Instead of it just costing us money, can we not have health and safety make us money? Wouldn’t that be nice?
The good news is that it’s perfectly possible and feasible, both in NZ and AU.
How you ask? Great question.
Whether you pay ACC levies or WorkersComp, both have avenues where you pay a lot less through a] preventing injuries and b] managing them well if they do happen.
But isn’t that what ACC and WorkersComp are for I hear you ask? No, it is not.
ACC has its uses but as claim managers looking after the employer’s interests they are not good at all. Now please note, I do not share this from a negative intent as ACC doesn’t have a choice. It’s just that the legislation is not well written when it comes to employers.
The simplest way to sum this is up is that ACC is meant to be a no fault full cover scheme. This does not apply to employers who are at fault for any claim that is lodged against the business. Note I say lodged. This does not mean the claim is legitimate or should even be aligned to the employer. If the worker says they hurt themselves at work and the doctor agrees they are sore, the claim is yours. There is recourse for employers, but you have to know how to navigate the legal process which not many employers know.
WorkersComp has different rules, but alas the employer is still on the short end of a sharp stick when it comes to receiving proactive support. The worker in Australia has more rights than workers in NZ and not only that, a typical Australian employer also pays substantially higher levies compared to NZ.
In both countries you are well versed to manage the claims space directly. Your health and safety teams should be involved in that given their job is to prevent injuries from happening and we need to have a full feedback loop sharing the learnings.
Anyways, back to the profit centre.
By managing claims directly, challenging those that can be challenged, and holding the various stakeholders accountable, you can better manage your risk. Stakeholders include the worker, managers / supervisors, allied health (physios, occupational therapists, etc), specialists, ACC / WorkersComp, etc.
Given that your ACC and WorkersComp premium is set on risk like any other insurance, lower the risk and pay less.
The amount of reduction various and in NZ can be as much as 50%. AU is slightly different but it makes for a darn good discussion with your broker. Provide them the evidence of your reduced risk profile through prevention and better management. This is especially apt considering the discussions currently in play around the wide spread need for insurance companies to increase premium to cover ballooning costs! That should be motivating enough shouldn’t it?
This we feel should have the involvement of health & safety. The ownership and influence sits comfortably within the health and safety space (or at least in part) given worker engagement is a core requirement already. Just give them the tools and data to drive this.
This is where health & safety can become a profit centre and pay for itself pretty quickly. Unless of course, you like paying ACC / WorkersComp premium…
