If you’re an employer and you have a worker who has experienced a work-related injury or illness, you must help them return to work safely if you can. You’re required to support your worker through rehabilitation, early and safe return to work. Research shows that this is a very important part of their recovery. This could mean making changes to their work while they recover. Your worker’s rehabilitation should start as soon as safe to do so after the injury has happened.

Each rehabilitation and return to work plan will be different so it is important that individual plans are created specifically for each worker. Suitable duties programs should be monitored and amended based on updated information from the treating doctor or following consultation with the worker and employer. A rehabilitation and return to work plan usually includes:

• clear and appropriate objectives with considerations of how these objectives will be achieved
• details of rehabilitation activities required to meet the objectives
• time frames for expected stages of recovery and return to work opportunities
• when and by who reviews will be undertaken to assess the injured worker’s progress
• how and when relevant parties will be informed of progress and
• if a suitable duties program or a return to the previous role is planned, how this will be achieved at the workplace and how the worker and employer will be advised.

The employer’s role in assisting the implementation of various stages of rehabilitation and return to work plans is vital to achieving a successful outcome. Support from the employer will assist the injured worker understand that their recovery at work is a priority as their contribution to the workplace is valuable. A planned approach demonstrates an employer’s ongoing commitment to achieving a successful return to work outcome for the injured worker. Assistance from the employer as a plan progresses may require the allocation of responsibilities to certain individuals at the workplace. This will ensure all elements of a plan are well implemented at the workplace. The best outcome from workplace rehabilitation is seen to be a return to the same job in the same workplace as prior to the injury.