Rehabilitation Report: Analysis of Recovery and Policies

This comprehensive rehabilitation report delves into various aspects of worker rehabilitation, starting with the role of rehabilitation service providers and the procedures for claim management, including relevant policies and the responsibilities of agents. It explores dispute resolution processes, steps for referring workers to rehabilitation, and organizational procedures for notifying providers. The report also examines the timeframe for claim determination, the information included in determination letters, and methods for identifying the nature of illnesses. It provides recommendations based on injury data, discusses the period of absence for different injuries, and identifies barriers to recovery, offering a thorough analysis of the rehabilitation process from injury to return to work. The report utilizes case studies and examples to illustrate key concepts and provide practical insights into managing workplace injuries and facilitating worker recovery.

Running head: REHABILITATION
Rehabilitation
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
Activity 2:........................................................................................................................................3
Activity 3:........................................................................................................................................3
Activity 4:........................................................................................................................................4
Activity 5:........................................................................................................................................5
Activity 6:........................................................................................................................................6
Activity 7:........................................................................................................................................7
Activity 8:........................................................................................................................................8
Activity 9:......................................................................................................................................10
Activity 10:....................................................................................................................................11
Activity 11:....................................................................................................................................15
Activity 12:....................................................................................................................................17
Activity 13:....................................................................................................................................17
Activity 14:....................................................................................................................................18
Activity 15:....................................................................................................................................18
Activity 16:....................................................................................................................................19
Activity 17:....................................................................................................................................20
Activity 18:....................................................................................................................................21
Activity 19:....................................................................................................................................21
Summative assessment 1:..............................................................................................................22

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Question 1:.................................................................................................................................22
1.1..........................................................................................................................................22
1.2..........................................................................................................................................23
2. Return to Work Arrangements Template..........................................................................23
Summative assessment 2:..............................................................................................................23
Project 1:....................................................................................................................................23
References:....................................................................................................................................25

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Activity 2:
To be able to prove that policy is being maintained, the worker can approach the
rehabilitation service provider (Cullen et al., 2017). The worker can communicate to their
respective rehab service provider through their employer. In such cases, the case manager is
assigned who on behalf of the worker do the needful for them. The case manager will
communicate to the rehab provider and will supply the necessary information to the worker
about their policy status (Cullen et al., 2017).
Activity 3:
1) Informing relevant policies for claim management-
The claim for compensation in case of Sharon can be managed through few policies like
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 which is specifically designed for federal
legislation (Underhill & Rimmer, 2015). There are some other legislations distributed based on
different states like Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003, Workers Rehabilitation
and Compensation Act 1986 and others which also can help to manage the compensation
(Underhill & Rimmer, 2015).
2) Role of the agent while processing the claim-
An agent can be understood as a middleman who on behalf of the employer tries to
dislodge the issue. In case of Sharon, the claim management can be done with the help of useful
policies as mentioned in the aforesaid answer. The first and foremost role of the agent will be to
guide Sharon to suitable steps which will be required to manage her claim for compensation. The
guide will be in regards to like the main contact person for claiming the compensation,

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evaluating the losses, informing about the time-span required for the entire process, impact of
claim filing and the probability of the claim being canceled if found it like false claim (Bohatko-
Naismith et al., 2015).
In case of Sharon, as highlighted in the question, she had been caught for few disciplinary
related issues in last two weeks. Therefore, the agent will also have to make an inquiry on
whether the application made by her, is genuine. This is required because Sharon’s behavior is
doubtful and she is also not disclosing the reason that has hurt her back (Matthews et al., 2015).
Additionally, there have been disciplinary related allegations on Sharon in the last two weeks or
so. This is because of the two highlighted reasons, it is important that agent must examine the
validity of the claim made by Sharon. Guiding Sharon to the related process of compensation
will be the secondary factor in this regard. However, communication will be required which the
agent will do to establish a fair relation of understanding with Sharon (Matthews et al., 2015).
The agent should also speak to the respective case doctor who has prepared the medical
report for Sharon. This will help the agent to understand the case better and also whether the
claims made by Sharon are genuine. If the claims are not genuine, it should be canceled
informing Sharon on the reasons that were being considered before canceling the claims
(Désiron et al., 2016).
Activity 4:
1) Role of agent in the given situation-
The case is indeed challenging for the agent. This is challenging to identify whether the
claims made by Sharon are genuine as it was being reported from her doctor that Sharon had hurt
her back quite a long time back in past. It has nothing to do with the injury being developed at

