Are your rehabilitation and return to work systems best practice?
Establishing and proactively maintaining a robust and person-centred rehabilitation and return to work (RRTW) system supports better RRTW outcomes including early and safe return to work.
Best practice
Your RRTW system (processes, policies and procedures):
- is person-centred, placing the injured worker front and centre of their recovery and return to work, and developed in consultation with your workers
- encourages and supports early intervention and recovery at work
- sets clear expectations and provides support for supervisors and leaders involved in supporting an injured worker’s RRTW.
Why this is important
Establishing and proactively maintaining a robust and person-centred RRTW system supports better RRTW outcomes (early and safe return to work).
It demonstrates that you care about your workers’ wellbeing and that workers can expect a supportive and coordinated response if a work-related injury occurs.
It also provides clarity and can help to keep workers and supervisors engaged with the RRTW process.
What actions can I take now?
Review your RRTW system and ensure you are:
- informing workers about their right to make a worker’s compensation claim and making it easy to report work-related injuries. Educate workers about how to report incidents and that it’s important to report as soon as possible
- consulting with workers and supervisors to develop meaningful policies and procedures for RRTW
- providing education and training on RRTW to your supervisors and leaders, so they understand how to meet their obligations and support an injured worker
- demonstrating management commitment, by allocating resources to RRTW, monitoring your business’s performance, and making RRTW a regular agenda item at team and leadership meetings.
Your toolkit
- Review your safety and RRTW processes and systems using the Safety fundamentals toolkit. You can also register for the Injury Prevention and Management (IPaM) program to receive tailored, free and independent support and advice to develop positive policies, procedures and practices.
- Download sample policies on safety, work health and wellbeing, and workplace rehabilitation.
- View the Injury information pack: a guide for employers and workers (DOCX, 0.61 MB).
- Print and display the If you’re injured at work (PDF, 2.13 MB) posters.
- Build your capacity and knowledge about RRTW by subscribing to our e-bulletin and the Return to Work Queensland Facebook page.
- Contact the Workers’ Compensation Information Advisory Service for employers for free and independent information, advice and support on RRTW, injury management and the workers’ compensation claims process.