Return to Work Assignment

The XYZ Company based in Canada has some serious safety and return to work related issues. The company has several faults regarding the disability management of the company. The company’s management treats the employees are a safety risk and has several safety related procedures to avoid accidents. The company does not have any proper return to work policy. There are several risks related to return to work policy as the policy is not defined by the management of the company.

Return to Work Assignment

Table of Contents
Part I- Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Part II -Disability Management.......................................................................................................2
Part III- Return to Work Plan..........................................................................................................7
Strategic modification..................................................................................................................7
Physical demand analysis............................................................................................................7
Stakeholders’ determination........................................................................................................8
Barriers to RTW..........................................................................................................................9
Risk factors in RTW plan............................................................................................................9
Part IV- Summary............................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11

Part I- Introduction
The XYZ Company based in Canada has some serious safety and return to work related issues.
The company has several faults regarding the disability management of the company. The
company’s management treats the employees are a safety risk and has several safety related
procedures to avoid accidents. The company does not have any proper return to work policy.
There are several risks related to return to work policy as the policy is not defined by the
management of the company.
Part II -Disability Management
Category Organization Employee Education/
intervention
People Focused
Climate
 The
organisation
is supportive
of safety
initiatives and
provides
special
attention to
the injured
staff (Bacon
& Hoque,
 The company
has specific
safety policies
for the work
procedure.
 The staffs are
trained about
the safety
policies before
joining.
 Employees are
 The company
deals with the
safety of their
staff with strict
discipline.
 The company
does not do
anything to
resolve the
actual reasons
of the safety

2014).
 The injured
staffs are
rushed to the
hospital as
soon as
possible with
proper
paperwork.
 There is no
proper return
to work
process to
follow. So,
none of the
departments
are sure about
the details of
the modified
work.
required to
attend safety
tailgate
meetings
weekly.
 Safety audits
are conducted
every year in
the company by
the OH&S
department
(Banda, 2017).
issues.
 The Director
of Safety does
not make any
individual
appraisals or
does not
mention any
staffs name.
Prevention Focus  The company
treats the
 The supervisors
do not solve the
 During the
weekly safety

staffs as
safety risks.
 Employees
who had a
history of
more than
two safety
related issues
are
discharged
from their
duties without
showing any
reason.
 The
management
of the
company
does not
resolve the
main issues
for the safety
issues.
main causes for
the safety risks
but wait for the
annual safety
audit to update
the safety
precautions
(Fovet, 2015).
 Employees
attend the
weekly safety
tailgate
meetings.
 During the
tailgate
meeting, the
employees read
out from the
pre-created
template about
the safety
measures.
tailgate
meetings, the
supervisors
inform the
various safety
processes.
 Before joining
the company,
the staffs are
provided a
safety-training
program.
 The company
performs
annual safety
audit and after
that implement
new safety
procedures.

Early Intervention and
Education
 When the
injured
employee is
admitted in
the hospital,
the
supervisors
prepare the
proper
paperwork of
the incident
and get it
complied
with the
provincial
WCB.
 The RTW
process is not
detailed and
sorted in the
XYZ
Company.
Therefore, the
 The employees
are not helped
with
psychological
help but they
are
immediately
admitted in the
hospital after
injury.
 The employees
are provided
with an RTW
plan.
 The disability
management
programme is
quite poor.
 The company
has no proper
RTW planned
out.

managers
cannot attend
the RTW
employees
properly.
Return to Work Case
Management
 The HR and
the OH&S
department
are not
looking into
the processes
of the RTW
process.
 The
communicati
on between
the
stakeholders
is very poor.
As it is seen
that the
Director of
 After the PDA
completion, the
employee is
allowed 66% of
the wages.
 When the
employee
agrees to the
RTW Plan and
visits the office
there is no one
to respond to
his queries and
assign him
work.
 The
employees are
provided with
an option of
RTW but there
is no one to
actually
implement it
and help the
injured.

