Early Vocational Rehabilitation in the Return to Work process - URI Soča
Pilot project: Early Vocational Rehabilitation in the Return to Work Process Project 2020-2023
In cooperation with…
- the Ministry of Labour
- the Ministry of Health
- the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute
- the Health Insurance Institute
Project participants – employees on sick leave:
- after injury or illness with a temporary or permanent reduction in their ability to perform the work,
- especially those aged 45 and over, and
- who have been on sick leave for a minimum of three months
Demographic data – 52 participants (total 100)
Who are our participants?
In the pilot phase we included 100 employees on sick leave.
- The majority of them are male.
- The average age is 43 years, 50% of them are between 41 and 50 years old.
- The majority completed vocational school.
- They come from smaller towns.
- On average they have been employed almost 22 years.
- Mainly they are manual workers in construction, food, metal, and similar industries, and they are employed in larger companies.
At the time of inclusion the duration of sick leave is on average 10 months. The vast majority have been on sick leave for less than 1 year. Most of them suffer from diseases of the musculoskeletal system, followed by those with various injuries of the limbs. We tried to include some cases with mental health problems (MHP), we got 6 cases.
The reasons:
- working with people with MHP requires more time
- working with their employers requires more time
- Employers are less prepared for collaboration
- duration of our project is limited
What is new or what is the added value of our project?
Crucial is the cooperation of the professionals, who are mostly:
- appointed doctors,
- general practitioners,
- occupational health physicians,
- VR providers and
- other professionals, essential in the field of employment and disability management
Successful Return to Work
The successful Return to Work should be based on:
Early treatment (app. 3 months) – RTW process should start during sick leave, even if medical rehabilitation is still in progress. Why three months? RTW studies show that the probability of a successful return to work is highest in cases of short duration of temporary work absence.
Individual Return to Work plan
- it is based on the assessment (biopsychosocial model is used) of an individual‘s functioning and is prepared by an expert team of VR professionals and an occupational doctor;
- it provides proposals on the time burden of return to work, technical and organisational workplace adjustments and the possibility of claiming different rights from VR (if applicable)
Cooperation between the employer and the insured person is essential
Employers actively participate in the preparation of the RTW plan and
We provide professional support during graduated RTW.
ZPZR Project – the outcome of the RTW process
At the end of the process the possible outcomes or combinations of them are that the participant, employee on sick leave,
- starts with graduated RTW with professional support,
- gains disability status with defined limitation at work and/or
- acquires right to education, on-the-job training or technical adaptation (VR under Pension and Disability Act)
However, those who do not remain in employment, may continue with VR under VR and Employment of PWD Act.
The main contribution of the RTW model
- Connecting all existing rights from different legislations, and the most important stakeholders in the RTW process: ZPIZ, ZZZS, VR providers, occupational medicine
- Use of existing knowledge about VR and employment
- Extending the knowledge of RTW to all levels of healthcare
The broader objectives to which RTW model contributes
- Reduction of Long-term sick leave, Early retirement due to disability, /
- Faster return to work and thus: Effective holistic rehabilitation, Maintaining social inclusion, Improved QoL after illness/injury
- Prolonging people‘s ability to work