testing and/or specialist laboratory analysis can be arranged where required. Employers should avoid making employment decisions solely on the basis of an initial screening result and should follow their established organisational procedures while any required confirmation is undertaken.

Drug and alcohol testing should form part of a clear organisational policy rather than being considered in isolation. ServiceLine can support employers in understanding how occupational health testing fits within their wider approach to health, safety, fitness for work and employee wellbeing.

Where there are concerns regarding an individual employee’s health, medication, substance use or fitness for work, testing may also be supported by an Occupational Health management referral. This allows the wider circumstances to be considered clinically and appropriate advice provided to the employer regarding fitness for work, workplace safety and any support or adjustments that may be appropriate.

Throughout the process, testing and associated occupational health information is handled professionally and confidentially, with employers receiving the information required to manage workplace risk while respecting the employee’s medical confidentiality.

The aim is simple: to help employers manage drug and alcohol-related workplace risk fairly, consistently and professionally, supporting safer workplaces while ensuring employees are treated with dignity and respect.