Safety does
not appraise
anyone
individually
during the
awards
ceremony.
Integrated Claims
Management and
Monitoring Systems
 The RTW
process is not
planned by
the company.
Thus the HR
and the
OH&S do not
pay any
attention to
the RTW
applicants
(Mat Rosely,
2014).
 The employees
are not allowed
any
compensation.
 proper
paperwork is
done about the
accident with
the staffs.
 The RTW
process needs
to be planned
in details
aligning to the
policies of the
company by
both the HR
and the OH&S
department
2. Recommendation

The HR and the OH&S department should lay the RTW process and explain it to the supervisors
so that they can help the RTW applicants.
Part III- Return to Work Plan
Strategic modification
A successful return to work plan can be developed by increasing the awareness of the workers by
informing them their roles and responsibilities. The current stage of the working environment is
not as effective as the XYZ organisation does not provide any kind of healthcare aid to their
disable staffs and does not provide any additional financial support. As mentioned in the given
case study, John Smith is desperate to return to his full-time work as his present income is not
sufficient to run his family. The overall strategic development is required for the best possible
outcome. The strategic change that the XYZ organization require are as follows restructuring the
management, contacting the return to work coordinator, filling up the return to work policy
requirements and contacting with the healthcare providers can be effective steps to satisfy the
basic criterion of return to work program.
Physical demand analysis
The physical demand analysis is a helping tool to evaluate them and quantify the physical
environment demand. As per the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (1997), the workplace
safety must be provided by the organisations to their employees for best possible ethical
perspective. As mentioned in the case study, John Smith needed to leave the job because of his
overweight treatment. Then he wants to return to his workplace but has failed to several
requirements. A gesture of breaching the duty of care has been found in the attitude of XYZ

organisation (Monsivais, Monsivais & Robinson, 2010). The organisations need to utilise the
functional abilities for the best possible outcome.
Stakeholders’ determination
The management of the organisation and the injured employees are considered to be the
stakeholders in the return to work management. Management support is essential criteria for
return to work policy. The senior management must be contacted to promote the disability
management and return to work issue ("Relationships Among Lifting Ability, Grip Force, and
Return to Work", 2002). John Smith needs to contact the senior management of the organisation
to seek management support. The ultimate need of the injured workers is the financial support
and healthcare benefits that are needed to be provided by the management of the organisations
for the best possible ethical outcome. An effective policy statement can be beneficial for John
Smith to ensure his consistent accordance with the management of the organisation. The policy
statement must include
 Workers participation and the employer’s assistance
 A flexibility program to accommodate different situations
 An essential program that is workable both in workable and non-workable injuries and
 A gesture of efficacy to review the return to work program
Barriers to RTW
 The employee’s condition might worsen due to the stress.

 The physical condition of the employee might get worse.
 The employee might not be motivated enough ("Return to work.", 1978).
 The recovery process of the employee might slow down or even get disrupted
Risk factors in RTW plan
 The employee might not any desk job for himself in the office, as he was a field
employee.
 Poor performance of the injured employee at his allotted tasks (Westmorland, Williams,
Amick, III, Shannon & Rasheed, 2005).
 In case of an emergency, there might not be any medical help for the injured employee.
 The workplace in the XYZ Company is busy. Thus, the injured employee might not find
a coordinating officer to report back.
Part IV- Summary
The employee could not properly benefit from the RTW plan, as there was no one at the office to
attend him. The employee could not find any assurance with the behavior of the HR and the
OH&S departments. The managers should have been more sympathetic to the condition of John
Smith and paid more attention to his queries.

References
Bacon, N., & Hoque, K. (2014). The influence of trade union Disability Champions on employer
disability policy and practice. Human Resource Management Journal, 25(2), 233-249. doi:
10.1111/1748-8583.12060
Banda, M. (2017). Return to work of post-chemotherapy caner survivors: what is the effect of
exercise training on the return to work?. Internal Medicine Journal, 47, 6-6. doi:
10.1111/imj.7_13456
Fovet, F. (2015). Mental illness in the workplace – psychological disability
management. Disability & Society, 30(4), 654-656. doi: 10.1080/09687599.2015.1014665
Mat Rosely, R. (2014). Factors predicting the likelihood of return to work for SOCSO's return to
work program participants within different employers. International Journal Of Disability
Management, 9. doi: 10.1017/idm.2014.15
Monsivais, J., Monsivais, D., & Robinson, K. (2010). Return to work prescription increases
return to work rate in a primarily Hispanic population with chronic pain. The Journal Of
Pain, 11(4), S55. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2010.01.230
Relationships Among Lifting Ability, Grip Force, and Return to Work. (2002). Physical
Therapy. doi: 10.1093/ptj/82.3.249
Return to work. (1978). BMJ, 1(6104), 45-46. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6104.45-a