Emails
FROM: Peter Habib, HR Officer WA
TO: General Manager, Human Resources
SUBJECT: RE: Injury Management Review
Hi, just getting back to you about your review of our injury management system.
I'm pretty happy with the way things are going. We've had very few injuries, but those we have had are getting back to work earlier, and this is helping us keep our workers compensation costs down. Also it's better for the people who've been injured - they feel more cared about because we keep in touch with them while they're off work, so it improves their morale when they come back.
The one problem has been in trying to find suitable duties for people when they can't go on doing their usual job. Sometimes it's hard to find something useful for them to do, and they get a bit cheesed-off with the boring work they're given.
Cheers,
Peter
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FROM: Connie Quinn, HR Assistant NSW
TO: GM, Human Resources
SUBJECT: RE: Injury Management Review
Hi, just replying to your last message about your injury management review.
I'm glad this whole process is being reviewed, because it sure needs it. There was an OH&S meeting last week where we heard from a group of the guys who'd been injured in the factory and the warehouse.
Firstly, the proper procedures are not being followed. Don't be fooled by the existence of those nice-sounding documents on the Intranet - the rehab policy and the procedures and the mission statement. In reality, the process is practically random. It's not consistent, and communication doesn't always happen when it's needed. Sometimes guys come back to work and there is nothing for them to do and their workmates have to work longer hours to get the work done. Also, one of the fellows in the factory told me he had been off work for a month before anyone got in touch with him. I'm told some people don't get looked after at all, and for others the attention they got from the rehab coordinator was positively unhelpful. I think sometimes STAR's actually in breach of our obligations under the workers comp legislation.
Secondly, they all found the process turned adversarial on them almost from the start. There was such a lack of information and support they all felt alienated, and they still feel like that. They've got negative attitudes to the company due to the way things were handled. And most of them felt really angry about the way the doctors treated them - as though they were malingerers.
Worst of all was the way some of their workmates reacted, as though they were exaggerating their symptoms and ripping off the system. Their workmates saw them coming to work and just sitting around for a few hours each day - and getting paid for it!
There's been no proper training. The supervisors don't know what their role is, and nobody understands what suitable duties are supposed to be.
We've also had problems with how disputes are handled. No-one seems to agree on the details of the procedure, and the outline of it in the rehab procedures document isn't adequate.
Another thing - the jobs where people got injured are still the same. They haven't been modified at all, so I expect sooner or later we'll get more people injured doing the same thing!
I hope this review means you're going to fix all these problems!
Connie
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FROM: Bettina Rusque, HR Assistant WA
TO: General Manager, Human Resources
SUBJECT: RE: Injury Management Review
You emailed about rehab of injured workers.
It's about time you looked at it, as it's a big problem for us. No-one seems to realise how much it's costing us.
It costs time and money to organise and supervise suitable duties. First, you've got to have people spend time figuring out what the duties ought to be and negotiating with the relevant managers and supervisors. That costs, because of everyone's time. Then you've got to spend time training the injured workers in the suitable duties. That costs money too, because it takes up the supervisor's time. Meanwhile, you've got to recruit someone else to do the injured worker's job while that worker is off work or on suitable duties. Then, after you've recruited someone new, you've got to spend more time and money training them!
Everything costs. I haven't added it all up, but my guess would be that it's costing us more than it's saving us in lower workers comp costs. And it really puts pressure on the supervisors who try to make it work properly. They end up having to do overtime just to keep up with the paperwork. More costs!
Ms B. Rusque
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FROM: Brett Downie, HR Officer NSW
TO: General Manager, Human Resources
SUBJECT: RE: Injury Management Review
Got your message. I'm really pleased you're doing this review - we need to talk about this because it's just not working very well. We're having terrible trouble finding suitable duties for people. We just don't have a big enough operation here. Sure there are things we could use extra help with, but the workers who've been injured are mostly labourers, and they just don't have the skills to do the things we could do with more help on, like re-organising the database.
Also, some of their injuries make it impossible to find any work for them. What do you do with someone who insists their back is so sore that they can't even sit for half an hour. Lots of people just assume they're faking it, but I'm not so sure.
One woman who put in a stress claim has been transferred to another section to get her away from the supervisor she had so many complaints about and now she's threatening to put in another stress claim about the new supervisor!
And to be honest, I'm not sure when to bring in rehab service providers or what they're supposed to do. With one injury we had, I remember the rehab service provider came up with a return-to-work plan that was totally unrealistic in terms of what we could offer in the way of suitable duties. They seemed to be just applying a formula, not taking particular circumstances into account. And they were very expensive. I'm not sure we got value for our money.
A review of this injury management system is really needed, but how are you going to make it work?
Sincerely,
Brett Downie
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FROM: Pamela Gibb, Distribution Manager, OH&S Committee Chair
TO: General Manager, Human Resources
SUBJECT: RE: Injury Management Review
Hi, how're you doing?
About your rehab review - there are some things that need sorting out.
We've had a couple of people off with back injuries and they just seem to be resting at home for weeks on end. We're not doctors; however, we wonder if they shouldn't be getting some sort of treatment or rehab.
We're also finding problems with the doctors' certificates - in many cases they just don't specify what people with strain injuries physically can and can't do. The treating medical practitioners often don't communicate with us, and they don't seem to have any idea what sort of work we might have available for people requiring suitable duties.
Or else the injured employees don't want to accept the suitable duties we come up with for them - one man said he'd found it demeaning and kept comparing it with sorting paperclips. He wasn't being fair, though. It involved some quite demanding tasks, but he just couldn't seem to come to grips with them. In the end, the work the supervisor really wanted him to finish still wasn't done when he went back to his old job.
Some of the other workers are supportive, but most people who are injured have to put up with all sorts of snide comments and put-downs. There's a common perception that the injured workers are abusing the system. They are also seen taking time off during work hours to visit their doctor or physio, and this seems a bit unfair.
Also, the insurer's a bit of a problem. The contact person from the insurance company doesn't seem to explain things properly half the time, and everyone gets confused. He seems so unenthusiastic and inflexible whenever he's contacted about anything. It's like he's unwilling to assist and we're just a nuisance.
Thanks,
Pam
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