While no one wants to be injured or have an injured worker, it is super important you know what to do if it does happen. A workplace injury usually become a problem for a business because no one in the business is managing the process properly. You really need to think of this as a business process. If you just hired people walking past your business randomly instead of running a process to recruit the right people you wouldn’t get very good outcomes would you? The best outcome for everyone is recovery from the injury and return to work.
If you have an injured worker the best thing you can do is to be proactive. What do I mean by that?
- Go with them to the doctors, get the information first hand.
- Make sure the right forms are filled out with the correct dates.
- Keep the lines of communication open with the worker at all times.
- Set time frames and goals if rehab is involved.
The very worst thing you can do is leave this process up to the ‘Professionals’. The doctor doesn’t know your business, they don’t understand the requirements of the job role and they don’t always have the best interests of the worker or your business at heart. Always check the dates on Work Cover certificates and get clarification if you aren’t sure what an item on there means, the doctors phone number is on it for a reason.
What is your obligation?
This is pretty simple, if someone is injured at work then you have an obligation to ensure they get treatment and are able to return to work if possible. If someone is injured outside of work, then your obligation is to make sure they get clearance from a doctor before they come back to work. NEVER let a worker return to work without a letter from the doctor saying they are fit for work.
Step by Step?
Let go through the process step by step from when the injury occurs:
- Get medical assistance, if it’s really serious then call 000 but make sure a manager goes with the injured person if you can or meets them there.
- Secure the scene, document what happened, take photos and get statements if it was a serious injury.
- Work out if it is a reportable injury? If it needs to be reported to Worksafe then do it.
- Start an investigation into what happened. Make sure it can’t happen to someone else.
- Follow up after the initial medical treatment to find out how the injured worker is and if there is anything you can do.
- Have a plan for getting them back to work.
Note: by no means is this an exhaustive list of what to do and it will vary depending on the circumstances, this is just an outline.