Latest News
11:27 am (16 minutes ago)
A lawyer for the three Pakistan players at the centre of allegations of corruption says they are keen for a "timely and satisfactory outcome" to the affair.
11:23 am (19 minutes ago)
Police declare an overnight curfew in Christchurch, New Zealand, after a powerful earthquake causes considerable damage but no fatalities.
11:23 am (20 minutes ago)
A Conservative councillor defects to Labour over cuts to the Building Schools for the Future Programme.
11:05 am (38 minutes ago)
A father and his 15-year-old son are killed in a motorbike accident outside Galashiels in the Scottish Borders.
11:00 am (42 minutes ago)
Eggs and shoes have been thrown at the former Prime Minister Tony Blair as he arrived at a book signing in Dublin.
10:34 am (an hour ago)
Scientists from the US space agency Nasa advise the trapped Chilean miners to exercise and regulate their day and night sleep patterns.
10:30 am (an hour ago)
A 13-year-old girl and her uncle suffer serious burns when a gas cylinder explodes during her birthday barbecue in Wiltshire.
10:28 am (an hour ago)
An Irish tourist has died, along with nine others in a plane crash in New Zealand.
10:20 am (an hour ago)
Villagers told by BT it will cost £550,000 for a broadband connection receive an estimate from another company of £50,000.
10:18 am (an hour ago)
Firefighters rescue a horse and its groom after the animal kicked its way out of a horse box and into the front cab.
9:58 am (an hour ago)
More than 100 demonstrations are planned across France to protest against the government's policy of deporting Roma people.
9:53 am (an hour ago)
Violence in Afghanistan will get worse before it gets better, the UK's most senior military commander in the country tells the BBC.
8:26 am (3 hours ago)
The interim managing director brought in to run a crisis-hit authority is to stay on for the forseeable future.
8:15 am (3 hours ago)
HM Revenue and Customs says some 1.4 million people each owe about £1,500 in tax, while 4.3 million will get an average rebate of £418.
8:05 am (4 hours ago)
Nine people, including four tourists, are killed when a light aircraft crashes after taking off from Fox Glacier in New Zealand, say reports.
7:55 am (4 hours ago)
BP replaces the blowout preventer that failed to stem the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well and says it has paid $8bn (£5.2bn) in damage costs.
7:30 am (4 hours ago)
The Modified Toy Orchestra is a band made up of five musicians - and 48 tweaked toy instruments.
6:02 am (6 hours ago)
One of Scotland's largest councils - North Lanarkshire - warns that it may have to cut more than 1,000 jobs.
5:14 am (6 hours ago)
Talks to form a coalition government in the Netherlands collapse as the leader of the far-right Freedom Party Geert Wilders walks out.
5:10 am (7 hours ago)
Downing Street's head of communications, Andy Coulson, is safe in his job despite phone hacking claims surrounding the News of the World newspaper, says a senior government source.
5:01 am (7 hours ago)
The former Pakistan cricket captain, Imran Khan, has said that if players are found guilty of spot fixing, they should not be given a life ban, which some officials are demanding.
2:44 am (9 hours ago)
A poll commissioned by Ed Miliband's leadership campaign finds voters are less likely to vote Labour if there is not a shift from New Labour policies.
1:39 am (10 hours ago)
Fewer children are learning to play a musical instrument than in their parents' generation, a survey suggests.
1:36 am (10 hours ago)
Some 77% of Britons think taxpayers should not help pay for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Scotland and England, a survey suggests.
12:56 am (11 hours ago)
Israeli scientists believe they have identified why Arabic is particularly hard to learn to read.
12:41 am (11 hours ago)
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair tells the BBC that radical Islam is the greatest threat facing the world.
12:02 am (12 hours ago)
Banks are accused of leaving some customers in "dire poverty" after taking money out of their accounts without permission.
Yesterday 11:41 pm (12 hours ago)
Craig Levein criticises Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakira after Scotland start their Euro 2012 campaign with a 0-0 draw in Lithuania.
