The research demonstrates that returning to work following injury is in the employee's and employer's best interests. But how does injury management become an effective partnership? In an ideal world no employee would ever get injured, but what happens when they are? Here, we discuss best practice strategies to facilitate a win-win return to work scenario.   

The loss of work can have a devastating effect on the employee, their family, and their community. According to the RACP Position Statement, Helping People Return to Work,  “being out of work for extended periods is bad for a person’s health” and “the longer someone spends away from work, the less likely they will ever return.”  This is sobering news for employees who face significant consequences to their health and wellbeing. For employers, ramifications include loss of productivity, revenue, staff morale, and reputation. For Australian employers, this equates to a cost of $61.8 million each year, according to Worksafe Australia.   

Organisation pain points  

For an organisation, WorkSafe Queensland has identified common barriers to returning injured workers to work can include:  

• A belief that workers can’t return to work until they’ve completely recovered.  
• An employer might think a worker is overstating how much their injury affects them.  
• Disagreement on whether a worker can return to work.  
• Workers may worry that they'll re-injure themselves if they return to work.  
• Stress factors contributing to the injury might still be present in the workplace and hard to avoid.  
• Workers may not think they have the ability or skills to do any work, even if it’s adjusted.  

Employer pain points can include not having a suitable workplace to offer return-to-work employees, State authorities that don’t support a return to work through legislation, the cost of retraining, and WorkCover Insurance premiums. Many employers do not fully understand the extent to which return-to-work outcomes can help negate the possibility of recovery action from a WorkCover Authority or common law action.  

Successful Return to Work  

The National Return to Work Strategy outlines key actions and tips for developing a successful return-to-work plan. Indeed, under the Workplace Injury, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013, employers have a legal obligation to do so.   

Step 1: Prepare  

• Check in with your workers as soon as you know they are away from work due to illness or injury.   
• Keep in regular contact with them while they are away from work, including, as appropriate, the rest of the team.  
• With the employee's permission, contact the key stakeholders, such as their medical team or host employer, to gather the information required to prepare a Return to Work plan for suitable duties.  

Step 2: Gather Information for your Return to Work Plan  

• Talk to your injured worker about gradually returning to work, focusing on what they can do.   
• Set specific goals, appreciating that recovery may not go according to plan and flexibility may be required.  
• Focus on teamwork as a positive return to work outcomes are more likely with collaboration.  
• Take the time to understand the support needed for the employee to return to work.  
• Be prepared to adapt the return-to-work plan as the employee recovers, as how they can contribute to the workplace will likely change.  

Step 3: Implement the Return to Work Plan  

The Return to Work plan should incorporate the following information:  

• Pre-injury work information, including their pre-injury job title and job description or job dictionary.  
• Injury details.  
• Restrictions the treating practitioner places on the injured worker.  
• Return to work goals, including milestones.  
• Outline of suitable duties, including tasks, work hours and pacing.  
• Workplace adjustments: consider how supervision, policies to allow remote work, the work location and the level of support.  
• Actions or steps to support the return to work and responsibilities.   

How partnership can result in optimum outcomes 

As a provider of employment and workforce management solutions, Acclaimed Workforce works with our clients, the Host Employer, to help prevent and manage any injuries that occur on-site. The following case study highlights how organisations and employees can work together to achieve positive outcomes. Please note that the organisation and employee names have been changed for privacy reasons.  

Alex was injured at a client’s worksite, who felt they did not have the ability to support their recovery. Alex knew the production process that could be used at other production facilities, so Acclaimed Workforce approached another client, who was able to support Alex to work in a reduced capacity while they recovered after surgery.  

Acclaimed and the client both supported and assisted Alex while they recovered. Once fully recovered, this resulted in full-time, permanent employment with the second client. 

“It’s great to have the opportunity to work together with employers who are happy to support injured workers returning to full capacity,” says Sarah – Injury Management & Safety Manager, Acclaimed Workforce. While she acknowledges it is an interesting scenario in a labour hire situation, where there are three parties involved employers are obligated to facilitate return to work in every way possible. "Proactively approaching return to work often takes a shift in perspective,” Sarah explains, “viewing it as an opportunity to improve an employee’s experience and potentially their development.” 

Acclaimed Workforce works closely with employers to assist them in developing a more holistic understanding of the return-to-work process, and how return-to-work plans can be developed and implemented. 

If you require workforce management assistance are looking for talent, contact us today.