Returning to work after an injury

Transcription

1 Returning to work after an injury

2 Whether you can return to work full-time, part-time or can t return at all yet, it s important to begin to plan how and when you ll safely return to work. A team approach is often best when planning your return to work. Your recovery team should include you, your employer and your treatment provider/s. Others to consider include a support person and/ or union representative. If you re injured and your claim is accepted by ACC, your team might also include an ACC Case Manager/Coordinator. This resource has been developed by ACC to assist you in dealing with the impact of injury. However, you may find this resource can be applied to situations where you re off work because of illness. Your ACC Case Manager/Case Coordinator Name Phone number ACC information online Freephone 8am-5pm weekdays

3 Reasons why it s good to get back to work It s good for you financially If you re an employee and you ve had a work-based injury, your employer pays you for your first week off work. If your injury happened outside the workplace, you re responsible for your first week off work (eg. by taking sick leave). After that, you ll receive a reduced income of up to 80% of your weekly pay from ACC. Therefore we ll work with you to put a return to work plan in place, because it can be hard to make ends meet when you have less money coming in. When you return to full-time work, you can usually look forward to receiving 100% of your pay again. It s good for you physically While a healthy diet, plenty of fluids and relaxation are all important in helping you recover, research shows that staying active also helps speed up recovery. Even if you re feeling some pain, there are ways of managing the pain so you can do what s likely to be best for you - return to work. The workplace is often the best place to recover. Your treatment provider will help work out what you re capable of doing, so only suitable work will be expected of you. When you return to work, you can look forward to a faster recovery. 1

4 It s good for you emotionally If you re off work longer-term, you can start to lose your confidence. Generally the longer you re away, the harder it can be to return to your usual job. An early return to work can help you keep up with everyone at work and let them see that you re making steady progress. It can also maintain your lifestyle outside of work. When you return to work, you can look forward to staying in touch with your job and your workmates. 2

5 The first step to getting back to work is to contact your Manager/Supervisor Your Manager/Supervisor can then help you develop a safe return to work plan. Together with help from other members of your recovery team, you can set goals, actions and timeframes for a safe return to your usual job. 3

6 Your recovery team You It helps when you play an active role in your own return to work. A positive attitude is important and you ll recover faster and more fully if you re involved in planning your return to work. Your employer It s important that you tell your employer about your injury. Whether or not the injury happened at work, your employer can help you get back to work as quickly and safely as possible. This may involve changing your hours or work tasks. Your employer may already have a list of alternative duties and you can discuss alternative or modified duties with them. 4 Your treatment provider/s This could include your doctor, physiotherapist or occupational therapist. They may put a treatment plan in place to help you recover. They ll also determine your ability to do certain activities. For example; how much can you lift and how often? This information should be recorded on your medical certificate (only your doctor can complete this). To do this properly they ll need assistance from you and the other members of your recovery team. They ll need to know what your job involves and, if necessary, what temporary changes could be made to help you return to work.

7 Your ACC Case Manager/Coordinator This is your own personal contact person at ACC. They ll support you and your employer in preparing for your return to work and help you to set goals for your recovery. They ll also arrange any ACC entitlements you may be eligible for. 5

8 Assessing your ability to go back to work It s important that your recovery team has a clear understanding of your injury, your workplace and your job. This is so an individual return to work plan can be developed for you. Sometimes ACC will arrange for a workplace assessment to be completed. This helps your recovery team to understand what your job involves and how to help you return to work. Everyone in your recovery team holds different information about your injury, your workplace and your job. Therefore it s important that you all talk to each other. You can then agree on what needs to happen, so you can return to work and an everyday life. 6

9 Now you re ready to return to work Your return to work plan should match your capabilities because you ve been involved in its development, along with your recovery team. Therefore it should be effective in helping you return to work confidently and safely. 7

10 Give it a go! Now it s time to give your return to work plan a go. Go back to work and see how you feel. If there are any problems along the way, don t worry, your plan can be reviewed and changed. You ll have good days and bad days that s normal. The main thing is to keep active and make steady, gradual progress. Some ways ACC can help Monitoring to provide support and assistance Temporary modifications to your work environment if you experience a significant increase in pain when you return to work Exploring transport options if you find it difficult getting to work Reviewing your return to work plan with your recovery team. This is an opportunity to make any changes that may be needed and to follow-up on how you re going. 8

11 Questions about returning to work after an injury If I can t do my usual job, do I have to be signed off work completely? No. ACC will work with you, your employer and your treatment provider/s to see what tasks you can do at work. If my ACC form says I m fit for some work and there are no other duties available, or my employer doesn t want me back until I m better - do I have to be signed off as fully unfit or I won t get paid? No. If there are no alternative or modified duties available at your work, ACC will pay you whatever you would have been paid if you were signed off as fully unfit. I can t do much at the moment. If I go back to work, my employer won t be happy at having to pay me my normal pay for my usual job when I m not doing it. ACC doesn t have to pay at all then, does it? If necessary, ACC can contribute to your pay until you re able to do more of your usual job tasks. This will be agreed between ACC and your employer. There are no other duties available at my work. If I go back, won t I have to do my usual job anyway? If you re worried about this, talk to your ACC Case Manager/Coordinator. They can work with you and your employer to make sure that you re going to be working safely. This will allow you to continue your recovery. 9

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