Claims

Basic requirements for Return to Work (RTW) strategies at every workplace:

We all work hard to keep our employees happy and safe while they are at work. Accidents and injuries at work sometimes happen and when it does your employees look for support and guidance on the Workers Compensation process. Do you have the knowledge, skills and resources to support them?

Are you ready to support their safe Return to Work?

There are certain procedures and guidance material employers are required to have in place and documents and templates based on best practice principles.These resources are designed so you are prepared and ready to support your employees in a safe, sustained and efficient recovery following their injury.

Hotel Employers Mutual have developed a series of documents that assist employers through the Workers Compensation process and be ready to support their employees. These documents are bundled into two toolkits; for small employers, and for medium to large employers.

These toolkits are aimed at giving employers some guidance on:

  • reporting and notifying injuries
  • locating suitable duties or employment options whilst your employee recovers from their injuries
  • documenting their road to recovery
  • tools to help identify flags or roadblocks to recovery

All you need to do is download the resources from our free toolkit and modify the documents to suit the operation of your business.

Requirement Functional Purpose Regulatory Basis HEM comment/support Resource
RTW program A RTW Program is a document that outlines the policy and procedures relevant to a worker sustaining an injury and minimum requirements to lodge and manage a Workers Compensation claim. WIM Act 1998
• Section 52		 HEM recommend all employers use the template provided by SIRA as a minimum standard. In addition, SIRA have developed Guidelines for workplace return to work programs to assist employers developing their RTW Program.  
“Have you been injured at work” poster Employers are to provide their workers with relevant information required so workers understand the process should they look to lodge a Workers Compensation claim. WIM Act 1998
• Section 231
WIM Regulations
• Clause 39		 The NSW Government has provided a poster which covers all the relevant information required. HEM clients are encouraged to download the poster, fill in the relevant details and display at their workplace for workers to view and access.  
Person responsible (in lieu of a RTWC) Every business, even small businesses need to have someone that is responsible to manage the workers compensation process on behalf of the employer. This requires you to work closely with the injured employee, Case Manager, Doctors, etc, however for small business this person does not require any specific training or qualifications. WIM Act 1998
• Section 52
The RTW guidelines		 A small employer is not required to have a RTW Coordinator with specific training, however HEM encourage small employers have their responsible person complete the SIRA RTW Coordinators training as this is highly advantageous.  
Record keeping resources All communications, verbal, written and digital must be documented. All workplaces must have a secure and reliable method to record all communications, reports, documents, etc related to a claim.

Register of injuries must be completed and retained.

 WIM Act 1998
• Section 40A-D
WIM Act
s 256		 Having a recording and filing system is critical. Either through employee files, documents saved on a purpose-built program, or through a basic working PC, documentation must be secure, and the system must be reliable. All communications must be dated and clearly filed. Access to information on a need-to-know basis.

Recording all injuries in a register of injuries is required and these records must be retained.
Suitable duties List A list of suitable duties that injured workers can use as returning to health at work is critical WIM Act 1998
• Section 49		 HEM will provide a list of generic suitable duties as guide for what you might be able to find within your Hotel or pub  
Recover at Work plan Employers are required to offer suitable work duties to a worker whilst they are recovering from an injury, in as far as what is reasonably practicable. A Recover at work plan (formally return to work or suitable duties plan) is a document that communicates this obligation. WIM Act 1998
• Section 49		 A Recover at Work plan outlines the goal for their recovery at work, the duties to be completed, hours to be worked, functional demands, and sign off by relevant parties. HEM have templates available to employers. SIRA also have generic templates that can be downloaded from their website.  
Generic Suitable work duties form / Functional Job Description in HEMsafe Having an understanding of the functional demands of the roles at the Hotel will assist in determining potential options for suitable work duties and the RTW goal. WIM Act 1998
• Section 49		 This document is a list of the main / all tasks for each role within your Hotel and the physical requirement to complete each task. The purpose of this document is to assist the NTD and Employer to determine suitable work duties while a worker recovering at work and an appropriate RTW goal for recovery.  
Active HEMsafe Member HEMSafe is HEM’s online WHS portal. Evidence on using HEMsafe to ensure they are active in attempting to reduce injuries and claims. WHS Act 2011 Evidence in prevention activities will assist in limiting injuries or the severity of injuries.  
Early warning signs of possible roadblocks to recovery This simple document is based on common issues that are often flags or roadblocks to recovery. Identifying these flags early and setting an appropriate action plan can assist the injured worker to remain on a positive path to recovery. This document is a guidance document that is particularly useful for new Return to Work Coordinators, or Return to Work Coordinators that don’t manage and support Workers Compensation processes on a regular basis. It provides triggers to open conversations on potential roadblocks to recovery and therefore realigning strategies to meet these changes.  
Requirement Functional Purpose Regulatory Basis HEM comment/support Resource
Return to Work (RTW) program A RTW Program is a document that outlines the policy and procedures relevant to a worker sustaining an injury and minimum requirements for an employer to lodge and manage a Workers Compensation claim. Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation (WIM) Act 1998
• Section 52		 SIRA have developed Guidelines for workplace return to work programs to assist employers developing their RTW Program. HEM have developed templates based on these guidelines to support hotels in meeting this obligation. Templates can be downloaded from our website, or our WHS portal HEMSafe.  
“Have you been injured at work” poster Employers are to provide their workers with relevant information required so workers understand the process should they look to lodge a Workers Compensation claim. WIM Act 1998
• Section 231
WIM Regulations 2016
• Clause 39		 The NSW Government has provided a poster which covers all the relevant information required. HEM clients are encouraged to download the poster, fill in the relevant details and display at their workplace for workers to view and access.
Record keeping resources All communications, verbal, written and digital must be documented. All workplaces must have a secure and reliable method to record all communications, reports, documents, etc related to a claim.

