Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Fit for WorkLong CovidOH service deliveryReturn to work and rehabilitationSickness absence management

New guidance on managing pandemic’s ‘sting in the tail’ of long Covid

by Nic Paton 19 Aug 2022
by Nic Paton 19 Aug 2022 Fatigue can persist for months for people with long Covid
Shutterstock
Fatigue can persist for months for people with long Covid
Shutterstock

Long Covid is the ‘sting in the tail’ of the pandemic and is increasingly being recognised as a ‘massive’ public health problem, SOM, the Society of Occupational Medicine, has argued.

In new guidance on the often-debilitating long-term post-Covid symptoms being experienced by as many as two million people, SOM has urged employers to take a more strategic, planned approach to managing long Covid in their workforce.

“There needs to be early, appropriate intervention, using occupational health input – rather than leave it to individual line managers to decide how to best manage each case,” the position paper, Long Covid and Return to Work – what works?, has argued.

The guidance distils our latest knowledge about the condition, or series of conditions. It looks at at-risk groups, its impact on ability to work, assessment of function, and what is required in terms of support and rehabilitation.

There are then a series of best practice case studies, including the UK Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre’s Covid-19 recovery service, work being done by the Northern Ireland Department of Health, a staff long Covid service being run by Swansea Bay University Health Board, and a long Covid programme being operated by the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia. The guidance also looks at NHS England’s network of some 90 long Covid assessment clinics.

Long Covid

Long Covid develops in one in eight of those infected

More than 100,000 employees absent with long Covid

Employers urged to offer fast-track long Covid support

There are a series of appendices covering universal first-line screening assessment, ‘red flags’ and specialist referral, treatment that can help function and recovery, rehabilitation, specific fitness for work considerations, examples of workplace adjustments, prevention of infection, and workplace public health messages.

In all, the guidance is calling for equity of access to return-to-work services for people with long Covid, better education of doctors and health professionals in long Covid, and better systems for timely referral to specialists (especially cardiac, respiratory, neurological).

Crucially, the guidance emphasises the importance of employers have access to occupational health expertise to advise on managing long Covid. There is also a need for organisations to review their absence management and flexible working practices, and for line managers to receive training and guidance in sickness absence management and how best to support employees with long-term fluctuating health conditions such as long Covid.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Dr Clare Rayner, retired consultant occupational physician and long Covid expert, said of the guidance: “Occupational health professionals can support people with long Covid with their return to work and advise on improving their daily functioning.

“Early intervention can make a significant difference to the severity and length of long Covid. A one-off scan or specialist consultation in the early phase to pinpoint the key issues can mean recovery within weeks rather than months,” she added.

Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consultant editor at Personnel Today. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for Personnel Today and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
Migrant workers to be asked to fill care home and NHS gaps
next post
CV fraudster stripped of earnings after lying about qualifications

You may also like

Working days lost to asthma up 150% since...

4 Apr 2025

Five years on: how has work changed since...

12 Mar 2025

Long Covid costing UK plc billions in lost...

10 Dec 2024

Long Covid: How, slowly, I found solutions that...

2 Dec 2024

Pain the most common symptom of long Covid...

20 Sep 2024

Long Covid cognitive and psychiatric problems can last...

31 Jul 2024

Study makes case for sick pay rethink to...

11 Jul 2024

People with long Covid being failed by return-to-work...

15 Apr 2024

Long Covid leaves ‘tell-tale’ traces of inflammation in...

12 Apr 2024

Covid vaccinations do protect against heart failure and...

15 Mar 2024

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today