Yesterday 11:28 pm (12 hours ago)
England manager Fabio Capello praises Jermain Defoe after the Tottenham striker scores a hat-trick in the 4-0 Euro 2012 qualifying win over Bulgaria.
Yesterday 11:04 pm (13 hours ago)
Fidel Castro addresses a rally for the first time since handing the Cuban presidency to his brother Raul in 2006.
Yesterday 10:55 pm (13 hours ago)
Wales boss John Toshack criticises a challenge on James Collins in their loss to Montenegro that left the player needing hospital treatment for a facial injury.
Yesterday 10:35 pm (13 hours ago)
Northern Ireland boss Nigel Worthington hails the "superb" performance of his team in the 1-0 Euro 2012 qualifier win over Slovenia in Maribor.
Yesterday 10:33 pm (13 hours ago)
Detectives in Armagh have begun a murder inquiry after a man's body was found in the Castle Street area on Friday.
Yesterday 10:13 pm (13 hours ago)
In an attempt to reach people who do not normally go to the cinema, Shetland film festival is targeting their pets.
Yesterday 10:02 pm (14 hours ago)
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes New Zealand's South Island, causing widespread minor damage and power cuts.
Yesterday 9:44 pm (14 hours ago)
Thousands of people watch Robbie Williams switch on Blackpool's illuminations.
Yesterday 9:13 pm (14 hours ago)
Britain's Andy Murray overcomes the unorthodox style of Jamaica's Dustin Brown to reach the third round of the US Open.
Yesterday 9:12 pm (15 hours ago)
The Brazilian state oil company, Petrobras, unveils plans to sell up to $64.5bn of new stock, in one of the world's largest share offers.
Yesterday 8:22 pm (15 hours ago)
The US secretary of state warns the current round of Mid-East peace talks may be "the last chance for a very long time".
Yesterday 7:33 pm (16 hours ago)
A bomb kills at least 50 people at a Shia Muslim rally in the south-western city of Quetta, the second attack on Pakistan's religious minority in days.
Yesterday 7:23 pm (16 hours ago)
Police in Mozambique's capital fire rubber bullets on the third day of riots, as the violence spreads to the central city of Chimoio.
Yesterday 6:19 pm (17 hours ago)
HSBC may quit its London headquarters if the UK government decides to break up big banks, a senior executive says.
Yesterday 6:04 pm (18 hours ago)
Six Portuguese men are sentenced to up to 18 years in jail after being found guilty of multiple charges of sexual abuse at a state-run children's home.
Yesterday 5:47 pm (18 hours ago)
Three of the world's most successful club DJs join forces to pay tribute to those who died at the Love Parade festival in Germany in July.
Yesterday 5:44 pm (18 hours ago)
Nasa is aiming to get closer to the Sun than ever before, with plans to plunge a car-sized unmanned spacecraft into the star's outer atmosphere.
Yesterday 5:40 pm (18 hours ago)
The United Nations' food agency calls a special meeting of policy makers to discuss the recent rapid rises in food prices.
Yesterday 5:32 pm (18 hours ago)
The life and times of Rochdale's larger-than-life MP
Yesterday 5:02 pm (19 hours ago)
The former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Cyril Smith has died aged 82, his family and party confirm.
Yesterday 4:47 pm (19 hours ago)
New-born twin giant pandas made their first public appearance at a zoo in Japan on Friday in Shirahama.
Yesterday 4:20 pm (19 hours ago)
The re-introduction of wolves to a US National Park has not helped re-establish quaking aspens, as many researchers had hoped.
Yesterday 4:05 pm (20 hours ago)
The US economy shed another 54,000 jobs in August, the third month in a row that jobs have been lost, official figures show.
Yesterday 3:28 pm (20 hours ago)
BP says the cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill has risen to $8bn - a rise of more than $2bn in the last month alone.
Yesterday 2:35 pm (21 hours ago)
Veteran broadcaster Sarah Kennedy is leaving BBC Radio 2's Dawn Patrol show - 34 years after joining the station
Yesterday 2:19 pm (21 hours ago)
Rory Cellan-Jones tries out 3D video equipment and looks at the latest ultra thin and bright OLED TVs.
