Make a CMO Referral

Making a CMO referral depends on whether your department is covered by the National Shared Services Office (NSSO). Almost all employees are covered by the NSSO, except for state industrial employees and prison officers. The NSSO is a HR shared services centre in Clonskeagh Dublin that includes the CMO Absence Section.

For departments in NSSO, you first need to raise a case on the CMS using the employee’s name. This generates a NSSO case number. This is so that the CMO Absence team know that a case has been initiated. Please complete a CMO Civil Servant Referral Form. Please attach a 1-4 year sick leave record taken from HRMS and any other relevant documents. Please send the completed form saved as a single PDF to the CMO referral email address. This case referral form can be obtained under data access.

For departments that are not in NSSO, you simply email the completed CMO Civil Servant Referral Form to the CMO referral email address. There is a separate Irish Prison Service form for prison officers.

It is important that you provide with a current verified address and contact number for the employee. This is in case we need to write to an employee or set-up a telephone consultation.

Please note that we do not have an employee self-referral facility. All referrals are initiated by HR.

It is very important that full background workplace information is provided on all case referral forms. This will require HR contact with local management by phone or email. In the case of re-referrals, updated workplace information / outcome of previous CMO advice is always required. We cannot accept referrals without this.

Where a case is complex, it may be useful for HR to contact the relevant doctor or nurse to discuss the case. We are also always available to an employee’s treating doctor if they wish to contact us to confidentially discus their patient.

The process around referring cases to the CMO’s Office is set out in more detail in Part 7 of Circular 12/2023 Management of Sick Leave.