Under section 7 of the Code of Practice (Injury Management) 2005, employers have a responsibility to establish return to work programs for injured workers. The process includes:

(1) The employer has to give a worker who suffers an injury compensable under the Act an opportunity to participate in the establishment of a return to work program for the worker.

(2) The employer has to take reasonable steps to ensure the worker agrees with the content of the worker’s return to work program.

Employers must:

• Ensure the content of return to work programs meets the requirements of the Code. This is a minimum requirement and employers may include additional arrangements that suit their particular workplaces.
• Provide injured workers with an opportunity to participate in the establishment of their individual return to work programs. Each employer and injured worker should cooperate and communicate during the development of a return to work program. Simply providing a worker with information about a program that has been developed for them is not adequate.
• Take reasonable steps to ensure the worker agrees with the content of their return to work program. What would be “reasonable” action on the part of an employer would depend on the nature of the work related injury, the resources available and the circumstances at the time. Employers are encouraged to confirm the return to work direction with injured workers in writing if attempts to reach an agreement with the worker fail.
• Encourage the worker to communicate with them and attempt to resolve the issues preventing agreement. If medical issues are the reason for disagreement, a case conference with the worker’s treating medical practitioner may help.

If a matter relating to a return to work program is referred to an arbitrator, the arbitrator may assess the extent to which the return to work program complies with the Code. This is one factor that could influence an arbitrator’s decision about whether a worker must participate in the return to work program that has been established.