WorkSafe’s Approach to Work-Related Stress Celia Prosser

1. WorkSafe’s Approach to Work-Related StressCelia Prosser

2. Introduction • Background • WorkSafe’s approach to work-related stress • Stress Prevention • Stress Eligibility • Stress Return to Work • Closing / Questions

3. Background • Stress claims growing, whilst overall claim numbers dropping (10% of total scheme claims) • Most prevalent in the public sector (20% of Public sector claims) • ‘Expectations’ re stress and workers compensation have evolved • Great variance regarding degree of disability / contribution to work • Lack of understanding re most effective treatment, and what will assist with recovery and return to work • Many claims are related to inter-personal conflict between colleagues

4. VWA’s Stress Strategy Stress Prevention Stakeholder Consultation Stress Claim Eligibility Stress Return to Work

5. Stress Prevention: Aim • To pilot a risk management approach to assist employers reduce psychological risk factors in their workplaces

6. Stress Prevention: Outcomes • A risk management approach can be effective for reducing the incidence of psychological risk factors • Consistent with the management of other OHS issues The pilot clearly demonstrated that psychological risk factors can be reduced Guidance: Stresswise- Preventing Work-Related Stress. A guide for Employers in the Public Sector. Released March 07. www.worksafe.vic.gov.au

7. Stress Eligibility Aims • To improve the quality and consistency of initial liability decisions on claims related to stress • To ensure workers with a genuine work related entitlement to compensation have their claims accepted quickly • To ensure that when a claim need to be investigated, sufficient information is gathered to enable a robust decision to be made

8. Stress Eligibility: Outcomes • Approx 30% of workers have their claimsaccepted within5 days of Agent receipt • If there is no entitlement to compensation the decision is more likely to be maintained at conciliation

9. Stress Eligibility Next Steps • Still lots of room to improve our communication to workers, particularly for adverse decisions • Longer term… build improved confidence in decisions, which should lead to less animosity between involved parties and more timely assistance to workers

10. WorkSafe “WorkComings” Campaign

11. Stress RTW Aims • Improve return to work outcomes for workers with claims related to stress or psychological illness • For DOE, DHS, Vic Police and their respective Agents to work collaboratively toward achieving agreed KPIs, which reflect activities aimed at assisting injured workers to return safely to work • Identify barriers to effective RTW for workers with a claim related to stress

12. Stress RTW: Outcomes • Tracking at approximately 4% improvement on • 26 week continuance rate * • Better collaboration between Employers, Agents, Unions, and VWA * Measure of the number of workers that had at least 20 days off work, that remain off work and have received at least 26 weeks of compensation

13. Stress RTW Next Steps • Still a challenge… • WorkSafe 5 year strategy has particular emphasis on the differences between Employers based on size, a service to address inter personal conflict, and building Agent capability to facilitate better RTW outcomes

14. celia_prosser@workcover.vic.gov.au 9641 1703