What happens if there are no ‘suitable duties’ for an injured worker?

What happens if there are no 'suitable duties' for an injured worker?
Source: Workplace OHS

10/9/2007

The issue:

What happens if there are no suitable duties or the workplace cannot be redesigned to accommodate an injured worker?

Another issue is that some employees are working under a graded system and can only perform certain duties - ie packer. What happens then?

The answer:

The following information is generally applicable and was obtained from the NSW WorkCover website and should answer your query:

'Suitable duties' or 'suitable employment' means employment in work for which the worker is suited, having regard to the following:

the nature of the worker's incapacity and pre-injury employment
the worker's age, education, skills and work experience
the worker's place of residence
the details given in the medical certificate supplied by the worker
the provisions of the employer's return-to-work program and any rehabilitation assessment of, or return-to-work plan for the worker
any suitable employment for which the worker has received rehabilitation training
the length of time the worker has been seeking suitable employment
any other relevant circumstances

At the request of an injured worker, employers must provide suitable duties for an injured worker unless:

it is not reasonably practicable to do so
the worker voluntarily left the employment either before or after the commencement of the incapacity for work
the employer terminated the worker's employment after the injury, other than for the reason that the worker was not fit for employment as a result of the injury

The employment an employer must provide should be both suitable employment and, as far as reasonably practicable, the same as or equivalent to the employment in which the worker was engaged at the time of injury.

The duties given to an injured worker should be useful and meaningful duties, where practicable.

Re-training should be offered where possible if injured workers are unable to return to their former duties.

Employers must notify their insurer if they are unable to provide suitable duties to partially unfit workers who request it. Not offering an injured worker suitable employment may impact on the cost of your workers compensation premium.

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