What's Included in a Return-to-Work Plan?

When illness or injury make it impossible for you to do all of the tasks your job normally entails, do you have to give up or quit? The answer in most cases is no. Your company should have a return-to-work plan in place that lets you, your doctors, and your employer figure out what a new work schedule and task list should be, allowing for a return to work that doesn’t interfere with your recovery.

At Indus Healthcare, with offices in Pomona, West Covina, and Montclair, California, Dr. Amit Reenu Paliwal and his experienced team provide occupational medicine services to help you regain your ability to do work-related tasks, and they can also guide you through the process of return-to-work plan implementation with your employer. 

What is a return-to-work plan? 

A return-to-work plan is a plan designed to allow you to go back to working even if you can’t perform all of your normal duties yet (or even ever). Most plans have allowances for a shift to light or modified duties if your condition doesn’t allow you to do exactly what you used to. Additionally, your schedule might be altered for shorter shifts or fewer work days per week.  

Your return-to-work plan must include some very specific details about your job and your ability to work. Here’s what your return-to-work plan needs to focus on.

What is typically included in a return-to-work plan?

If you were injured on the job, or if your illness was deemed work-related, you may be navigating a workers compensation plan at the same time as your return-to-work plan. Dr. Paliwal and our team can help you with the medical side of both of these processes.

We’ll be providing a comprehensive report detailing what your work capacities and restrictions are. Then it’s up to your employer to figure out how to accommodate your restrictions while ensuring that the “essential functions” of your job can still be met. 

If the plan only needs to cover a short period of time, your employer may choose to be more accommodating. For example, you might be unable to lift heavy boxes for a time due to a back injury. You could be assigned to inventory-related duties instead. 

Likewise, if your job usually has you standing at a register, you might be able to perform similar duties while seated. If you can’t drive while on pain medication for your injury, it’s possible you can be assigned out of field work and into the back office for a spell. 

In the event that you simply aren’t able to do the same job you used to, you might get cross-trained for a new set of tasks, or even transferred to a different department to continue employment with a different set of essential functions.

Are you worried about how an illness or injury will affect your return to work? Let Indus Healthcare help. Call our location nearest you to book an appointment, or send us a message online.