Posted By scollis Hi Over the weekend a member of our staff fell and sprained her wrist badly. She has seen a doctor who has told her to rest it. The person in question is a member of the admin team, a risk assessment has been carried out and it has been determined that she shouldn't undertake excessive typing, lifting, filing etc. her left hand will be used where possible. However, if she has been told to rest it by her doctor and has it strapped up isn't that what she should do and take a couple of days off to let it heal properly? If she carries on working isn't there a risk that the injury won't heal and might lead to other problems? Thanks

Posted By Robert_N HI, I have been involved in a case just like this before and if not handled properly it can go south in double quick time. The main thing you must do is get HR up to date on it and ensure that they are involved all along the way. Many companies do not pay sick pay for injuries sustained during hobbies and sports so she may feel that she has to be there. The other may be that in the current climate we are in she feels that she may lose her job. In short GET HR.

Posted By Bob Youel anynbody come accross the term 'reasonable adjustment' as any reasonable company should be able to find productive lower risk work for a member of its staff for a short time until they are back to full fitness I doubt that your insurers would be to bothered provided you managed the situation properly; just ask them the proper questions. However is it the easy route that is the one most people want to take?

Posted By Flic I have had fractures twice - once a broken wrist and once a fractured metatarsal. On neither occasion did I need time off work. I adjusted. On the occasion of the fractured metatarsal I was contracted to deliver a training course 300 miles away. This involved three changes of train. Upstairs, downstairs, the lot. Flic

Posted By Ron Hunter She's a grown-up. She's fit to attend work and she's been told to rest that wrist. I'm sure she'll cope. I managed it when I was 5 and didn't miss a day at School! Oh, and that 'risk assessment' that's been carried out which has "determined" that she shouldn't undertake excessive typing, lifting, filing etc? One of her first "light duty" task could be to consign that to the waste bin? How do you propose to measure what is "excessive"? It all seems a bit OTT to me folks!

Posted By Arran Linton - Smith As an ex Occupational Health Nurse I am quite amazed at some of the responses to this thread. As an assessment of the wrist has already been made by medical practitioner and the details of this are confidential, it is mainly up to the employee to identify their own capabilities. Ethically we are not medical practitioners and therefore we should not overrule their assessment. As for recovery there is a balance between rest and therapy and work in the form of an individual’s wellbeing certainly will not do any harm. In the case of my broken wrist, because I mainly worked at a computer attended, construction sites and meetings, as long as I did not drive there was no problem with me working.