Trend shows older workers filing more claims

Compensation claims made by people over 60 have increased by nearly 120% in the last decade, highlighting the vulnerability of this age group in Australia’s workforce.

Older employees have a higher frequency rate of serious claims across the majority of occupations, according to statistics released by Safe Work Australia.

The ‘Australian Workers’ Compensation Statistics, 2012–13’ report showed the number of serious claims made by employees in the 60- to 64-year age bracket increased by 118% between 2000–01 and 2011–12. The rate of incidents occurring and their frequency dropped for this group, however, signifying a large increase in employment and hours worked by older Australians.

The report showed older workers have higher median time lost from work as well as compensation paid for their serious claims, indicating they are also taking longer to return to work after injury compared to younger workers.

Occupational injury management company Injury Treatment claims the biggest people impacts that companies need to address are the ageing reality as well as the effect of mental illness and stress.

“We have more people working than ever and we are all working longer hours,” said Jeremy Keane, managing director at Injury Treatment.

“Even typical office workplaces will need to prepare for this changing workforce.

“Simple actions like reviewing corporate font size, technology education and modifications to office ergonomic equipment may need to be considered, not to mention flexible working hours and the transfer of knowledge of long-term workers prior to retirement.”

Occupations and industries requiring heavy manual tasks such as construction, manufacturing, warehousing and shipping are more likely to experience the impact of the ageing workforce and will need to make accommodations to prevent injuries in physically demanding roles.

The report also revealed the number of serious claims relating to mental stress increased by over 20% with claims for psychological incidents causing the biggest financial impact for organisations.

“Generally managers are ill-equipped with how to manage mental illness or stress in the workplace,” said Keane.

“Combine this with a delay in the management of these situations and you’re faced with a longer and more complex treatment program.”

He said while Australian organisations have come a long way in the last 10 years in the management of workplace health and safety, the changing nature of our work day, our ageing population and a greater focus on workplace safety and wellbeing are all factors that must not be ignored.

Other key findings of the report for 2012-13 include:

• The health care and social assistance industry had the highest number of compensation claims.
• 90% of all claims were for injury and musculoskeletal disorders with the back being the body part most often injured.
• 3 in 100 labourers made a serious claim — the highest incidence rate of serious claims of all occupations.

For more information, visit Safe Work Australia.

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