Develop a Return to Work Program

A Return to Work (RTW) program is a proactive, formal plan that helps injured workers remain at work or safely return to suitable work. It outlines the steps that workers, supervisors, and others within the organization need to take if an injury occurs.

RTW programs typically include:

Policy:

  • An organization's commitment to providing suitable work, and a return to work plan

Procedures:

  • What to do if an injury or illness occurs;
  • Roles and responsibilities;
  • How to Identify suitable work;
  • Documentation of individualized RTW plans;
  • How to monitor RTW plans; and
  • Evaluate your RTW Program.

Education:

  • For workers and supervisors

For more information on Return to Work program development, contact our Return to Work Specialist at 1 (800) 661-0792.

For individual employer information on claims costs and incident trends for recent and currently active claims. You can download your Claims Experience Report directly from WSCC Connect. This will provide you with important context and information that will help inform your Return to Work Program.

 

Guides

A RTW program helps injured workers return to suitable work as soon as medically possible. It outlines what steps to take when a worker is injured and how to create and implement individualized RTW plans.

Templates

Note: The checklist may alter depending upon your organization’s procedures.

Note: This is a sample letter only

The following prompts may help you in thinking of alternative work that is of value to the organization. Remember, if the worker is unable to perform their usual job duties with or without modifications then first look for suitable work within the… more

The intent of this evaluation form is to help the organization improve future RTW plans and the RTW program.

Employers and workers, use this form to assist in tracking progress throughout the RTW plan.

Note: This is a sample letter only.

Effective RTW procedures should be specific to the unique needs of your organization. You must communicate them to all workers before an injury occurs, to ensure fast implementation to help the worker return to work as soon as safe and medically… more

Use this checklist to ensure that your RTW program has the minimum requirements.