Intervene early

What is early intervention?

Early intervention is about recognising and responding to early warning signs of injury or illness. It can form part of an organisation’s overall strategy for preventing harm and injury at work.

By acting early, employers can help reduce the impact and duration of emerging symptoms of injury or illness. Early intervention can support employee health and wellbeing, improve recovery outcomes and reduce costs for an employee and an organisation.

How early intervention works

An early intervention program offers access to appropriate interventions from when you first become aware of an employee’s symptoms, illness or injury. Interventions could include treatment, rehabilitation and other supports and services.

The employee may have told you about the issue formally or informally, or you may have noticed early signs or changes in behaviour. Read more about the signs and effects of Psychosocial hazards and Physical hazards.

Early intervention:

• should be voluntary for an employee.
• may be used for injuries and illnesses that are work related or non work related.
• can include treatment and rehabilitation costs.
• can happen whether or not an employee has lodged a workers’ compensation claim.
• doesn’t affect an employee’s ability to make a claim.

Getting started with early intervention – what to consider

How will the funding work?

Consider how you will fund an early intervention program. For example, the program could fund a fixed number of treatments or supports or provide a fixed amount per employee, or both. A fixed amount per employee can give more flexibility in how the money is spent.

You will also need to plan for how the payment or reimbursement process will work.

What supports will be offered?

Consider what types of supports to fund to achieve the aim of assisting recovery at work or minimising time away from work. Early intervention supports should be based on an employee’s individual circumstances. These could include access to medical and allied health treatment, a rehabilitation case manager and workplace rehabilitation services.

Your early intervention program could also offer employees:

• flexible work, work adjustments, suitable duties, ergonomic equipment and rehabilitative costs and aides.
• access to miscellaneous leave if appropriate and not already covered in your enterprise agreement.
• encouragement to use the employee assistance program for support.
• access to health coaching, financial, family or counselling services.

Consider what will not be funded – for example, costs associated with an illness or injury already covered by an accepted workers’ compensation claim. Be careful not to be too restrictive, as the flexibility to provide a variety of supports to help an employee stay in the workplace can have a big impact on recovery and wellbeing.

Information and training

Consider how and when you will give employees information about what funding and support is available and how to report an injury or illness.

Also consider what training managers might need to help them discuss early warning signs of injury or illness with employees and support them to raise issues and engage in an early intervention program.

Resources for implementing early intervention programs

Better practice resources for implementing early intervention programs

Drawing on recommendations from Comcare’s early intervention pilot, we have developed better practice resources to support organisations to implement effective early intervention programs.

• Better practice: Early intervention programs (PDF, 348.5 KB)
• Monitoring and evaluation framework (PDF, 334.7 KB).

Early intervention systems checklist

You can use this checklist to ensure your organisation has effective systems and processes in place to support early intervention.

Leadership commitment

1. Executive has endorsed an early intervention policy that clearly defines objectives and the roles and expectations of stakeholders.
2. Other relevant policies that help employees to remain at or return to work following an absence are consistent with the early intervention policy.
3. Early intervention and injury management are included as standing items on executive meeting agendas.

Systems review and improvement

4. Systems for reporting and investigating incidents have been developed and implemented to underpin early intervention. This can include a human resources system that monitors unplanned absences and alerts managers of increases in unplanned absence.
5. Contracts with external providers, such as employee assistance program, mediation, training and approved workplace rehabilitation providers, are consistent with the early intervention policy.
6. Resources, training and support for middle managers and rehabilitation case managers are available and regularly reviewed.
7. Management systems for early intervention and return to work are available and reviewed against the organisation’s objectives and available performance data.

Accountability

8. Systems are in place to ensure managers are accountable for preventing and managing illness and injury, such as through a performance management framework.
9. Middle managers and rehabilitation case managers have regular performance reviews against injury management performance indicators and return to work outcomes.
10. The organisation has clearly defined targets and positive performance indicators (both lead and lag) for return to work and these are regularly reported to executive meetings.
11. The organisation’s annual report includes performance against injury management targets or key indicators of injury management performance.

Information and training

12. The organisation gives information to employees about what support is available , and reporting and contact procedures , should an injury or illness occur. This includes an employee assistance program.
13. Training and information provides managers with the capability and confidence to respond to early warning signs, support employees at risk of injury or illness, and manage an employee with illness or injury.
14. The organisation gives employees information to increase their awareness and understanding of mental health issues to help recovery in the workplace.
15. Rehabilitation and treatment providers have been given information about the organisation's early intervention approach and the need for assessments to identify and address risks of long-term absence from work.

Incentives

16. Good performance in injury management is recognised and rewarded within the organisation.