Our national first Recover at Work program is supporting injured workers to return to work sooner while reducing risk and costs for Australian employers.
For many people injured at work, the best medicine, after a period of recovery, is to return to their workplace and a sense of normality. It’s often not that simple, but a breakthrough pilot program being conducted by leading talent solutions business PeopleIN, is making it a reality for a growing number of Australian workers.
PeopleIN is Australia’s largest ASX-listed talent solutions business, operating 25 brands and recruiting 34,000 people to roles in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore each year.
With so many people placed each year, and with many working in sectors where physical risks are higher, it’s an unfortunate reality that injuries will occur among our workforce. However, rather than accept the statistics, PeopleIN invested heavily in a program to support workers returning to site sooner.
An industry leading new pilot program, with the full support of Workcover Queensland, is the result.
Our program facilitates safe resumption of suitable employment for injured employees, ensuring smooth transition while considering health and capabilities, providing consistency and normality for workers after what can be a trying time. Employers retain experienced workers and their corporate knowledge, mitigating productivity and morale impacts which would result from the worker's exit, while offering protection in case of re-injury.
Our experience tells us if an injured employee returns to work at their place of injury, they’re more likely to stay long-term and to actively participate in their recovery plan. However, it’s not as straightforward as supporting them to return to work. Employers can be understandably cautious about a recovering worker further hurting themselves on their return, placing them at risk of further costs if recovery is compromised.
The PeopleIN Recover At Work pilot program’s purpose is to support injured workers returning to their original place of work while indemnifying clients’ risk. After lengthy research and negotiations, a host deed agreement was signed by PeopleIN and Workcover Queensland, meaning its clients were not liable for aggravation of injury, or additional injury sustained during worker recovery.
By allowing injured workers to recover in a familiar environment, there is reduced chance of secondary mental injuries, a reduction in common law exposure (for both the labour hire company and the client) and a decrease in claim durations.
With Workcover Queensland’s adoption of our Recover At Work program, PeopleIN is the only labour hire company running a pilot program in the country.
Already 40 percent of our Queensland clients have engaged with the program and there are plans to roll it out to all jurisdictions nationally when the pilot concludes next year.
The program has garnered national recognition, being named a finalist at the 2022 Safe Work and Return to Work Awards and, this year, was Highly Commended for "Best Return & Recovery at Work System" at the National Safety Council of Australia awards.
PeopleIN’s Recover At Work program stands as a testament to our dedicated candidates and client excellence. We are excited about the prospect of rolling out this program nationally in the coming year, confident in the continued potential in revolutionising workplace injury management and recovery across Australia.