Property and infrastructure group, Lend Lease is giving injured workers a new lease on life and rehabilitating them back to work sooner through WorkCover Queensland’s Recover at Work (RAW) host employment program.

To date Lend Lease has provided return to work opportunities for six workers through the Recover at Work program since it began in 2014, with three participants currently working in the Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast regions.

Lend Lease Injury Management Advisor, QLD/NT, Shane Ham said the organisation is pleased to give motivated workers not attached to Lend Lease the chance to return to work in a variety of disciplines.

“All our interactions with WorkCover through the Recover at Work program have been professional. Every worker so far placed within the group has been really keen and eager to participate to the best of their ability and have a go,” Shane said.

Shane said the benefit of WorkCover’s RAW program is that host employers can access fully funded workers for periods of between three and six weeks, while injured workers have the opportunity to rehabilitate and return to work with suitable duties.

WorkCover’s Recover at Work program places motivated injured workers unable to return to their pre-injury employer in short term jobs with host employers who have an established track record of successful return to work outcomes with their own workers.

Brisbane carpenter, Glenn Webster sustained a shoulder injury in late 2013 and was unfortunately made redundant in January 2014 leaving him temporarily out of a job.

Following extensive physiotherapy and complex shoulder surgery, Glenn’s WorkCover Customer Advisor, Carole Drouin encouraged him to look at alternative roles to rehabilitate and get back to work. A host placement with Lend Lease was just what the doctor ordered.

“It was the best feeling going back on site,” Glenn said. “Back in the real world.”

Glenn now feels he has the tools to find permanent employment in the construction industry.

“All people with an injury should be involved (in Recover at Work) as well as large corporations. Give these workers a chance to show their capacity and they can be an asset for the company,” Glenn said.

Glenn’s customer advisor Carole says that an injury at work can be a life changing situation for many claimants.

“Their world is turned inside out and they are no longer confident in their ability to continue and contribute to society and support themselves and their families,” Carole said.

“It is important from the word go to focus on what a claimant can do rather than what they cannot do,” she said.

“A positive attitude from the start can make a huge difference to how the injured worker will perceive their current situation and their future.”

For Lend Lease’s Shane Ham, having access to a group of highly motivated workers keen to undertake suitable duties is a positive outcome.

“Finding the right worker with the right skillset really helps to boost our productivity and get activities off the bookshelf and onto completion,” Shane said.

For more information about WorkCover’s Recover at Work program, speak with one of our expert customer advisors or read more about the RAW program on our website.

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