Return to Work
Resources
for Managers

A Return To Work (RTW) plan is a written document which sets out the arrangements for the worker’s return to work. It specifies 

• What the employee will be doing  
• Where they will be working  
• How they will be doing it  
• When they will be working  
• Who they will be working with, and supported by  

But should also include details on  

• What indicators will be used to determine if the plan is working as it should  
• How the plan will be implemented  
• Who is responsible for overseeing the plan  
• When the arrangements will end, or be reviewed  

A good RTW plan  

• is clear and detailed  
• is flexible and adjustable so it can be changed if and when employee need or workplace circumstances change  
• clearly specifies how long any adjustments to duties or supports will be in place. This will help everyone involved know what to expect, and to identify when arrangements and supports might end up being needed longer than originally anticipated  
• has a clear end-point and a clear plan of what to do if the person still needs support when that end point is reached. At that time, another plan can be developed.   
• should be monitored so ensure that tasks, work hours, supports and resources are available, appropriate and working to support and meet the employee’s needs.  

Who is involved in planning a RTW?

A RTW plan is usually developed collaboratively with input from the employees, their healthcare providers, and you as a manager. If your organisation has a RTW coordinator, wellbeing coordinator or HR team, they may also be involved. If your employee is receiving worker’s compensation there may also be input from your employee’s rehabilitation provider, and your organisation’s injury management team (if you have one).  

There are three main stages to planning a worker’s return to work, and developing a RTW plan.  

Stage 1: Information Gathering  

In this stage, you are getting together as much information as you can about what is needed, and what can be done, to support your employee to return to work safely and successfully.  

The two main types of information you will need, and gather at this stage, are  

• Information about your employee’s current health situation, and what that means they are capable of when they return to work.  
• Information about what the organisation can provide.  

Stage 2: Determining RTW arrangements

In this stage, you’ll working out with your employee - and ideally, other people such as their healthcare provider and your organisation’s HR manager or RTW coordinator - to determine  

• The arrangements which will best support your employee’s return to work  
• How those arrangements will be put in place, including how long they will be in place and when it might be suitable or necessary to change them. 

Stage 3: Implementing and monitoring the RTW arrangements  

In this stage, you’ll be locking in  

• How return-to-work arrangements will be implemented, and  
• how those arrangements can be checked and reviewed to see if they are working as expected to help the employee return to work safely and successfully.  

This will include working out what indicators might tell you, or your employee, whether the arrangements are working as they should to support your employee's return to work, and what to do if it looks like they are not, or if your employee’s support needs change over time.  

Stage 1: Gathering information for your employee's RTW

Learning about and from relevant policies, provisions and guidance  

In this part of the RTW planning process, you learn as much as possible about any provisions in organisational policies that relate to employee wellbeing, absence and/ or expectations for return to work. So this might include policies and provisions related to sick leave, time off, other forms of leave, and the RTW process in particular.  

These are important to consider, and discuss with your employee, as they will help you both be clear about  

• Any expectations they and you are expected to meet  
• Any expectations they should expect the organisation to meet  
• Any parameters that might apply to accommodations and supports that can be provided (for example, if there are limits to how much sick leave they can take, and what happens once those limits are reached) 

They will also help you and your employee know  

• Which, if any, aspects of the process are ‘set in stone’ and have to be done certain ways  
• Which aspects have more flexibility, and more scope for negotiation or adaptation 

One of the most important policy documents for you to be aware of, and talk through with your employee, is your organisation’s return to work policy. We've included in your workbook a RTW Policy Checklist that lists the information and guidance that a return-to-work policy should ideally provide, so that you know what information you should be able to source from that policy, or may need to obtain from other sources if you're organisation’s policy does not provide that information.  

Other relevant and useful policies for you to review would include those related to 

• employment arrangements 
• health and safety  
• equal opportunity 
• employee benefits schemes 

Learning about the employee’s current situation and capabilities  

In this part of the RTW planning process, you’re learning as much as you can about your employee’s current situation, including  

• their current state of health,  
• how their health situation is currently affecting them, and  
• what they are currently capable of doing.  

