Hi. I have an accepted psychological claim for being bullied, harassed, victimized, discriminated against, and threatened at work by a manager. Subsequently, I put in a work cover claim and have been on work cover now for much longer than I could have been. The reasons for the length of my stay on work cover is that I have been further harmed and further psychologically impacted by the scheme itself and how frustrating and confusing it is. The adversarial nature of the return to work coordinator at my employer, of the agent and insurer, and the lack of support and assistance from WorkSafe when these matters were brought to their attention. I have had so much further trauma occur during my time on the scheme that unfortunately I have found no other option but to self-harm, which is extremely difficult to deal with.
I have had a return to work coordinator attempt to make illegal return to work meetings denying the access of my doctor and my nominated and union representatives. I brought this to the attention of the WorkSafe agent and the case manager told me that there was nothing that they could do about that. I have brought these issues to the attention of WorkSafe and to the Workers’ Injury Compensation Commission, which neglected to assist in any way and have just said that they’re confident in their agents.
In regards to improving the scheme, I believe that the current scheme should have paid advocates and advocacy for injured workers from the time they’re injured, to the time that they’re returned to work and beyond. These advocates should be independent and are there to keep both the agent and work safe, honest and on task. I believe that all issues relating to work cover should be undertaken within work cover and not privatised out to insurance companies so that the proper help can be given to the injured workers who need it most.
