No one wants anyone to get hurt at work, especially a serious injury that will require time off work. It’s bad for the employee and it can be hard for the business. So although we may work hard to prevent injuries it’s important to be prepared should it ever happen in your business.
Part of your Duty of Care to injured workers is to help them ‘Return to Work’ if they can. In order to do this, you need a return to work program to lay out the path back to full recovery.
What should you include in a ‘Return to Work’ plan?
Each state has a template for return to work programs but as a basic rule they should include:
- Time to be worked – Normal hours or restricted?
- Tasks that can be done – maybe they can’t sit for long periods or drive a truck? This will vary greatly depending on what has happened.
- Weight that can be lifted – doctor may place a limit on the total amount a person can lift.
- Date for review – there should always be a date that you will review the process.
- Who is responsible for monitoring – a manager or supervisor should be keeping an eye on the person to make sure everything is going according to plan.
- Signed and agreed by all parties – this should include the doctor, management and the worker.
What you shouldn’t do.
Never send an employee back to work without a plan. Even if the plan says they are returning to normal duties. Fill out a return to work plan and have a review date so you can check up on them in a day/week/month etc to make sure everything is going according to plan. It is important paperwork and it shows you are following up with your duties and that you care about your employee’s.
When they are ready for normal duties you should get a clearance certificate from the doctor which states that they are ready to resume normal duties. This is vital and you should double check all the dates.
What if it didn’t happen at work?
Sometimes an employee might get injured outside of work and even though you don’t have to pay for the process they still should have a return to work plan. You still need to manage it in the same way to ensure that it doesn’t become a work related injury because then you will have to pay for it.