Objectives: Work disability management is a problem globally. This study was designed to find out whether the initiation, process and outcome of health check-ups (HCUs) follow the national legislation and whether supervisors and occupational healthcare (OHC) units act according to the legislation-based recommendations.

Methods: Data of 1092 employees with reduced work ability were collected during 2013-2018 in 15 OHC units across Finland. Nine reasons for HCUs, eight process activities and three recommendations were analysed. Cross-tabulation and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used in the analyses.

Results: Employees themselves initiated an HCU for early support more often (OR with 95% CI 2.37; 1.04 to 5.40) compared with supervisors. Personnel in OHC units initiated an HCU in musculoskeletal disorders more often (OR 1.58; 95% CI 1.05 to 2.37) and in mental disorders less often (OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.35 to 0.76) compared with supervisors. These findings were reflected in the recommendations after the HCU, where rehabilitation was recommended for employees with musculoskeletal disorders more often than for employees with mental disorders (ORs 5.48; 95% CI 1.91 to 15.67 and 1.59; 95% CI 0.74 to 3.43, respectively).

Conclusion: Supervisors and OHC units followed the recommendations for management of work disability to a great extent. Employees were active in looking for help early when they had problems with work ability. This positive finding should be promoted even more. OHC units did not initiate HCUs or recommend rehabilitation in mental disorders as actively as they did in musculoskeletal disorders. Support of employees with mental disorders should be improved and studied more. Registration of the study The study protocol was approved and registered on 22 September 2017 by the Doctoral Program of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, registration no. 189067.