When there's an injury

The longer an injured farm worker stays at home, the less likely they will return to work, so it is important to get them back to work as soon as possible.

It makes good business sense to help your workers as they make their recovery. Farmers who’ve been through this recommend three basic steps:

• keep in touch with your worker after an injury
• plan together for their recovery and talk about the  different tasks the worker could do while they recover
• talk to your workers compensation insurer about help available.

Return to work program

Every business needs to have a return to work program in place. The program outlines how you will help injured workers with their recovery and getting back to work. The program also demonstrates your commitment to helping injured workers remain at work or return to work following injury.

SafeWork NSW has more information available about creating a return to work program.

Daniel’s story

Daniel is a farm hand in the Hunter Valley. After suffering a serious knee injury at work, Daniel knows what it is like to return to work after an injury. Here, he recounts the moment that a bull knocked him off his feet and how, with the help of his employer he made a successful recovery at work. This is Daniel's story.

Resources

• If you are a farmer with five or fewer workers and a workers compensation premium of $30,000 or less, you may be eligible for the SafeWork NSW Return to work assist program.
• Learn more about how you can help injured workers recover at work.