Returning to work made easier for injured workers

WorkSafe Victoria is helping to get injured food manufacturing industry workers back to safe work earlier through a new toolkit for employers.

Released as part of WorkSafe’s ‘Return to Work, Return to Life’ campaign, the employers’ toolkit has templates, checklists and forms that can be customised to suit their needs.

The kit can be downloaded from WorkSafe’s ‘Return to Work’ website.

WorkSafe’s Return to Work Director, Dorothy Frost, said the toolkit would be particularly useful in small to medium-sized businesses and to those that don’t have a lot of experience with workplace injury insurance claims.

“It’s very important employers understand and comply with their return to work obligations. This toolkit provides everything they need to know,” she said.

Food manufacturing is one of eight ‘high-risk’ industries WorkSafe Victoria is targeting as part of a 12-month enforcement blitz.

Over the past five financial years, more than 6800 injury claims were made from the food manufacturing industry.

Treatment and rehabilitation costs for these workers - paid for through their employer’s workplace injury insurance - exceeded $150m.

“Obviously, prevention is the best cure and more needs to be done to ensure ... these injuries don’t happen, but for those workers who are injured on the job, getting back to work sooner is good for them and it’s good for business,” Frost said.

Medical evidence shows the longer someone is off work, the harder it is for them to return and the greater the chance they will suffer adverse health effects.

Around 28,000 Victorian workers are seriously hurt each year. Of that number, more than 3000 do not return to work within six months of being injured.

“The implications for these workers, their families, employers and their communities are significant.

“It’s important injured workers are given the best possible chance of getting back into the workplace.

“A successful return to work does not have to mean going straight back into full-time work or the initial position that was originally held - it can be a gradual return, or a return to modified duties or even undertaking further training at work while the worker recovers,” Frost said.

A recent Newspoll survey found 71% of Victorians believe injured workers would benefit from returning to work before being fully recovered and more than 78% believe that returning to work would help speed up the recovery process.

In an initiative to encourage a progressive and proactive approach to helping injured workers return, WorkSafe is calling on businesses to submit their successful comeback stories in this year’s WorkSafe Awards.

Entries can be submitted on the website.

Frost is also calling on workplaces to “join the conversation” at the ‘Return to Work Online Community’ on LinkedIn to share experiences and successes about getting back to work after injury.