Return to work date, restrictions, hours, wages…
These are important elements of a modified duty job offer letter. A modified duty job offer represents much more than a letter – it sends long lasting messages about an employer’s relationship with their employees, particularly in a time of stress or uncertainty.
If I get hurt, my employer will work with me to bring me back to work.
When employers offer modified duty, it demonstrates that they are willing to make some accommodations for someone who wants to work. Involving the injured worker in the return to work (RTW) conversation is an important step – after all, they are the ones who are doing the work. Listen to the injured worker’s complaints. Consider altering their assignments or scaling back their hours if indicated. Not every RTW will be a success the first time around. Instead of throwing in the towel, talk to the claim representative, nurse case manager, and ask them to address this with the treating physician.
My employer offers modified duty, so getting injured at work does not equate to sitting at home.
This is an incredibly important message. Employees learn from what they see happen with other injured workers. While the overwhelming majority of claims are legitimate, there are a sometimes people who wish to file an illegitimate claim or “build” their legitimate claim. Having a strong RTW program that consistently gets injured workers back to work can help eliminate the motivation for filing illegitimate claims or exaggeration of existing claims. Modified duty job offers shorten the time and injured worker will be out of work.
My employer brings people back to modified duty which helps the rest of us – we don’t have to do double the work to pick up the slack.
Maintaining a satisfied, motivated workforce is probably in the top five challenges employers face. RTW programs help to bring injured workers back to productive work sooner than allowing injured workers to recover at home. Productive modified duty jobs will accomplish more work than a totally disabled injured worker will.
I am a valuable asset to the company – they want to keep me around.
Maintaining a connection between the injured worker and their workplace is an important step in the RTW process. Allowing the injured worker to stay in the habit of getting up for work every day, interacting with their coworkers, and earning wages can have a very positive impact on the outcome of the employment relationship and the claim. The goal at the outset of any work injury is to get the injured worker the appropriate medical care so that they can return to work and their pre-injury state as soon as possible. When one calculates the indirect costs of turnover (hiring, recruiting, training, overtime until new employee is up to speed, error rates, etc.) the value will likely encourage employers to reconsider the availability of modified duty.
My employer cares about my recovery and understands that modified duty is an important part of it.
Talk to any person on the verge of retirement, or someone who has recently retired and they will likely talk about how much work means to them. It provides a social network, remuneration in exchange for work, and an identity. It’s how we define ourselves. When you take that away from someone, particularly as the result of a disabling injury, their mental and physical health may suffer. By offering work, employers send the message that work is an important aspect of most of our lives and they are willing to assist the injured worker in maintaining that.
While some employers may view it as only a formality, job offer letters offer more than just a modified duty job. They offer job security to an injured worker concerned about paying their bills, and a feeling of appreciation to non-injured workers.
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