Ministers believe the programme – covering England, Wales and Scotland – will save employers £70m a year and cut the amount of time people spend off work by between 20 and 40 per cent.
It will be funded by abolishing a compensation scheme for businesses paying long-term sick pay to their employees.
Today, the move was criticised by union leaders who claimed it would lead to sick people being forced back to work before they are in good health.
Hugh Robertson, head of health and safety at the Trades Union Congress, said: "The focus of this service should be about getting them better as opposed to just back to work and the two are not necessarily the same."
But Mike Penning, the Disabled People Minister, said: "More than 130m days a year are lost to sickness absence in Great Britain, which has a substantial impact on workers, employers and taxpayers.
"As part of the Government's long-term economic plan, we are taking action to getting people back into work.
"This is a triple-win. It will mean more people with a job, reduced cost for business, and a more financially secure future for Britain."
Under the scheme, employers or GPs will be able to refer employees for a work-focused occupational health assessment.
It will identify the issues preventing staff from returning to work and draw up a plan recommending how they can get back into the workplace. This may include fitness for work advice, medical care, working from home or retraining.
The DWP said the service would start operating this year and would be run by the private sector, with firms tendering for a contract to run the system.
To cover the costs, ministers will scrap the Statutory Sick Pay Percentage Threshold Scheme, which gives compensation to employers faced with high levels of sick leave.
Mr Penning said the compensation amounted to only £10 a week on average for each employee, adding: "We think we can use that money much better."
Small businesses which do not generally have occupational health services would particularly benefit from the move, the Government claimed.
Source : http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568612/s/36e40f27/sc/2/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Chealth0Chealthnews0C10A62730A30CWorkers0Eoff0Esick0Efor0Ea0Emonth0Eto0Ereceive0Ehealth0Eassessments0Bhtml/story01.htm