Your employee’s healthcare professional should advise how long they need off work and when they can return.  They should make these recommendations via a certificate of capacity. This should outline which the capacity in which they can return to work. If you have any concerns about your employee returning to work you should discuss this with your employee and their doctor and/or return to work specialist.

The TAC can also provide a range of supports to ensure that your employee has a safe and productive return to work.

Your employee’s healthcare professional may recommend your employee return to work doing suitable duties. This means they may not yet be fully fit to complete all aspects of the role, however returning to work doing suitable duties will allow them to recover sooner and build productivity.

Depending on the length of time off work and the nature of the injury, your employee may require a graded return to work.

If your employee has any restrictions, you will be made aware of these and you can be supported to make adjustments and/or modifications to their role and/or work environment.

Unlike WorkCover legislation, there are no provisions in the Transport Accident Act 1986 which require an employer to keep a job open for a worker injured in a transport accident.

However, having a valued employee returning to your workplace will be important for your organisation as well as to help your employee recover from their injuries. We will work with you and your employee during the return to work process. We can offer incentives to support you and help ease the financial impact of taking back an employee after an accident.

As part of the employer incentive package we may be able to offer a return to work program that includes WorkCover premium protection.

As part of the employer incentive package we can consider paying a wage subsidy to compensate your business while you support your employee in their return to work.

These subsidies will be developed with the help of a return to work specialist and will be agreed upon by all parties before any return to work program commences so that you know exactly what to expect.

The TAC may consider paying the cost of reasonable workplace equipment and/or modifications that will assist with an employee’s return to work. The return to work specialist will assess the worksite and recommend the types of modifications or equipment required.

They will discuss the recommendations with your employee’s treating doctor and advise us on the modifications required. If appropriate, we will then pay for these modifications to help your injured worker return safely.

Medical appointments should be outside of work time. However if your employee has to have time off work due to their accident injuries, they need to advise us of this via a certificate of capacity, or a medical report from their treating practitioner.

If approved, we can organise a reimbursement to you for the sick leave taken or pay the TAC client directly for the time they require off work.

The return to work specialist will monitor your employee for a minimum of 12 weeks once their return to work goal has been achieved. In some instances, an employee may need support for a longer period.

If further return to work support is required, contact the TAC coordinator to see what options are available.