Job summary
To provide occupational therapy assessment and intervention for working-age adults whose health is affecting their ability to stay in or return to work, as part of the Enable service. The post is home-based, with consultations delivered by telephone and video.

• Carry out functional and work-focused assessments with patients from pilot GP practices who request a fit note.
• Issue and sign fit notes as the certifying healthcare professional.
• Complete workability assessments and plans with eligible patients, setting practical, occupation-focused goals to support a sustainable return to work.
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team with the Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Occupational Health Nurses and admin team.
• Record activity and outcomes accurately so the pilot can supply data and learning to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities
Fit note certification

• Assess patients' fitness for work and issue and sign fit notes in your own name, as permitted for HCPC-registered occupational therapists under the Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
• Assess the patient by video or telephone consultation, or by reviewing a written report from another healthcare professional, before issuing a fit note.
• Certify only within your own scope of practice and competence. Refer to the ANP or Clinical Lead when the presenting condition, complexity or risk falls outside it.
• Issue fit notes through EMIS, including correct dates, condition wording and review periods.
• Meet the service turnaround standard for fit note requests (currently 3 working days).
• Take part in audit of your fit notes for quality and consistency, and act on feedback from the Clinical Lead.

About us
Enable is one of four national pilots funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to test a better fit note process, and it is the most clinical of the four. MBPCC delivers it under an NHS contract across the Barrow and Mid Furness Primary Care Networks.

For participating practices, every fit note is issued by the multidisciplinary Enable service rather than the GP practice. There is no change to fit note legislation, so every patient still needs a valid, signed fit note. Working patients who agree to take part receive a workability assessment and a personalised workability plan that focuses on what they can do and how to stay in, or return to, work. Employers are contacted only with the patient's explicit agreement. The pilot generates data and learning for the DWP to shape future national policy.

The service uses EMIS, AccuRx, X-on Surgery Connect and Florey questionnaires. This post is home-based: consultations are delivered by telephone and video, and the post holder works with the Enable team through Microsoft Teams and the service's clinical systems.

The service expects to handle more than 20,000 fit note requests a year at full rollout.

Details
Date posted: 04 November 2026
Pay scheme: Other
Salary: £35,000 to £39,000 a year
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: B0160-26-0033
Job locations: Remote/Home Working, Remote, LA14 2HG, United Kingdom

Contract and hours

• This is a fixed-term post funded through the national pilot. Continuation beyond the pilot period cannot be guaranteed and is subject to national decisions on the future of the model.
• Some flexibility over working hours may be needed to accommodate patients who are in work and employers who are only available outside core hours, such as Saturday working.
• The post holder will be expected to work in a rapidly evolving service where processes, systems and documentation change during the pilot period, and to lead others through that change.

This is a home-based post. MBPCC's Homeworking, Hybrid Working and Remote Learning Guidance applies in full, and the post holder remains subject to the same professional, contractual, governance and performance expectations as staff working from MBPCC premises.

Location and in-person attendance

• Live in the UK and carry out all work from a UK address for the duration of employment. Working from outside the UK is not permitted.
• Deliver patient consultations remotely by telephone and video, using MBPCC-approved systems only.
• Travel to MBPCC head office at the start of employment to collect MBPCC equipment and to attend a face-to-face induction.
• Attend MBPCC head office when equipment needs to be collected, exchanged or returned, including at the end of employment.

Suitable home working environment

• Have a suitable, dedicated workspace that supports concentration, minimises distractions and enables professional communication.
• Ensure consultations and confidential conversations cannot be overheard, and that screens cannot be seen by family members, visitors or anyone else not authorised to view them.
• Have a suitable desk or workstation, appropriate seating, adequate lighting, ventilation and heating, and reliable internet access sufficient for video consultations and clinical systems.
• Use a headset whenever patient or confidential information is being discussed, and use the MBPCC background on video calls.
• Complete the MBPCC Homeworking Self-Assessment (including display screen equipment) and sign the Employee Homeworking Agreement before starting, and tell your manager of any significant change to your home working arrangements.
• Home working is not a replacement for childcare or dependant care arrangements. Where caring responsibilities affect your ability to work, discuss this with your manager.

Information governance and cyber security

• Use only MBPCC-issued devices, organisational accounts and approved systems and video conferencing platforms. Do not store confidential information on personal or unapproved systems.
• Lock screens when away from the workstation, keep passwords, smartcards and fingerprint access to yourself, and do not allow anyone else to use MBPCC devices or systems.
• Verify who is present before discussing confidential information, share only the minimum necessary, and keep patient-identifiable information out of chat functions unless clinically necessary and authorised.
• Do not record, screenshot or photograph consultations, meetings or training unless this has been authorised. Do not join patient-related calls from public places.
• Secure and dispose of any paper records using approved methods, and report any information governance or cyber security incident immediately.

Failure to meet these requirements may be managed under MBPCC's disciplinary, information governance and data protection procedures.

Person Specification
Essential: Current HCPC registration as an Occupational Therapist, with no conditions affecting practice; Degree or diploma in Occupational Therapy; At least 12 months' post-registration OT experience, including preceptorship, with working-age adults in physical or mental health; Lives in the UK and able to work from a UK address for the duration of employment; Satisfactory enhanced DBS check and occupational health clearance.

Desirable: Membership of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists; Vocational rehabilitation or occupational health qualification or module; Experience of EMIS, AccuRx or another GP clinical system.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: HR Manager, Pam Compston, pamela.compston@nhs.net

Apply through our website.