Browsing: Return to work and rehabilitation | Page 39

A major South Australian employer's revised safety and rehabilitation policies contain an "inappropriately confined view" of what constitutes suitable employment for injured workers, the WCT has found.

Rehabilitating injured workers or referring them to a rehab service as soon as possible following an injury or illness is vital, according to the authors of a new Australian study of 95,000 injured workers.

The restrictions placed on injured workers who want to claim common law damages against their employers are varied across jurisdictions. In this article, two employment lawyers highlight the facts employers should be aware of if faced with a negligence lawsuit.

In determining whether an injured employee can perform the inherent requirements of a job, employers must ensure they rely on medical evidence and not their own assumptions, two employment lawyers have stressed.

Return-to-work plans with set stages, developed with employee input, offer employers and workers the best chance of a speedy and sustainable return to duties, says a RTW expert.

A worker who claims he was injured during a functional assessment under a return-to-work plan has failed to obtain compensation from his former employer, but the AAT notes that former employers can be found liable in such circumstances.

A business that introduced a vacuum lifting system to reduce manual handling, and roof ventilation to improve the comfort of workers, has been announced as one of NSW's safest employers. Also in this article, the winners of the NSCA Awards have been announced.

Unions WA has called for the State Government to stop "bludging" and "get on with harmonising occupational health and safety laws", with Safe Work Australia's latest comparative report showing Western Australia's safety record is poor.

Common law thresholds will reduce premiums, says CCIQ; and Qld issues storm and elevated-basket warnings.

Workers who obtain medical certificates for mental health issues are nearly always certified as totally unfit for work, suggesting GPs don't believe employers can accommodate their condition, Australian researchers have found.