The need: Mental health issues cost UK employers £34.9 billion; with £10.6 billion due to sickness absence and £3.1 billion were due to workers leaving employment due to mental health issues (Parsonage & Saini, 2017). There was need for evidence-based resources for returning employees, managers and employers to support people to return to and stay in work following sickness absence. Research shows that all too often a siloed approach is taken, with disconnected pathways for support and care. There was also a need to test the resource to see what works, for whom, and under what circumstances as all too often practices are implemented without examining their impact and effectiveness .

Our solution: Led by Professor Jo Yarker, the Affinity team developed an e-learning resource drawing on our award-winning IGLOO framework. The IGLOO framework has been developed through multiple research studies, in collaboration with Sheffield and Loughborough University, and identifies the resources required at the Individual, Group, Leader, Organisational level and outside resource. The resources promote a shared approach: Everyone has a role to play in a successful return. The e-learning resource includes four tailored toolkits:

• Individual toolkit - for returning individuals
• Group toolkit - for work groups, colleagues, team members
• Line manager toolkit - for those managing a returning worker
• Organisation toolkit - for HR and OH professionals, senior leaders and others responsible for absence management in their organisation.
• Outside sources of support are also documented including National and local charities and support groups.

The toolkits aim to help everyone involved in the return to work journey to take timely and appropriate action, to develop confidence in navigating return to work and help returning employees to return to and stay in work following sickness absence. The information contained in the toolkit complies with NICE guidelines and the latest CIPD guidance on absence management. The toolkits are available for review at https://www.returntowork.co.uk a password can be provided on request.

Our approach: Eight steps informed the development of the IGLOO hub:

1. Review of the academic and practitioner research and guidance to identify factors that influence a successful and sustainable return to work, including our own research and NICE guidelines
2. Consultation with returning workers, line managers, occupational health and rehabilitation professionals, business owners and HR professionals to understand what works and what does not when it comes to return to work
3. Reflection on learnings from the design and testing of previous toolkits and guidance to support return to work following sickness absence
4. Development of an overarching framework for the toolkits
5. Sense-checking of the overarching framework for the toolkits
6. Development of prototype toolkits by the development team
7. Testing of the toolkits for readability, comprehensiveness and usefulness by returning workers, line managers, business owners and supporting professionals
8. Refinement of the toolkits following feedback

The outcome: Funding secured from the NIHR to test the toolkits across 11 organisations

The employee and manger toolkits have been positively received and tested in previous research studies, enabling workers and managers to make different decisions that led to improved work-ability and sustainability. The findings of which are in press and reported in the MHPP ProWork report and academic publications.

We were delighted to receive highly competitive funding to test the IGLOO hub and toolkits by the NIHR. Led by Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Trust (RDaSH), academics from Loughborough University, University of Sheffield and Leicester University are working with eleven organisations in the North of England to examine the reach, adoption and impact of the IGLOO toolkits. The pilot is underway and delivering promising results. Professor Jo Yarker is leading the Stakeholder group, convening regular meetings with policy leads from professional bodies and employers.