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the workplace. It was indeed being developed when Sharon was not at her duty. It appears that
Sharon is lying as she confirmed to have no clues of hurt on her back. Additionally, Sharon has
also said to other employees that she is not injured. This is indeed a complex scenario for the
agent as the agent will have to conduct a depth analysis of the entire circumstances and then
reaching to a conclusion (Mansfield et al., 2015).
2) Five stage of the dispute resolution process-
The five stages that could help to resolve the dispute are as follows (Mpofu et al., 2015):
 Identifying the source of conflict as this will help in understanding the entire case
scenario
 Looking ahead of the incident which means gathering some more perspectives to give the
case a widened horizon
 Requesting the solutions which means agreeing both the parties on the same point of
resolution
 Identifying a common solution which attract a common point of agreement from both
Sharon and her employer
 After reaching the agreed level of resolution, the agent will be required to ensure that
both the parties are agreeing to the final resolution
Activity 5:
1) Steps required making a referral to a rehabilitation provider-
Workers as per the policy are eligible to be nominated for the rehabilitation service.
Employers can make the selection and refer it to the selected provider. Employees, on the other

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hand, can also select their choice of rehabilitation service provider. It is in most cases the
employer who refers it to the selected service provider. The employer will approach the selected
rehabilitation provider and refer the name of the selected claim (Buys, Matthews & Randall,
2015). The selected insurer will contact the worker and the employer to know more about their
needs. Moreover, the insurer will also arrange suitable times to meet, so that, necessary queries
could be made and claims are processed appropriately. The case manager will do the needful and
meet the insurer on behalf of the affected worker with the relevant documents, so that, claim gets
processed (Buys, Matthews & Randall, 2015).
2) Three examples of organizational procedures to notify a rehabilitation provider-
The management has the responsibilities to notify the rehab service provider about a
compensation claim. They can approach to the rehab service provider in three possible ways like
by making voice calls, mailing them the details and through postal (Shaw et al., 2016). The first
and foremost approach would be to mail the specific service provider. If it works then well and
good otherwise calling would be the next suitable way for notifying the service provider on a
particular employee’s case and so. If these procedures do not work then one of the management
executives will then be need to meet the rehab service provider (Shaw et al., 2016).
Activity 6:
1) The timeframe within which the affected worker needs to be notified-
It takes around 20 business days to make a decision on the claim. During this period, the
rehab service provider gets in touch with the affected worker, the employer, and the doctor. If
one of these contacts is delayed, this may also cancel the claim. Moreover, the worker will again

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be required to make the reclaim. This is why it is necessary to inform the affected quite prior to
20 business days, so that, reclaim process could be avoided (Milligan-Saville et al., 2017).
2) List of information to be included in the determination letter-
A claim may or may not be accepted; however, in both the cases, the affected worker will be
notified by the rehab service provider. The notification will contain some useful information, so
that, the worker does not have any doubts on whether the claim was misjudged (Brijnath et al.,
2014). Below is a list of information that would be included in the determination letter (Brijnath
et al., 2014):
1. Notification from the employer whether it was being received by the rehab service
provider.
2. Notifying on whether the work capacity certificate was being received by the
rehabilitation provider
3. Notifying whether there is any information submitted by doctors
4. Notifying that a cross-check procedure decide whether to approve the compensation pay
5. This will also notify whether there is a chance for reapplying for claims
6. Educating the worker on a correct set of making the claims
7. Notifying the importance of relevant formalities, so that, such thing never happen again
8. Notifying the maximum time limit for a approval of the claim
Activity 7:
1) Identification of the nature of illness-
The nature of illness could be identified through following ways (Kosny et al., 2015):

