Return to Work Plan
Jonathan has been employed with Joes Shirts as a driver and delivery person. While making deliveries, he fell and injured himself. He sustained multiple injuries including a fractured ankle and soft tissue damage to his right arm, chest and abdomen. He was taken to the local hospital and was discharged the following day. He was advised to stay off work for one week and as per the company policy, he presented to the supervisor a Functional Ability Assessment Report.
The report indicated that his ankle would remain in a cast for three months and eventually heal completely in about nine months. It also indicated that he should not stand on the ankle for three months while using crutches. As a result of his injuries he would be unable to stand, sit and walk for extended time periods. He is expected to improve after a month and his only restriction would be his ankle.
Steps to be taken after receiving the Functional Ability Assessment form.
First of all the employee has to be contacted for that he has to be conveyed the process and the course of action to be followed .A return to work plan needs feedback from the injured worker to be practical and implementable. The injured worker has to be contacted on a regular basis. The worker has also to be provided the copy of the form for legal obligations.
Obtain all the information pertaining to the ongoing medical treatment of the worker example as to who is the medical specialist who is charger of treatment of the worker.
Report everything to the senior management.
The functional information contained in the form will help interpret the whole case of the Johnathan. It will help in knowing what specifically is Johnathan capable of doing after the treatment.
Maintain up to date records of the return to work program.
The physical requirements of the original job should be charted out and assessment should be made as to what other jobs in the rehabilitation period that Johnathan can do .To assess what jobs he can do the medical professional has to be collaborated with as his feedback is needed to ascertain whether the job is right or it will hamper the recovery process as a side effect
Obtain from the medical professional information about the jobs or work assignments that the employee is capable of performing (general analysis) and tasks that the employee is restricted from performing and that too till what date in future when the recovery happens.
Employees recovery has to be documented from time to time and doctor visits to the employee has to be logged and also instances of physical therapy carried during the treatment process.