What is an early return to work program?

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Early return to work program is conducted for employees to return to work sooner than expected after a longer period of absence. The program entails offering or modifying a job position that reduces the demands of their prior role, such reduced hours or fewer responsibilities. Early return to work program may offer necessary equipment for employees back to work to the same position without the  

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What should a return-to-work program include?

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In order to implement an early return-to-work program, the process must examine the following steps.  

1. Getting support from upper management roles
2. Designing a written policy and process
3. Establishing a return-to-work culture
4. Training your employees and team members
5. Establishing a coordinator  
6. Creating modified choices of duties and responsibilities
7. Establishing performance evaluation metrics for the above  

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Benefits of return-to-work program

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The longer an employee is out of work due to an on-the-job accident, the less likely he or she is to return to work. Strong return-to-work programmes benefit both employers and returning employees.  

Return to work programmes cut down on employee absences, allowing them to recuperate faster and fostering a more favourable work atmosphere. Even if injured or absent employees are unable to return to their regular job employment straight away, bringing them back through a well-planned return to work program may help an organisation in the following ways.  

1. Maintain a work schedule to boost productivity of returning employees
2. Save time and money on recruiting and hiring new employees  
3. Improve employee retention rates of an organization
4. Create a solid foundation for communication and organisation
5. Increase employee morale  
6. Strengthen employee relations
7. Lower the financial toll of workplace accidents