Register of injuries must be completed and retained.

 WIM Act 1998
• Section 40A-D
• Section 63
• Section 256		 Having a recording and filing system is critical. Either through employee files, documents saved on a purpose-built program, or through a basic working PC, documentation must be secure, and the system must be reliable. All communications must be dated and clearly filed. Access to information on a need-to-know basis.

Recording all injuries in a register of injuries is required and these records must be retained.
Return To Work Coordinator (RTWC) A RTWC is a trained person responsible for managing the employer’s requirements under the Workers Compensation legislation. In addition to training, a RTWC must meet the requirements set in the SIRA RTW Guidelines and follow the set requirements outlined in the employer’s RTW Program, policy and procedures. WIM Regulations 2016
• Clause 19 (1)
• Clause 19 (4)
SIRA RTW guidelines		 Whilst the type training required of a RTWC is not specified in the guidelines, HEM encourages all employers to complete the online SIRA course. This gives specific information on what SIRA as the regulator requires of them. HEM recommend completing the course again as a refresher if you have not managed a claim in the last 2 years. Whilst the RTWC training highlights the roles and responsibilities of the RTWC, we encourage senior management to be aware of these roles and responsibilities to ensure they support their RTWC to achieve the best RTW outcomes for the business and its injured workers.
Recover at Work plan Employers are required to offer suitable work duties to a worker whilst they are recovering from an injury, in as far as what is reasonably practicable. A Recover at work plan (formally return to work or suitable duties plan) is a document that communicates this obligation. WIM Act 1998
• Section 49		 A Recover at Work plan outlines the goal for an injured worker recovery at work, the duties to be completed, hours to be worked, functional demands, and sign off by relevant parties. HEM have templates available to employers. SIRA also have generic templates that can be downloaded from their website.
Person responsible for safety All Persons Conducting a Business of Undertaking (PCBU – or in this context the hotel) is required to provide a safe and healthy workplace, as far as reasonably practicable. A person responsible for safety is critical to ensure safety obligations are being met by the PCBU. This may include incident investigations to determine strategies to reduce the risk of injuries reoccurring. WHS Act 2011 The level of knowledge, tools and resources for each workplace around safety will vary, depending on the level of risk, size of your business, etc. HEM have an online WHS portal, HEMSafe, to support businesses of any size in the hotel industry with the WHS needs and obligations, from risk assessments, incident reporting, mentally healthy workplace initiatives and workplace inspections. This portal is free for policy holders and can be administered by the responsible person at your hotel.  
An introduction pack for the Nominated Treating Doctor (NTD) An introduction pack is a small collection of documents prepared for the worker to take to their NTD to open the communication lines with the NTD and encourage a safe and early return and recovery at work. An introduction pack is a small collection of documents prepared for the worker to take to their NTD. They generally include:

  • Introduction letter
  • A job description and/or functional Job Description
  • Details of the RTWC
  • Outline of potential duties available
  • A proposed Recovery at Work plan
Treating Doctor Contact checklist It is important for the Return to Work Coordinator to initiate and maintain regular communication with the treating doctor. This checklist will help build a collaborative relationship and gather and share important information regarding the injured worker’s recovery and return to work (RTW).
An introduction pack for the treatment provider This introduction pack is a small collection of documents prepared for the worker to take to their treatment provider. The purpose of this pack is to open the communication lines with the provider, encourage safe and early return and recovery at work, for the provider to have a clear understanding of the preinjury role, and set appropriate treatment goals that reflect the functional demands of the preinjury role. An introduction pack is a small collection of documents prepared for the worker to take to their treatment provider. The generally include:

  • Introduction letter
  • A job description and/or functional Job Description
  • Details of the RTWC
  • Outline of potential duties available
  • A proposed Recovery at Work plan
Functional Job Description / dictionary This tool outlines the functional and physical demands of the tasks required for each role. The two main functions for this tool are to ensure:

  • When hiring it provides a candidate and employer clear expectations of the physical demands of the role.
  • Should a worker be injured, their NTD can understand the physical requirements of a job/potential suitable duties to assist in creating the recover at work plan.
 HEM have a functional job description tool templates within HEMsafe that allows employers to build a functional library of each role.

HEMSafe is an online WHS portal, free for all policy holders.

  
Early warning signs of possible roadblocks to recovery This simple document is based on common issues that are often flags or roadblocks to recovery. Identifying these flags early and setting an appropriate action plan can assist the injured worker to remain on a positive path to recovery. This document is a guidance document that is particularly useful for new Return to Work Coordinators, or Return to Work Coordinators that don’t manage and support Workers Compensation processes on a regular basis. It provides triggers to open conversations on potential roadblocks to recovery and therefore realigning strategies to meet these changes.