The coming years herald a radical overhaul of the sickness absence certification process in the UK, under direction of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). Decreased productivity, days lost and the associated healthcare expenses of ill health in people of working age in the UK is estimated to cost in excess of £100 billion per annum.1 This sum is equivalent to the gross domestic product of Portugal, and is greater than the total annual running costs of the NHS.2 It is an accepted view that work can be beneficial to health. Therefore there is a move towards promoting able employees back into …