This is the information you’ll need to work out with your employee what sorts of work they can potentially do when they return, and what sorts of support they’ll need. The more you know about how they are and what they are dealing with, the better position you’ll be in to work out what they need and how the organisation can best support them. So essentially, in this stage, you’re working out what the success factors would be for your employee to return to work safely and successfully.  

The two main ways you will learn about your employee’s current situation are  

• through documentation provided by their healthcare provider (such as a Certificate of Capability) 
• through discussion with your employee at a return to work meeting.    

How much information you have about this before you hold the return to work meeting will depend on the level of detail provided to you by the employee’s healthcare practitioner and by the employee themselves.

If your employee is on worker’s compensation, their healthcare provider will provide a Capacity to Work document in which they specify

• that the employee is fit for suitable duties 

• any restrictions that apply to the duties which are and are not suitable
• the time frame over which this applies

The impact of their symptoms, medication and treatment on them as a person

The first - and arguably most important -  thing for you to know in a RTW plan and planning process, is how the person’s health situation is currently affecting them, such as symptoms they are experiencing, and when and how those impact them.  

The more you know, the better you will understand their situation, so ask them to tell you as much as they are comfortable to share with you. Even if some of those symptoms and impacts are only affecting them outside work time, it will still be helpful for them and you if you know that this is occurring for them, and this is part of what they are dealing with and working through as they are returning to work. 

We’ve detailed here some of the different ways that depression and anxiety can affect people, and affect how they function in the workplace, to help you understand the different impacts your employee might be experiencing. But how people experience depression and/ or anxiety disorder, and how it impacts their life, varies from person to person. So the most important things to keep in mind here are: 

• your employee’s experience is their own – it may be quite similar, or very different, to what is described here  
• arguably the most valuable and useful thing you can do to understand what your employee is experiencing is to ask them. This will help ensure that you have accurate information about what they are actually dealing with (so you don’t have to assume or second-guess that), and also establishes a foundation for talking with your employee about their situation.
• they may not wish to talk about it! So you will need to respect whatever boundaries they set, and that this may be very sensitive for them.

Symptoms, signs and impacts of depression

Thinking

• Feeling overwhelmed 
• Frequently being critical or harsh towards oneself  
• Blaming themselves 
• Feeling worthless  
• Seeing the negative side to everything  
• Thinking nothing good will ever happen    
• Assuming or thinking others see you negatively  
• Difficulties with memory 
• Difficulties with concentration, such as difficulties reading documents, books etc, and difficulties focusing on and processing verbal communication 
• Difficulties with making decisions   
• Feeling guilty about things which are not their fault  
• Thinking about death or suicide 

Feeling

• Sad 
• Anxious 
• Guilt 
• Irritable  
• Anger 
• Mood swings  
• Helpless  
• Hopeless 
• Numb 

Behaviour

• Crying 
• Withdrawing from other people  
• Neglecting responsibilities  
• Less interest and care with personal appearance  
• Difficulties maintaining drive and motivation  
• Difficulties with sleeping, which can include difficulties getting restful sleep, and/ or sleeping too much    
• Losing interest in food, or eating more than usual  
• Using drugs or alcohol , especially to soothe feelings or aid sleep  

Physical

• Tiredness and fatigue  
• Low energy  
• Loss of appetite  
• Weight loss or gain  
• Loss of sexual desire  
• Headaches  
• Stomach or back ache  
• Irregular menstrual cycle  
• Unexplained aches or pains   

Symptoms, signs and impacts of anxiety

Thinking

• Mind racing  
• Mind going blank  
• Difficulties controlling anxious thoughts or worries  
• Difficulties with calming down   
• Difficulties with memory 
• Difficulties with concentration, such as difficulties reading documents, books etc, and difficulties focusing on and processing verbal communication 
• Difficulties making decisions 
• Vivid dreams   
• Thinking a lot about past or future events  

