Return-to-work
Plan your injured employee's return
Bringing an injured employee back to work as soon as medically appropriate is not only the right thing to do but also a good business decision.
Through early return-to-work, you can:
Submitted your written program yet?
As a new SFM policyholder, you were asked to develop a written return-to-work program when your policy began.
In that process you (1) wrote a policy statement, (2) appointed an internal claims coordinator, (3) identified a primary care clinic, and (4) identified transitional and modified jobs.
If you have not yet developed your organization's return-to-work program, refer to the "Creating a return-to-work program" section for help.
Your written program prepares your organization to bring injured employees back to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.
|
• Keep workers' compensation costs down.
• Avoid overtime, hiring and retraining costs.
• Lessen your chances for litigation.
• Help your employee heal while staying productive and in a working mindset.
Begin planning now. In some cases, you may be able to return the employee to work within the three-day waiting period and substantially reduce the claim's impact on your workers' compensation premium. If time off exceeds the three-day wait, work with the treating doctor to minimize the payment of wage-loss benefits. Offer the employee a temporary position at a reduced wage if necessary.
See how earlier return-to-work impacts your premium. Notice how bringing an employee back to work as soon as medically possible can substantially reduce the claim's impact on your workers' compensation premium.
Your SFM claims representative can calculate the dollar amounts for the specific case you are
dealing with. When you've succeeded in bringing an injured employee back to work earlier, you've reduced the ultimate cost to your organization, and that may be useful information to share with your management.
|
