Employment Management for Long-term Claims

When an injured employee has not returned to work within 3 years, it is highly unlikely that continuing traditional occupational rehabilitation will achieve an outcome. To assist in the resolution of these claims, alternative approaches that take into account individual barriers to return to work are explored.

The Program specifically targets difficult, long term, ‘stagnant’ claims. The likelihood of achieving successful outcomes with this group is generally low, due to multiple psychosocial and physical factors.

Service Delivery Model

The Program has 3 stages:

1. Comprehensive screening

The Program commences with a thorough assessment of the individual ’s employability. The assessment focuses more on the likelihood that they will be able to obtain employment and less on their stated capacity for work. Those that are deemed employable are referred onto the job seeking program.

2. Develop strategies

Where claimants are deemed unemployable, the barriers to securing employment are identified and, where appropriate, recommendations are made identifying what interventions would need to take place for the claimant to become employable. Such things as conditioning programs, weight loss, retraining, motivational counselling, adjustment to disability, child care options, are considered.

3. Intensive job seeking

The Job Seeking component is only accessed by those individuals that ResolutionsRTK identify as employable.

The program is one-on-one and very intensive, and is structured over three* months. Due to the complexity of the cases, there is very little time spent responding to jobs advertised in the paper or on the internet. Rather, the focus is on the development of functional resumes for the positions sought and the development of interview skills. The vocational consultant then markets the individual to specific employers, accessing the hidden labour market and finding employers and employment opportunities that suit the individual (rather than attempting to fit the individual to advertised roles).

The Intensive Job Seeking component of the program focuses on:

• Exploring the hidden job market
• Developing the claimant’s network
• Canvassing employers
• Matching the claimant with the right employer

* On going Job Seeking Service

Though the program is structured over three months, individuals who we believe have a realistic capability to successfully return to work continue to receive assistance beyond this timeframe at no additional cost.