Effective prevention and management of injury, illness or a health condition is the result of the coordinated efforts of a multi-disciplinary team and the promotion of partnerships.

An effective multi-disciplinary team will involve such actors as health-care professionals and providers, rehabilitation professionals and suppliers of assistive devices, and community resources such as government programmes and those operated by special interest groups which offer information, education, counselling and support.

Various workplace actors play key roles in the return-to-work process and their respective roles are reflected in the return-to-work strategy.

Key actors include the person concerned who is absent from work as a result of injury, illness, health condition or disability; their employer; co-employees; and trade unions, employee representatives and other advocates. Where a trade union is represented in the workplace, the return-to-work strategy is consensus based, involving the union at every stage.

A system of effective communication among all stakeholders and partners facilitates the seamless, timely return to work. There is an effective strategy for exchanging facts, thoughts and ideas in an open and respectful manner. The flow of oral and written information complies with relevant legislation such as privacy law.

Privileged information, from both internal and external sources, is accumulated and generated during the return-to-work process. Legal obligations to protect such information, under privacy legislation and professional standards, are complied with.

The person concerned is the main focus in the return-to-work process. The return-to-work strategy includes provisions to instil confidence in that person and motivate them to believe in themselves and their right to self-determination in a way that facilitates their return to work.

There is commitment to empowerment – a multi-dimensional social process that assists a person to gain control over their own life by acting on issues which they define as important.

It is necessary to empower the person concerned in the return-to-work process to question their condition and/or limitations and to creatively determine what they can do about it with the support of the institution.

There is commitment to employee engagement – the process of getting employees involved in and building enthusiasm about their work which, in turn, will advance the interests of the institution.

The person concerned is the key stakeholder of a social security institution. As such, they must be encouraged to participate fully in decisions which impact upon them. A person’s “active participation” refers to the process of facilitating their ability to engage constructively in their return-to-work plans on an equal basis with other actors. They should be encouraged and enabled to provide their input, protect their interests and lend their support to the process.

A return-to-work quality control strategy includes specific actions to ensure that the needs of the person concerned are systematically, reliably and effectively met on an ongoing basis.

The strategy should include risk assessment and environmental monitoring to identify changes in the person’s needs, the workplace and the business environment, as well as developments in return-to-work policy and programmes.