Yesterday 1:52 pm (22 hours ago)
One in four state primary schools in England has no male teacher, statistics show.
Yesterday 12:36 pm (23 hours ago)
Tests on a type of breast implant filled with an unapproved gel have shown no evidence they are unsafe, UK experts say.
Yesterday 12:32 pm (23 hours ago)
Defence Secretary Liam Fox rules out the UK sharing aircraft carriers with France as part of closer defence co-operation.
Yesterday 12:12 pm (24 hours ago)
Tony Blair's memoirs has become the fastest selling autobiography in Britain. But what are the biggest overall sellers?
Yesterday 11:43 am (24 hours ago)
Sony has won a permanent ban in Australia of a hack for its PS3, but the code behind it has been released for free on the web.
Yesterday, 10:19 am
The 2010 Great North Swim is cancelled after toxic algae is found in Windermere.
Yesterday, 9:19 am
TV comedienne Jennifer Saunders is to write the story for musical Viva Forever - based on the songs of the Spice Girls.
Yesterday, 9:07 am
Hundreds of sharks have been spotted off the Queensland coast.
Yesterday, 6:01 am
The first visit of Chinese warships to Burma ends as top Burmese leader Than Shwe prepares to visit Beijing, highlighting the two country's close ties.
Yesterday, 5:35 am
Japan imposes new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme but maintains its oil import schedule.
Yesterday, 1:49 am
Ultrafine measurements of atmospheric gases could help scientists track down the last sources of CFCs thought to be slowing the recovery of the ozone layer.
Yesterday, 12:49 am
England's first city-wide lottery system aimed at solving the problem of allocating places at over-subscribed schools failed to give poorer children equal access to top schools, academics say.
Yesterday, 12:42 am
The world is on the verge of a bed-bug pandemic, according to a report - how did the tiny biting insects come to pose such a threat?
Yesterday, 12:03 am
Gardeners are being warned about the risk of Legionnaire's disease from compost after a pensioner developed the disease after handling compost.
Thursday, 6:57 pm
A man sailing the sea in a bath tub, mud sculptures and an ugly fish who finds love - it's the week's weird and wonderful video stories in Newsbeat's Odd Box with Dominic Byrne.
Thursday, 5:59 pm
British scientists say they are closer to knowing why older women trying to fall pregnant are more likely to produce abnormal eggs.
Thursday, 4:33 pm
A potentially revolutionary circuit component, once a laboratory curiosity, is to be mass-produced for the first time.
Thursday, 1:45 pm
The global disparity in access to broadband around the world and the cost of a connection is revealed by UN figures.
Thursday, 10:57 am
Tony Blair used alcohol as a 'prop' during his time in power but how many of us do the same?
"Fit Notes" Replace Sick Notes from April 2010
Source: www.acas.org.uk April 2010
Sick notes are changing to fit notes in April 2010.
What is the fit note?
The Statement of Fitness for Work, or 'fit note', is a new Medical Statement that GPs will issue from 6 April 2010. It replaces the old 'sick note' and aims to focus on what an employee may be able to do at work rather than what they cannot do.
What's different about the new fit note?
In the past GPs have either said that 'you should refrain from work' or 'you need not refrain from work'. The fit note offers a new option - 'may be fit for work taking account of the following advice'.
A GP will be able to suggest ways of helping an employee get back to work. This might mean discussing:
- a phased return to work
- flexible working
- amended duties
- workplace adaptations.
The GP will also provide general details of the functional effect of the individual's condition.
Why the change?
For many employees work means a lot more than just their salary. Studies show that work is good for health; and prolonged sickness absence can produce its own set of problems, such as:
- isolation
- loss of confidence
- mental health issues
- de-skilling
- social exclusion.
Many employers recognise that reducing levels of long-term ill health is about developing a partnership between the line manager, the individual, the GP, occupational health and the HR department.
