Browsing: Return to work and rehabilitation | Page 32

A Fair Work Commissioner has expressed astonishment at an employer's lack of courtesy in telling an injured worker it needed to meet with her to discuss her return-to-work program, before sacking her without notice just hours after the meeting.

Employers should introduce mandatory return-to-work plans for those who take sick leave for a mental illness, a new report recommends, after finding suitable sickness absence and return-to-work management for Australian workers is "sorely lacking".

Employers are entitled to direct employees to attend a company-nominated doctor before returning to work after injury in circumstances where that return could create unacceptable health and safety risks, the Federal Court has ruled in a long-running dispute.

• Employer fined $140k after six apprentices left unsupervised; and
  
• New RTW and entry rules introduced in the ACT.

• NSW considering coverage of new RTW benefits;
  
• Lump sum amendment made today;
  
• Workers' comp "re-think" demanded in Victoria; and
  
• Tasmania introduces WHS plan for police.

NSW has introduced a new workers' compensation incentive regime to ensure medium-to-large employers with good safety and return-to-work records contribute no more than a third of the total premium pool.

A worker with "creeping trauma" has been awarded nearly $1 million in damages, after a court found his employer repeatedly failed to counsel him after he witnessed "gruesome" events and admitted he was struggling with work.

• SWA releases guide to managing carcinogenic diesel fumes;
  
• Queensland's safest employers announced; and
  
• Did you miss our latest quarterly update?

The Fair Work Commission has rejected a worker's claim that she was forced to resign because her employer failed to properly deal with her bullying allegations while she was on extended sick leave.

Employers should find ways to reorganise employment conditions to improve the work participation of people with chronic diseases, two studies recommend.