Feeling

• Feeling worried or anxious most of the time  
• Fear  
• Worry  
• Irritability  
• Impatience 
• Anger 
• Nervousness 
• Agitation and feeling on edge  
• Feeling frazzled  
• Feeling tired  

Behaviour

• Avoiding situations  
• Obsessive or compulsive behaviour  
• Feeling distress in social situations  
• Withdrawing from other people  
• Difficulties with sleeping,  
• Using drugs or alcohol , especially to soothe feelings or aid sleep  

Physical

• Increased or rapid heart rate  
• Pounding heart  
• Blushing  
• Rapid/ shallow breathing  
• Shortness of breath  
• Dizziness   
• Headaches 
• Sweating  
• Choking  
• Restless ness  
• Tremors, shaking,  
• Stomach pains, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea   
• Muscle aches and pains (especially neck, shoulders and back)  

Current capabilities 

This part of the process focuses on objectively determining what the person is currently capable of doing. To work this out, you need to work out with your employee (and with the input of other people such as their health professionals) what they are currently capable of doing.  

Holding a return to work meeting with your employee  

You will likely work through the planning for your employee’s return to work in a return to work meeting. The focus of a return-to-work meeting is to identify, and minimise or eliminate, any factor in the workplace that prevents an employee from performing to the best of their current ability. We can think about this in two ways:  

• Removing or minimising any barriers which prevent someone from returning to work/ working safely and successfully  
• Adding or enhancing any support that helps them return to work / work safely and successfully   

Some employees can find discussing their return to work very stressful, especially if/ when they are  

• Unsure or anxious about what they may or may not be capable of doing by the time they return  
• Feel ashamed or embarrassed about having been unwell, and/ or having been off work  
• Are concerned about how people might treat them in the workplace  
• Are worried they might be pressured to do more than they feel they can, including returning to work before they feel ready  

You can help your employee feel better prepared and supported to have these discussions by:  

• Checking that their doctor or other supporting health professionals have said the person is ready to start preparing to return to work, and to return soon 

• Contacting them by text, email or letter to let them know when the discussion will be and what it will cover. This will help them prepare mentally and emotionally (if they need to) and also give them a chance to get any information they need to have that conversation.  
• Giving them the option to have a support person be in the discussion. That might be a rehabilitation provider, a trade union representative or a family member.

You should also be prepared to have more than one meeting because, as you and employee share information and discuss options, you may both need time to process information and clarify details.

Once you are discussing potential arrangements, you may also need time as to find out what it is plausible for your organisation to provide, or how suggestions might need to be adjusted to fit in with circumstances, and

By having multiple meetings you create more time and opportunity to work through the discussions and arrangements at a comfortable place, rather than you and / or your employee feeling under pressure to resolve everything at one time.

You should also think about  

The potential for conflict or disagreement within that meeting.  

The employee having to advocate for themselves, or having other people advocate for them.  

Who is in the meeting (s); will the meeting(s) be recorded? who will take notes, etc.

References

Material in this topic sourced from;

Beyond Blue. (2024). Anxiety. https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/anxiety

Beyond Blue. (2024). Mental health. https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health

Beyond Blue. (n.d.). Depression. https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/depression

Beyond Blue. (n.d.). Signs and symptoms of depression. https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/depression/signs-and-symptoms

Kitchener, B. A., Jorm, A. F., & Kelly, C. M. (2017). Mental health first aid manual (4th ed.). Mental Health First Aid Australia.

Return to Work. (2023a). The return to work plan. https://returntowork.workplace-mentalhealth.net.au

Return to Work. (2023b). Topics for employees. https://returntowork.workplace-mentalhealth.net.au

Return to Work. (2023c). Return to work discussion template. https://returntowork.workplace-mentalhealth.net.au

Return to Work. (2023d). Topics for supervisors. https://returntowork.workplace-mentalhealth.net.au