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No ordinary citizens: A minister and her son’s struggle with injury and illness

By on October 30, 2012 in Bullying & Stress, News, Psych, Return to work, Workers compensation

Putting allegations of nepotism aside, major depression and stress do have a detrimental impact on a person’s ability to function and recover from injuries. We hope the QLD Government take these facts into account when they consider making changes to their workers compensation scheme. Mother and son, in this case, both seem to be suffering [...]

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Welcome to the world of workers compensation and rehabilitation in NSW: Injured RailCorp employees labelled ‘bludgers’ and put in the too hard basket

By on October 23, 2012 in Return to work, Unions, WorkCover NSW, WTF

So, in amongst allegations of rorting the system, injured Railcorp employees are being labelled bludgers.  Welcome to the world of workers compensation and rehabilitation in NSW:  Management have simply failed to develop effective return to work programs for sick and injured workers, instead putting them in the too-hard basket. Unions demand apology from NSW minister [...]

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Posties angry in broken leg case: Company doctors misdiagnosing workers to get them back to work faster

By on October 21, 2012 in Comcare, Corruption, Return to work, WTF

Scott Henry says the Australia Post doctor thought his broken leg was only a minor injury. Picture: Chris Mckeen Source: The Daily Telegraph We would suggest that this practice is far more common than is reported.  Doctors hired by insurance companies, for example, routinely offer misdiagnosis that favour those paying the bills in order to [...]

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Welcome to Workover Week

By on October 10, 2012 in Allianz, CGU, GIO, Insurance companies, OH&S, Politics, Q-Comp, QBE, Return to work, Shame files, Stuff, WorkCover, WorkSafe Vic, Xchanging

Welcome to Workcover Week Hi all my fellow injured workers. According to the Workover, we injured workers only need our resilience built to stop us being injured in the workplace and taking too much time off work. I have booked the following sessions for Worksafe Week, but find I am only able to go to [...]

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Why Injured workers want to return to work

By on October 6, 2012 in Case manager (follies), Ramblings & Whinges, Return to work, suitable employment

For whatever obscure reason workcover case managers are drilled and brainwashed time and time again to believe that just about all injured workers are up to no good and are only looking for a free holiday. I always tear my hair out at this sickening and totally unsubstantiated statement.  As we posted under “myths”: Injured [...]

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Modified duties could mean a different contract – lawyers warning

By on October 3, 2012 in Return to work, suitable employment, Tips & Tricks

A workplace relations and safety lawyer warns that employers must make it very clear to injured workers that modified work arrangements are only temporary, or risk breaching contract laws and facing unfair dismissal claims. Modified duties could mean a different contract – lawyers warning Middletons partner lawyer Gerard Phillips told the Marsh Workforce Strategies Forum [...]

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Injured worker made redundant while on workcover: can FairWork help?

By on August 25, 2012 in Resources, Return to work, Stories, suitable employment, WorkCover QLD

We received an email overnight from an injured worker in Queensland who had been made redundant while on workcover. He wonders whether he could dispute the “redundancy” through FairWork under discrimination, as no other employee has been made redundant. According to the injured worker’s employer he was made redundant “because he is away from work [...]

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Workcover NSW law requires employer to provide injured worker with suitable duties

By on August 22, 2012 in Legislation, Return to work, suitable employment, WorkCover NSW

Under workers compensation law in NSW injured workers’ employers have always had the obligations to return injured workers to work. The obligation imposes a requirement on the employer to provide the injured worker with suitable duties, unless it is really not reasonably practicable to do so. Under the new workcover NSW amendments, workcover inspectors have [...]

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Compo cost blowout: ACT Government opts to improve workers compensation system rather than attack injured worker entitlements

By on August 21, 2012 in Compensation, Return to work, WorkCover ACT

Improve the system rather than attack injured worker entitlements is the opposite strategy being enforced by the O’Farrell Government.  Let’s hope the ACT Government are true to their word “The plan is not a fiscal efficiency measure or cost containment strategy”. As the facts show for years the real costs of workers compensation in most [...]

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Injured workers employer wants 100% physically and mentally fit staff only

By on August 3, 2012 in Return to work, Stories

Injured worker “R” kindly shares his story with us. Whilst he has undergone three surgeries and is doing all he possibly can to return to work, he has been told by his employer that they want him back only when/if “100% mentally and physically fit”. Now that the injured worker’s injury will take a long [...]

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New research confirms insecure work is a health and safety risk to workers

By on July 31, 2012 in OH&S, Return to work, Safe Work AU

New research shows casual workers are 50% more likely to be injured at work is solid proof that insecure work leads to unsafe working environments, reports the ACTU. New research confirms insecure work is a health and safety risk to workers 30 July, 2012 | Media Release New research showing casual workers are 50% more [...]

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Seriously injured worker received no support for retraining

By on July 28, 2012 in Bullying & Stress, CGU, Return to work, Shame files, Stories, suitable employment, WorkSafe Vic, WTF

Injured worker “Pauline”, who shared her story with us last week and who suffered a whopping 30% psychiatric injury in 2006, and was “compensated’ out of the system with barely two years income to support me was blocked at all attempts to get retraining. In her story, she shares a copy of one of her [...]

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Injured worker forced to leave much loved job having hard time coping

By on July 27, 2012 in Psych, Return to work, Stories, suitable employment

In this story, injured worker “L” kindly shares her painful workcover journey with us. L sustained a permanent back injury which, most unfortunately, means that she is no longer able to do the job she so much loves. Her employer was unable to provide her with a new administrative based job, and without formal retraining, [...]

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Nurses are being blocked from returning to work after injury

By on July 23, 2012 in nurses, Return to work, WorkCover NSW

Thanks to Trinny, it has come to our attention that a collaborative project between the NSWNA and the University of Newcastle – funded by a WorkCover Partnerships Grant awarded in 2007 was undertaken – in 2007- with “aims to improve the occupational rehabilitation process for injured nurses.” We are not sure how this “study” or [...]

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Injured worker placed in bewildering labouring job

By on July 22, 2012 in Legal cases, Return to work, suitable employment, WorkCover NSW, WTF

Further to some horrible and unethical, if not criminal, “return-to-work” practices, plans and forceful programs forced upon severely injured workers by their workcover case managers, so-called rehab service providers and penalty avoiding employers, we stumbled on this sickening legal case, where a NSW IRC Commissioner has expressed bewilderment at a Sydney council’s failure to return [...]

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Injured workers who cannot perform inherent requirements of the job can be sacked

By on July 15, 2012 in Employment, Legal cases, Legislation, Resources, Return to work, suitable employment, unfair dismissal

A fairly recent (2010) Fair Work  ruling showed that employers are able to place injured or ill workers on restricted duties without giving up their right to dismiss them if it becomes clear they are unable to perform the inherent requirements of their job. Injured workers who cannot perform inherent requirements of the job can [...]

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