Getting back to work after an injury is an important step on the road to recovery. Talk to your doctor and with your employer about how they can help you get back. After all, there’s nothing like getting back for getting better.
Getting back to work after an injury is an important step on the road to recovery. Talk to your doctor and with your employer about how they can help you get back. After all, there’s nothing like getting back for getting better.
Regular communication between an injured worker, their employer and their doctor from early on can help to ensure a smooth return to work.
Setting a date to get back to work is important - the date an injured worker expects to be able to return to work after an injury has a big impact on when they’ll actually get back.
It’s important to stay positive when planning a return to work. Injured workers – with their employer and their doctor - should focus on what they can do, rather than on what they can’t and discuss options for safe alternative duties during recovery.
Getting back to work after an injury is an important step on the road to recovery. An injured worker doesn’t have to wait until they’re 100 per cent recovered to get back to safe work. After all, there’s nothing like getting back for getting better.
Meeting your obligations and supporting injured employees to get back to safe work as soon as safely possible is good for business. You’ll retain important skills and knowledge and keep the cost of your WorkCover insurance down.
Injured workers who return to safe work as soon as possible recover more quickly and with fewer complications than those who wait until they’re fully recovered to get back.
Health professionals have an important role to play in helping injured workers return to safe, suitable work by assessing and certifying their capacity for work and helping them set a date to get back. Download our guide for GPs
Download our guide for Physiotherapists
"Some of our staff find it difficult to return, but as soon as they know that the workplace health and safety team and their manager is there, they feel very safe to return back into the workplace."
"Our staff have a lot of pride in what they do on a day to day basis, so to support them to stay at work and be functioning is very important."
"The secret to Outlook’s success in return to work is really considering the person, not just the work aspects. We do it in collaboration, we work as a team."
"Early intervention is key to a successful return to work program. I see the staff members as my own little family, and I like to see them flourish."
"We felt that the best approach we could take in helping people return to work was to help them stay at work."
"The secret to Outlook's success in return to work is really considering the person, not just the work aspects. We do it in collaboration, we work as a team."
Foot crushed in a bobcat injury
"Getting back to work, it's just really good for your recovery and your mental state. It gets a smile back on your face and thinking about the good things in life again."
Car accident – multiple serious injuries
"Coming back to work, it was like a great weight lifted off my shoulders…proof to me that I'm still capable of living a normal life."
Manual handling injury
"My advice would be, if you do get injured, do what you have to do and get back to work. It's the best medicine for a person."
