Back2work®

The benefits of Back2work

Back2work is Summit’s return-to-work program, designed to get injured employees back on the job after an injury. The goal is to have your employee back to his or her regular duties, ultimately reducing workers’ comp costs for your business. 

Improves communication

• Supervisors are in contact with your injured employee.
• You know the status of your employee’s injury and recovery.

Boosts morale

• Employees know that work will be available if they are injured on the job.
• Employees know that you care about their well-being.

Increases control

• Employees know that you want and need them to come back to work after a workplace injury.
• Work is being done by your employees, not by temporary help.
• The length of time that your employee is out on disability can be shortened.

Decreases costs

• Medical costs can be reduced.
• Legal costs can be less likely.
• Training costs can be decreased.
• Fraudulent claims may be identified sooner.
• Over a period of time, your premium costs could be reduced and your experience modification factor may be improved.

Resources

Videos:

Back2work: Introduction

Information for Employers

Controlling the Impact of Claims Costs

Explaining Back2work to Company Management

Explaining Back2work to Staff

How to Build a Return-to-Work Program

Transitional Duty

If an Injury Occurs

Additional Resources:

Summit Back2work Brochure (brochure in Spanish). Learn about the process to begin your program.

Why We Need a Return-to-Work Program: Information for Leadership and Our Workers’ Comp Return-to-Work Program: Information for Employees. Use these PowerPoint presentation templates to help explain return to work to your coworkers.

Tailored solutions for your business

How does Back2work save money?

What is transitional duty?

Often referred to as light duty, transitional duty is one of the most important elements of a return-to-work program. It is temporary work offered to an injured employee before reaching full recovery.

Transitional duty allows your employee to return to work sooner than he or she would have otherwise, which means the total indemnity costs on the claim will be reduced. Not only does transitional duty lower your indemnity costs, it can actually expedite healing and improve the mental health of your injured employee while recovering. Being home, day after day, with little social interaction can be tough psychologically on anyone. Plus, the longer your employee is away from work, the more likely he or she will not return.

Types of transitional duty

• Modified work—temporary modifications to the employee’s regular job duties to remove or change the elements that exceed current physical abilities.
• Alternate work—temporary reassignment of the employees to another position, or different type of work, within current physical abilities.

Don’t have the right transitional job?

If your injured employee is released by the doctor to work with restrictions, but you don’t have an appropriate position available, give your Summit adjuster a call. We work with a vendor that specializes in matching injured employees with the needs of a nonprofit organization. This is a great option to keep your injured employees productive until returning to their regular duties—and aid in the recovery process—while also reducing your claims costs and chance of litigation.

Examples of transitional duty by industry

Please note: These tasks should comply with doctor’s restrictions.

Interested in becoming Back2work® certified?