Employer obligations

What is my role as an employer?

You’re required to support your worker through rehabilitation to make an early and safe return to work. Research shows that this is a very important part of their recovery and an employer’s response can have a critical impact on return to work outcomes. This could mean making changes to their work while they recover. A worker's rehabilitation should start as soon as safe to do so after the injury has happened.

Do I have to provide suitable duties?

All Queensland employers must offer workplace rehabilitation (suitable duties).

The Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 says that when a worker has a claim for workers' compensation, you must take all "reasonable steps to assist or provide the worker with rehabilitation" (Section 228).

The laws also say that if you cannot provide suitable duties for your worker, you must give your insurer a written notice detailing reasons why and provide supporting evidence. If you don't provide sufficient evidence, penalties may apply.

Talk to your insurer if you are unsure what suitable duties you can provide, as they may be able to help you to meet your obligations.

The Workers’ Compensation Information and Advisory Service for Employers can also provide free, confidential, independent and expert support, including information about rehabilitation and return to work.

What are my responsibilities?

As an employer, you’re responsible for helping or providing an injured worker with rehabilitation:

• You must report the injury and start the claim process. You might need to pay an excess if your worker has taken time off and their claim is accepted.
• Your insurer will ask you to provide your worker's wage history, even before a liability decision is made, in case they need time off work. You must provide this information.
• You must follow the seven principles set out in the Guidelines for Standard for Rehabilitation (PDF, 0.4 MB)
• You should:
  • contact your worker at the time of, or as soon as you can after the injury.
  • take time to understand how the injury is affecting your worker both physically and mentally.
  • talk with your worker about workplace changes to support safe work.
  • keep an eye on your worker’s recovery process, making beneficial changes to their work as they improve.
  • keep checking in on your worker and continue to let your insurer know how they are going.
  • keep in contact with your insurer.
• You must offer flexible working arrangements to help your worker come back to work and find other work for them to do if needed. If you're unable to do this, your insurer can talk to you about other options and record why you are unable to help.
• You must make sure your rehabilitation and return to work coordinator (and any other key staff such as a supervisor) have the right skills and training and are supporting your worker as required.
• You must not dismiss an injured worker within 12 months of the injury solely or mainly because the worker is not fit for employment in a position.
• You must only use workers’ compensation documents to support a worker’s rehabilitation. It is an offense to use them for any purpose relating to their employment (i.e. any disciplinary action, or decisions about whether their employment should continue). Read more about workers’ compensation fraud and other prosecutions.
• To help you meet your legal requirements, make sure you can clearly distinguish rehabilitation records from employment records, maintain separate systems for storing each, and establish workplace policies that define and enforce who has authority to access rehabilitation information. Transparency about these access rights, combined with staff training on expectations and procedures, helps safeguard confidentiality.
• Workers should be required to complete an authorisation form before any rehabilitation information is shared with external parties.
• Put in place and maintain effective workplace rehabilitation policies and procedures.

Rehabilitation and Return to Work Coordinator

You must also appoint a rehabilitation and return to work coordinator and have workplace rehabilitation policies and procedures in place if you:

• have annual wages in Queensland 5,200 times Queensland full-time adult's ordinary time earnings (QOTE) for the preceding financial year. The QOTE webpage provides a list of all QOTE figures including the most current financial year. To determine if you meet the wages threshold as mentioned above, use the most current QOTE figure times 5,200. You can then compare that figure to your actual wages.
• are in a high risk industry with wages in Queensland for the preceding financial year of 2,600 times QOTE. Using the same QOTE webpage, use the previous financial year QOTE figure times 2,600. You can then compare that figure to what your actual wages.

Your rehabilitation and return to work coordinator must be based in Queensland, employed under a contract and be skilled, experienced or trained to perform the role.

Speak to your insurer if you are unsure if you meet this requirement.

What support is available?

Access free, independent, confidential and expert support advice for you and your workers and people making a claim through the following services:

• Workers’ Psychological Support Service
• Workers’ Compensation Information and Advisory Service for Workers
• Workers’ Compensation Information and Advisory Services for Employers.

Related links

• If an injury or illness occurs
• Your return to work roadmap
• Guiding the way: responding to psychological injury at work