Anticipating special situations

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Anticipating special situations

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Injury management and RTW don't always go according to plan. A good policy will anticipate special situations and include procedures for dealing with them. These may include:

Serious injury

Recommend early assessment of probable RTW outcomes when serious injury occurs. If a worker is not going to be able to return to their normal duties, early identification allows the focus to be placed on retraining and the development of alternate career options.

Completion of employment

Define when termination of employment on medical grounds may occur and the process to be followed. Address the issue of ongoing compensation in the policy.

Dispute resolution

Outline a dispute resolution plan that includes who a staff person can involve, the process that will be followed and the timeframe for resolving disputes.

Avoid disputes for questionable claims

Consider including a budget designed to assist employees in certain circumstances without requiring them to undergo a full claims process. This can help avoid time-consuming and potentially costly disputation.

flag_green   Organisations that proactively plan for special situations in their RTW policies prevent disputes and enable faster focus on appropriate interventions.