Mental health workers compensation claim: guide for employers

If you believe an employee has sustained a psychological injury speak with them and find out if they are ok. Talk with your employee about what supports they can access through the workplace (eg EAP) and about the steps for lodging a claim if that’s what the employee would like to do.

You can support the claims process by being available to discuss the claim with the case manager. During initial contact with the case manager you will be asked to provide background to the claim, the employee’s job description and duties, information on their employee’s weekly wages and any relevant information the case manager believes could assist with the claim.

If you have concerns about the claim, it is best to advise the case manager during first contact to ensure the appropriate claim process is followed.

If you are notified of an employee’s intention to lodge a claim you should:

• Listen to their concerns
• Refer them to any support services available through the workplace, eg EAP, peer support groups
• Advise your employee to make a GP appointment where they will complete a Certificate of Capacity
• Lodge the claim on behalf of your employee
• Make yourself available to discuss the claim with the case manager and have the required information readily available
• Advise the case manager of any suitable duties or modifications that could be made to facilitate return to work
• Maintain regular contact with your employee

Psychological injury is a major cause of employee turnover (Safe Work Australia, 2019), so it’s not surprising that our case managers report many injured workers find jobs with a new employer when they’re ready to return to work. This is particularly common for claims involving allegations of bullying, harassment, negative workplace perceptions or feelings of injustice.

In our claims management experience, we generally find that the biggest influence on whether a worker will return to work with their pre-injury employer are the actions taken by their pre-injury employer.

We find that employers who are supportive, open to discussion, open to negotiation and willing to make changes to help accommodate a worker’s return to work tend to have the best outcomes for assisting with a return to work at the same workplace.

Health and wellbeing are negatively impacted by prolonged work absence and unemployment. Long-term unemployment can increase the challenge of re-entering the workforce, contributing to a downward spiral. The good news is that the opposite is also true. Good work is good for health and wellbeing, and for recovery from all types of injuries.

Staying at work or finding employment at another location or business helps workers’ self-esteem and sense of community and connectedness, provides a regular amount of physical activity, a daily structure, and provides financial security.

Employers cannot ask a potential employee if they’ve ever claimed workers compensation because a person’s claim history isn’t relevant to their performance ability. This information could be discriminatory if the employer factors it into the decision about whether to hire the candidate (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2019).

It is OK to ask a potential employee if they have any pre-existing injuries or conditions that may impact their ability to perform the advertised role. It’s also appropriate to ask whether a potential employee requires any reasonable adjustments in order to carry out the advertised role.

Employers have a responsibility to provide workers with a safe environment and assist in making reasonable accommodations to ensure employees’ safety needs are met.

Creating a positive mental health means having respect and genuine care for your employees.

It means creating a workplace where you listen to a colleague’s concerns, offer them support and redirect them to the relevant support providers if required (eg EAP, doctor, Lifeline).

It does not mean that you act as a counsellor to employees, and you need to make sure you’re looking after your own mental wellbeing in order to be able to support your employees.

A positive mental health culture is something that is achieved when all employees – whether they are senior manager, middle manager or front end staff – work towards promoting this mentality.

It requires open, respectful, non-discriminative discussion between all employees.

Establish clear expectations about what respectful behaviour looks like, and ensure managers and senior leaders are modelling this behaviour. Your workplace leaders also need to provide swift and direct feedback to individuals, and non-discriminative “call outs” in wider internal forums when disrespectful behaviour is noted.

A great resource for employers and managers to achieve better mental health in the workplace is the Heads up website.