Programme
Thursday 5 March 2026
- 9.05
-
Registration
- 9.10
-
Introduction and welcome
Dr John Ballard, Occupational Health [at Work]
- Trends in ill health retirement (IHR)
- Different types of schemes
- 9.30
-
Role of occupational health – Part 1
Dr Mark Groom, Health Partners Group
- Understanding the scheme’s health criteria
- Required medical evidence
- Medical examinations
- Medical reports from primary/secondary care
- Consent and confidentiality in practice
- Audit/quality improvement activity
- 10.25
-
IHR and the law*
Prof Diana Kloss, barrister
- Pensions regulations – a brief introduction
- Consent, confidentiality and data handling
- Age discrimination and disability discrimination
- Key cases*(This is a UK based course, so the legal session covers UK law, and in particular, the law of England and Wales)
- 11.15
-
Tea break
- 11.35
-
Role of occupational health – Part 2
Dr Tony Williams, Working Fit Ltd
- Role of OH doctors and OH nurses
- Skills, training and competence
- How to become an approved doctor for a particular pensions scheme*
- Writing the report/recommendations to the employer’s scheme
- Internal dispute resolution/medical appeals processes
- (*Including local government, fire, NHS, teachers and in-house schemes, but excluding police schemes)
- 12.25
-
Lunch
- 13.15
-
Is IHR always a good option?
Dr Tony Williams, Working Fit Ltd
- Prognosis following IHR
- Discussing medical retirement (and other options) with employees
- Ethical decision-making
- Difficult issues for OH
- Death-in-service benefits v IHR in terminal illness cases
- When IHR is seen as an ‘easy option’ to medicalise individual out of the business
- Managing situations where an employee requests IHR
- 14.00
-
Fitness and age
Dr Tony Williams, Working Fit Ltd
- Pensions, lifestyle factors and chronic disease
- 14.15
-
Working with HR, line managers and the pension administrator
Dr Tony Williams, Working Fit Ltd
- Best advice – timely and good value
- When to refer
- Support with appeals and reviews
- 14.55
-
Tea
- 15.15
-
Case studies
Led by Dr Mark Groom, Dr Sarah Porter and Dr Tony Williams
- A series of case studies examines the process of reaching a decision in complex cases
- Facts of the case
- What does the scheme require?
- Assessing the evidence
- What additional evidence is required?
- How to reach a decision
- A series of case studies examines the process of reaching a decision in complex cases
- 16.15
-
Expert panel Q&A
- Your chance to ask Dr Mark Groom, Claire Johnson, Prof Diana Kloss, Dr Sarah Porter and Dr Tony Williams your pre-submitted and live questions
- 16.55
-
Final questions
- 17.00
-
Close of day
Benefits of attending
You will gain:
- A detailed knowledge of how to give evidence-based advice in ill-health retirement (IHR) cases
- A comprehensive understanding of your roles and responsibilities – either as an OH doctor or OH nurse
- An insight into the complexity of scheme rules and relevant law
- Enhanced comprehension of the ethical issues
- An opportunity to learn from experience of others in our case studies and to benchmark your opinions with peers
- Improved knowledge and understanding to assist in decision-making
PLUS – you will receive printed documentation to keep for future reference.
About our expert tutors
Dr John Ballard
Dr John Ballard has been researching and writing on OH and disability issues for over 30 years. He is a director of The At Work Partnership and edits its bi-monthly journal, Occupational Health [at Work]. He jointly edited Discrimination Law and OH Practice (The At Work Partnership, 2012) with Prof Diana Kloss. He is an honorary fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM).
Dr Mark Groom
Dr Mark Groom is a consultant occupational health physician whose primary current role is the clinical lead for Police and Fire Service Medical Appeals, a service provided by Health Partners under contract with the Home Office. He has broad occupational medicine experience and, having been the pensions lead for Health Management, has developed considerable knowledge of pensions work in a wide range of settings.
Claire Johnson
Claire Johnson is a senior pensions advisor at the Local Government Association, specialising in firefighter pensions. In this role, they support scheme managers in meeting their statutory responsibilities for administering the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme and acts as a key link between scheme managers and government departments. Claire also serves as Board Secretary to the Scheme Advisory Board, providing governance and oversight support at a national level.
Prof Diana Kloss MBE
Prof Diana Kloss MBE is a barrister, former employment judge and honorary senior lecturer in OH law at the University of Manchester. Her publications include Occupational Health Law (Wiley Blackwell, 2020), and she jointly edited Discrimination Law and OH Practice (The At Work Partnership, 2010) and contributes regularly to the Occupational Health [at Work] journal. She is an honorary fellow of the FOM, an ACAS arbitrator, and honorary president of the Council for Work and Health.
Dr Sarah Porter
Dr Sarah Porter is an occupational physician. She has extensive experience of a wide range of industries including education, manufacturing and defence. Her pension work experience includes military medical retirement, SMP for police, and IRMP for local government pension schemes. She is currently chair of the Society of Occupational Medicine Northern Ireland group.
Dr Tony Williams
Dr Tony Williams set up Working Fit Ltd, an occupational health consultancy, in 2003. He has an extensive portfolio of clinical OH work in the NHS and for a variety of public and private organisations. He was chair of the Government review into the Normal Pension Age for firefighters, and advised on pension age for the RNLI and prison officers. He advises on ill health retirement under the local government pension scheme.
