Monday Muses ~sometimes the obvious isn't understood.
Rosemary McKenzie-Ferguson
Founder at Craig's Table- Recipient Summa Comp Laude 2021-22 Recipient Bloom Making a Difference Award 2023
I have a question for you; the question comes as the result of a webinar I sat through last week.
Q: when does a workplace injury become a workers compensation claim?
Now it may appear a trite question, however the webinar presenter certainly left me wondering just how many people know the answer and how many assume they know the answer.
The reason I am bringing this up is because of a comment the presenter made during the webinar. The presenter said "I am not sure just how the injured worker was able to get xyz treatment so early in the claim"
The presenter went on to speak about pain avoidance and all other common issues and concerns, however it was the xyz treatment so early that had the presenter "baffled".
It appears the presenter of the webinar had not considered the reality of date of injury and date of acceptance are 2 entirely different calendar dates. The presenter had no working knowledge of the date of injury, all the presenter had was the claims information as it had been presented, he had no knowing in regards to the processes required for the injured worker to have the workplace injury accepted thus the workers compensation claim began.
Hence the answer to the question "when does a workplace injury become a workers compensation claim, the injury becomes a claim when the claim is accepted.
That date can be days weeks months post injury. Thus the xyz treatment that the injured worker received "so early" in the claim was not relevant in regards to date of injury.
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Staying with this concept: while there is legislation to support workplace injuries, there is nothing that requires the injured worker to lodge a claim. All that needs to happen is a record of injury and date of injury, even a trip to the workers treating GP if medical assistance is required will suffice.
I have written before about employers who had attended workers compensation information sessions and informed the presenters that they have a working agreement with their employees that all know industry injuries that require time off for healing is handled "in house". Neither employers or injured workers are breaking any legislation, they simply support each other and avoid the workers compensation process.
For me the best part of the information session was watching the industry providers try to "encourage" the employers to lodge information to support the injured workers information.
One employer said the workplace daily logbook carried all the information required and was signed off by both parties. No one was hiding anything, they were just working together for the best of all possible outcomes.
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Over the last few days icare has once more been in the headlines in regards to wanting to increase the employers levies to cover the expense of running the system. 'Dire' situation as troubled icare hikes premiums'
Below is my response to the article that was published in the Sydney Morning Herald; Icare’s plea to new government: 22 per cent premium increase needed to break even
"It is past time to admit that the experiment of icare has failed.
Tipping more employers’ money into the system to break even is about as intelligent as standing on the roof of 321 Kent Street Sydney and throwing $100 notes into the wind and hoping that the money lands where it is needed.
It is time to go back to the very reason why workers compensation arrived in the middle 1980’s and remember the reason the system is called workers compensation.
On the 7th March 2023 Adam Dent CEO of sira told a National Workers Compensation Summit that in the year 2022 30,000 injured workers failed to return to work. In industry terminology, this means that 30,000 people had been “parked” [read being timed out] because the process/system had spent the allotted budget for each claim.
It is not possible to know exactly what the workers compensation income payment process was paying the 30,000 people.
However, as a guideline the Australian basic wage is $812.60 per week; times 30,000 that is $24,378,000 per week or $1,267,656,000 for the year in costs that are available simply by returning people to meaningful and sustainable work.
Then we have the preferred provider list, despite injured workers apparently being free to select the provider of their choice, the system does its best to ensure that injured workers only select the providers that are on the preferred provider list.
Along the way the claims agents are paid bonus payments; these payments really are just part of the system known as earn-churn-burn. It means that the claims agents met targets as set, then churn injured workers back through the same process and earn yet another bonus payment all the while making it appear that the system is working perfectly. This happens until the injured workers are almost at the end limit of the allotted time and then they are “parked” and timed out.
All of this costs the system and the employers a great deal of money, it also has multiple costs for the injured workers who fail to thrive throughout the process.
Contemplated, attempted and completed suicides, broken marriages/relationships, lost employment opportunities, personal bankruptcy, multiple health issues not related directly to the workers claim, medication addiction, alcohol addiction, homelessness all form part of the injured worker community. None of it is seen within the workers compensation spreadsheets but these costs are very much in place.
Though I am not a political historian there would be people regardless of political persuasion who could name the ministers responsible for the New South Wales workers compensation process. And try as they might in a fruitless endeavour, they could never name any minister responsible for the New South Wales injured worker community.
Hence the solution to NSW WorkCover is not an increase in employers’ levies, because throwing more money has never solved anything.
The solution is the creation of a minister for Injured Workers. And the creation of a Commission for injured workers.
The minister would then be responsible for the prevention of “parked” injured workers and the Commissioner would be able to tackle the non-legal concerns that injured workers have, issues such as under-payment of income, non-payment of refundable costs within the required time as well as injured workers not be enabled to select the providers of their choice.
At the same time the minister for Injured Workers could investigate the close industry relationships between preferred providers and the claims agents.
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The minister for Injured Workers in essence would be able to prevent the earn-churn-burn process while reducing the amount of time that the system spends just wasting tie.
It needs to be understood that the workers compensation process is required to return an injured person to near as possible pre-injury health/well-being then return the person to sustainable employment, if that means to a new employer and correct training then that is a better safer and cheaper process than the system that is in place currently.
It also needs to be understood that the current process has evolved to suit the system not for the betterment of the injured worker community or the employers of New South Wales.
I believe that should a minister for Injured Workers and a Commissioner for injured workers be created that claims agents and providers will walk away simply because they would not be able to generate the income that is currently in place, I also believe that employers levies would be able to be reduced as the time taken to return an injured person to work would be greatly reduced.
The New South Wales workers compensation system is not set in stone, the New South Wales government can alter the process and can introduce a minister for Injured Workers and a Commission for injured workers.
Sadly, though nothing will happen as there is no want to alter anything within workers compensation."
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As is expected my response has not been published, I suspect I have an idea as to why, though I can never be certain.
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If you are in Adelaide and would like to attend this event please text Cheryle on 0415442645 as seating is limited. Also please bring a plate of basic food to share as this is a community care and share event.
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Conferences
I will be speaking at an event on the 29th April from 5-7pm in Adelaide venue to be formalised
“Contracting in Compo” Intelligent Rebellion May 12th 2023
Awards
Days to be observed
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Once more it is time to make a cup of tea and prepare dinner.
Yours in service
Rosemary
Ambassador Survivor’s R Us ... Supporting the fight against Domestic Abuse.
1yIt’s a sad day when a presenter has no clue about the subject matter.
Retired
1yMany thanks Rosmary