diff --git a/pandablocks/utils.py b/pandablocks/utils.py
index 7970731c9..2453f0623 100644
--- a/pandablocks/utils.py
+++ b/pandablocks/utils.py
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@
 
 
 def words_to_table(
-    words: Iterable[str], table_field_info: TableFieldInfo
+    words: Iterable[str],
+    table_field_info: TableFieldInfo,
+    convert_enum_indices: bool = False,
 ) -> Dict[str, UnpackedArray]:
     """Unpacks the given `packed` data based on the fields provided.
     Returns the unpacked data in {column_name: column_data} column-indexed format
@@ -23,6 +25,9 @@ def words_to_table(
             expected to be the string representation of a uint32.
         table_fields_info: The info for tables, containing the number of words per row,
             and the bit information for fields.
+        convert_enum_indices: If True, converts enum indices to labels, the packed
+            value will be a list of strings. If False the packed value will be a
+            numpy array of the indices the labels correspond to.
     Returns:
         unpacked: A dict containing record information, where keys are field names
             and values are numpy arrays or a sequence of strings of record values
@@ -56,10 +61,15 @@ def words_to_table(
         if field_info.subtype == "int":
             # First convert from 2's complement to offset, then add in offset.
             packing_value = (value ^ (1 << (bit_length - 1))) + (-1 << (bit_length - 1))
-        elif field_info.labels:
+        elif convert_enum_indices and field_info.labels:
             packing_value = [field_info.labels[x] for x in value]
         else:
-            packing_value = value
+            if bit_length <= 8:
+                packing_value = value.astype(np.uint8)
+            elif bit_length <= 16:
+                packing_value = value.astype(np.uint16)
+            else:
+                packing_value = value.astype(np.uint32)
 
         unpacked.update({field_name: packing_value})
 
@@ -67,7 +77,7 @@ def words_to_table(
 
 
 def table_to_words(
-    table: Dict[str, Iterable], table_field_info: TableFieldInfo
+    table: Dict[str, Union[np.ndarray, List]], table_field_info: TableFieldInfo
 ) -> List[str]:
     """Convert records based on the field definitions into the format PandA expects
     for table writes.
@@ -88,8 +98,8 @@ def table_to_words(
 
     for column_name, column in table.items():
         field_details = table_field_info.fields[column_name]
-        if field_details.labels:
-            # Must convert the list of ints into strings
+        if field_details.labels and len(column) and isinstance(column[0], str):
+            # Must convert the list of strings to list of ints
             column = [field_details.labels.index(x) for x in column]
 
         # PandA always handles tables in uint32 format
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index 6057dd635..95c14473b 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from typing import Dict, Iterable, List, OrderedDict
+from typing import Dict, List, OrderedDict, Union
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ def table_field_info(table_fields) -> TableFieldInfo:
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def table_1() -> OrderedDict[str, Iterable]:
+def table_1() -> OrderedDict[str, Union[List, np.ndarray]]:
     return OrderedDict(
         {
             "REPEATS": [5, 0, 50000],
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ def table_1() -> OrderedDict[str, Iterable]:
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def table_1_np_arrays() -> OrderedDict[str, Iterable]:
+def table_1_np_arrays() -> OrderedDict[str, Union[List, np.ndarray]]:
     # Intentionally not in panda order. Whatever types the np arrays are,
     # the outputs from words_to_table will be uint32 or int32.
     return OrderedDict(
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ def table_1_np_arrays() -> OrderedDict[str, Iterable]:
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def table_1_not_in_panda_order() -> OrderedDict[str, Iterable]:
+def table_1_not_in_panda_order() -> OrderedDict[str, Union[List, np.ndarray]]:
     return OrderedDict(
         {
             "REPEATS": [5, 0, 50000],
@@ -252,8 +252,8 @@ def table_data_1() -> List[str]:
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def table_2() -> Dict[str, Iterable]:
-    table: Dict[str, Iterable] = dict(
+def table_2() -> Dict[str, Union[List, np.ndarray]]:
+    table: Dict[str, Union[List, np.ndarray]] = dict(
         REPEATS=[1, 0],
         TRIGGER=["Immediate", "Immediate"],
         POSITION=[-20, 2**31 - 1],
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ def table_data_2() -> List[str]:
 
 
 def test_table_packing_pack_length_mismatched(
-    table_1: OrderedDict[str, Iterable],
+    table_1: OrderedDict[str, Union[List, np.ndarray]],
     table_field_info: TableFieldInfo,
 ):
     assert table_field_info.row_words
@@ -312,12 +312,16 @@ def test_table_to_words_and_words_to_table(
     table_field_info: TableFieldInfo,
     request,
 ):
-    table: Dict[str, Iterable] = request.getfixturevalue(table_fixture_name)
+    table: Dict[str, Union[List, np.ndarray]] = request.getfixturevalue(
+        table_fixture_name
+    )
     table_data: List[str] = request.getfixturevalue(table_data_fixture_name)
 
     output_data = table_to_words(table, table_field_info)
     assert output_data == table_data
-    output_table = words_to_table(output_data, table_field_info)
+    output_table = words_to_table(
+        output_data, table_field_info, convert_enum_indices=True
+    )
 
     # Test the correct keys are outputted
     assert output_table.keys() == table.keys()
@@ -337,7 +341,9 @@ def test_table_packing_unpack(
     table_data_1: List[str],
 ):
     assert table_field_info.row_words
-    output_table = words_to_table(table_data_1, table_field_info)
+    output_table = words_to_table(
+        table_data_1, table_field_info, convert_enum_indices=True
+    )
 
     actual: UnpackedArray
     for field_name, actual in output_table.items():
@@ -346,7 +352,7 @@ def test_table_packing_unpack(
 
 
 def test_table_packing_pack(
-    table_1: Dict[str, Iterable],
+    table_1: Dict[str, Union[List, np.ndarray]],
     table_field_info: TableFieldInfo,
     table_data_1: List[str],
 ):