What is it?
Joint replacement is a surgical procedure that replaces a joint with an artificial one. This is usually required due to damage caused to the joint by disease such as osteoarthritis. Knee/Hip replacement is relatively major surgery and recovery can take several weeks. The type of surgery undertaken will depend on the clinical circumstances.
Managing an employee going for a joint replacement
Where possible have a discussion with the employee about their return to work before they go for their surgery:
- Agree when and how you will contact them once they have had surgery
- Identify how you will support their return to work
- Discuss the expected recovery times
Returning to work
On their return to work the employee may continue to experience difficulties undertaking some tasks, depending on the joint that has been replaced, these could include:
- Walking
- Standing
- Lifting heavy objects
- Climbing stairs
- Reaching objects situated in low positions
Discuss the extent of any limitations with your employee and identify what tasks they can and cannot perform and the length of time that they can perform them. Where these can be reasonably accommodated, you should consider modifying their duties to enable them to return to work on a graded programme.
You should discuss with the employee how their workload can be increased and agree a plan to support their return to full duties. Although the length of time taken to return to full duties will vary depending on the job role and the type of joint that was replaced, a plan for return to full duties for a manual worker should usually take around 6 – 8 weeks, maybe up to 12 weeks for very physically demanding roles. You should have a review with the employee at the end of each week of the programme to make sure that they are able to cope with their return to work and discuss whether they feel able to increase their workload in line with the plan. There may need to be some flexibility with the plan, as they may require more or less time than anticipated at each stage of the plan.
Typical outlook/prognosis
- Recovery times will vary depending on the type of surgery and joint replacement undertaken, the reason for the surgery, the presence of any other underlying medical conditions and any post operative complications
- Medical consensus is that a return to non-manual office work is usually possible after around 6 weeks
- Medical consensus is that a return to manual work is usually possible after around up to 12 weeks
Points to remember
Fit notes
If an employee produces a fit note indicating that they require modified duties, discuss this with them and consider if the modification recommended can be reasonably accommodated.
Job tasks and risk assessments
Review the risk assessment for the employee’s job role and work tasks including the ability to drive safely where required. Take into consideration any temporary modification that may be required to accommodate their reduced ability to undertake certain tasks.
General guidance
If you require further information, refer to the general advice on managing attendance.
Ref: WPW0105 this information was reviewed August 2024.