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i. The agent could identify the nature of illness after going through the medical prescription
ii. They will also get to know about it from the employer
iii. The agent may also know the same from the affected employee
2) Report & recommendation-
From the given table, it is evident that Employer ‘C’ and ‘D’ have better policies to avoid
workplace hazard. There is relatively very less amount of injury cases. Employer ‘E’ and ‘A’
follows the list consecutively. Employer ‘B’ appears as highly prone to a workplace incident.
Again, in between ‘E’ and ‘A’, employer ‘E’ appears to have better preventive measures against
workplace hazards. Employer ‘B’ appears to be at high risk as there are maximum cases of
injuries. The number of injuries is severely high in employer ‘B’.
Recommendation-
All the employers listed in the table needs to have the same policy implemented at their
workplace as it is in the employers ‘C’ and ‘D’. A comparatively lower rate of injuries in ‘C' and
‘D' just state that they have an adequate level of safety policies implemented at their workplace.
One case of injury is not that serious as well which also validates the recommendation point.
Activity 8:
1) Determining the period of absence in case of a worker who broke their leg-
It is difficult to identify an exact period of absence for a worker with their broken leg as
different workers have a distinguished level of assistance in them against the injury. However, a
standard period has been set for such critical cases and that is for nearly first 13 weeks (Prang et
al., 2016). During the mentioned period, the affected worker will get the possible assistance from

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the employer, so that, it helps to form a good bonding between the worker and the employer.
This will also help to retain the affected worker as such circumstances are very critical and in
case if the worker feels like left alone, they may or may not return to work. In approximately
80% cases, workers get to recover from severe injuries like a broken leg. In 20% cases, they
might be requiring an extended period of leaves. This is why it is critical to have an improved
coordination with the worker to make them feel good and to also make them realize rejoining
their work (Prang et al., 2016).
2) List and describe five barriers to recovery-
Five barriers that could resist the recovery are as follows (Dewa et al., 2016):
i. Mental sickness can prevent the worker from being recovered. It is necessary for workers
to feel that they will recover the injury. It is also necessary to realize that they will be
doing the same work with the same employer. If they have any sign of negative thoughts
in their mind regarding the job nature and the employer they might be haunted by mental
sickness and may lose a positive approach towards the recovery.
ii. Less or probably no assistance from the employer as such circumstances may make them
feel like left alone with the situation.
iii. Improper assistance from the employer in regards to approaching a doctor as an affected
worker should be first given the choice to approach their choice of doctors not insisting
them to go with the doctors that the employer prefers.
iv. If rehab service provider is being informed late regarding the injury case
v. A late assistance from the rehabilitation service provider or probably no reversal due to
an inadequate notification from the employer

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3) Employer’s role during the period of absence-
The employer can have many roles to play in case of a longer period of absence. At first,
the employer must try to identify the best possibility of work from the injured person. The
affected worker can work with flexible shift times or with reduced work pressure or they can also
do some easier works. If the affected worker is not at all able to perform any kind of task as it is
in case of the broken leg, then temporary worker needs to be allocated in place of the injured
worker. The temporary worker will then be carrying the position related responsibility during the
times when the affected employee is going through the treatment (Durand et al., 2014).
Activity 9:
1) Providing 3 examples to ensure that consultation occurs between the rehabilitation
provider, treating doctor, relevant manager, and employee-
The consultation will be ensured as follows (Mazza et al., 2015):
- The incident needs to be notified to the rehabilitation service provider.
- The notification will be done by the assigned case manager for a particular injury case.
- Once there is an approval from rehabilitation, the affected worker will be advised to select their
choice of doctors.
- During the treatment period, case manager needs to be in touch with the affected worker. This
will ensure a bonding between the employer and the affected employee.
2) Examples of inevitable consultation-
Below is the list of expected consultation (Kristman et al., 2016):

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i. Assigning a case manager who will notify the incident to the rehabilitation
ii. Notifying the rehabilitation about the case
iii. Advising the affected worker to look for their choice of specialized doctors
iv. Being in touch with the affected worker through phone calls or by personal visits to
ensure that affected worker builds up a bonding with the case manager.
Activity 10:
1) Medical report based action-
The first action would be to talk with the worker whether they are mentally prepared for a
rejoining to work. After being confirmation from the affected worker, feasible actions could be
taken from the caseworker. However, they will be assigned to the work they are comfortable
with. If they are able to work for at least 6 hours a day this will be a relief to the employer. The
new work may require a job design which can be done by using several job designing tools like
job rotation, socio-technical system and motivational work design (LaMontagne et al., 2015).
2) Examples of five tools supporting the job redesign-
There are five tools which can be used to design an alternative job option for a worker returning
to the job after spending the entire incapacity period. Such tools are as follows (Casey, Guy &
Cameron, 2014):
i. Job rotation- This can be used for several purposes like rotating job with the existing
employees to make them well versed in a wide range of organizational skills. This will
also be useful for a worker returning to the job after spending the total incapacity period.