Welcome
Return to work: part of good occupational health and safety
HCHSA Toronto, Ontario
February 21, 2005
Assumptions about you
• You’re involved in occupational health and safety, and you want to better understand RTW issues and opportunities
• You want to make a difference in your workplace, by
helping to improve upon the well-being of your employees.
• You also want to contribute to improved productivity and performance.
Why be concerned?
Direct Costs
Hidden Costs
Why be concerned?
Cost• Direct costs of a workplace injury that results
in time away from work: $12,200
• Hidden costs to the workplace can range from between 3 to 10 times the direct costs
Why be concerned?
Employer’s legal responsibilities
• To accommodate employees -- unless the employer demonstrates the expenses will cause undue hardship
• To provide a healthy and safe workplace
• A proactive approach to helping injured workers return to safe and productive work as soon possible
• Partnership between all parties; common goal of return to work
• Minimize the human and financial impact of workplace injuries and illness
Return to Work
What we know
Amount of time off work
Chance of Returning to work
6 months to 1 year 50%
1 year - 2 years 20%
More than 2 years 10%
Time matters
What we know
Benefits for employers of a good return to work program
• Demonstrates commitment to employees• Contains costs• Improves working environment and employee
morale• Limits productivity losses • Maintains a skilled workforce• Continuous improvement for work, workstations
and work processes
Benefits for employees of a good return to work program
• Shortens recovery time and can improve prognosis
• Minimizes financial impact of lost wages• Reduces the risk of physical complications or
permanent disability • Maintains self-esteem • Maintain job skills
What we know
RTW: making it happen
• Report and investigate injuries promptly
• Determine functional abilities
• Develop a written RTW plan
• Implement the RTW plan
• Evaluate
RTW roles & procedures
Some key issues: • who should the worker notify if an injury?• Who completes the form 7?• Who’s responsible for maintaining contact?
How often?• Who determines the availability of suitable
employment, and how? • Who will investigate the incident, and how?
How will this information be used?
Information for injured workers
Prepared information packages could include:
• letter to injured worker confirming availability of suitable work
• letter to health care provider explaining your RTW program, specifying an employer contact. Include description of regular job demands, plus details known about alternate duties available
• Functional abilities form
WSIB resources
Service Delivery Team members:• Claims Adjudicator• Nurse Case Manager• Account Manager or Customer Service
Representive
RTW resources:• Ergonomists• Mediators
5 Steps to Managing Health and Safety
1. Set standards
2. Communicate
3. Train
4. Evaluate
5. Acknowledge success and make improvements
Standards
• H&S expectations and policies, identified by management.
• Provides a benchmark to use when evaluating H&S
• May have to develop procedures to measure compliance
• Ensure standards are met through inspections, evaluations, documentation
• Who does what?
Communicate
• Ensure specific standards/expectations clearly understood.
• All should understand their own roles and responsibilities to prevent injuries
• Options include: formal training, orientation, staff meetings, email, newsletters
• Check for understanding
Train
• Ensure all employees receive health and safety training relevant to their jobs/roles
• Orientation, job changes, return from absences. Keep it current
• Formal/informal. Check for understanding.
• Cover rights, responsibilities, health and safety, roles, company policies & procedures.
Evaluate
• Are H&S activities consistent with standards in place? Are goals being met?
• What is/isn’t working well?
• Survey staff to learn if they understand their roles.
• Are communications to and from employees clear and understood?
• Is training sufficient?
Acknowledge success and make improvements
• Use info obtained from evaluation process. Make changes as necessary
• Learn from “best practices”
• Recognize what’s going well: performance appraisals, employee rewards, public recognition, incentive programs