Employees who are off sick for more than four weeks are to benefit from a new Government scheme to get them back into work more quickly.

The Health and Work Service, will offer non-compulsory medical assessments and treatment plans to “support” people rather than forcing them back to work.

The scheme will allow employers or GPs to refer workers to the service for an occupational health assessment to identify the issues preventing them from returning to work.

The Trades Union Congress said that it was in support of the scheme in general, but warned that the focus of the service should be about getting employees better as opposed to “just back to work” and added that “the two are not necessarily the same”.