Workers’ Comp: What you need to know!

Workplace safety is one of your most important priorities, so let’s look at the ins and outs of your obligations.

By law, every employer must have workers’ compensation insurance. This covers your employees – whether they’re full-time, part-time, casual, contractors or apprentices, and whether you have one employee or many more – if they have an accident at work.

This coverage can include weekly payments to the employee, medical expenses, rehabilitation services and, in some cases of permanent impairment, a lump-sum payment. Each employee’s needs from the insurance are assessed depending on the accident and the relevant circumstances at the time.

How much does workers’ comp insurance cost?

The cost of your workers’ compensation insurance premium is based upon the funding model adopted by your state and regulated by state governments. Individual premiums are based on a range of factors, like the number of employees your business has, how much you pay them (you’ll need to provide regular declarations of wages), your industry and your claims history.

Sole traders and contractors may need their own workers’ compensation insurance or personal or loss of income insurance, and it’s best to check this before assuming they’re covered by you.

To find out more about workers’ compensation insurance in general, contact the WorkSafe or WorkCover agency in your state or territory.

Just one part of the safe workplace picture

As a business owner, providing a safe workplace is perhaps the most important part of employing people. It ensures your staff can do their jobs safely, and is also a vital part of your risk management strategy that covers your business from major expenses. There are severe civil and criminal penalties that apply should your work practices or premises be found to be unsafe.

Your responsibility can be broken down into five categories:

• Design safe: It’s important to remove risks and hazards where possible, and when a risk can’t be removed it needs to be reduced as much as possible.
• Source safe: Make sure all tools and equipment used by your employees are fit for the job, and that people are using them safely.
• Use safe: Involve all your employees in making the workplace as safe as possible. This is best done through risk assessment, consultation and training.
• Keep safe: Make sure systems and equipment are kept up to date and safe to use.
• Repeat: Health and safety isn’t a ‘set and forget’ task – it’s an ongoing process that needs consistent attention and improvement.

Your employees also have an obligation to keep themselves and others safe at work by using equipment properly, working to improve safety practices and not intentionally creating risks.

Workers’ compensation insurance is one part of this picture of a safe workplace and will help cover you and your employees of health and safety risks.