Posted By Steven Mellor I know that there is no statutory obligation to pay a full wage following an accident at work. However there is an opinion that by seeing to be 'reasonable' and paying a full wage, albeit for a limited amount of time, that there is less likely to be a claim made? We are currently reviewing our policy and I would be very interested to hear of how other company's tackle this tricky issue (the pro's and cons) and how effective their systems have been in practice. Particularly: 1. Is the company occupational health advisor used? 2. Is the full rate for the job paid and for what duration? 3.Is the rate used a basic rate if bonuses are involved? 4. What checks or assurances are used to ensure that there is no abuse of the system? 5. Does the injured person sign a waiver stating that any payment is not an admission of liability Any response will be most gratefully received. Cheers Steve

Posted By Heather Aston I disagree - it's an issue for HR to lead on but to which H&S should contribute. We don't work in isolation. (do we?) Sorry Steven I can't help from experience as we have a sick pay policy that pays full sick pay for a period on all absences. However I would say definitely get OH involved. Pay normal bonuses like shift allowances and so on. Only pay out if there is a proper record of a works accident/injury having taken place - i.e written in accident book or whatever, or if you investigate and are satisified one really happened. Over a lnegthy period this should go hand in hand with a gradual return to work supervised by OH. Heather

Posted By C Gabriel Steve, I work with a number of small firms and all have slightly different policies. However my advice is treat each on its own merits. A policy can be put in place for example that for the first 5 days full pay (excluding shift bonus) will be paid - after that it will go to SSP. Unfortunately a couple of the companies I work for are of the opinion they will claim anyway so will get the money back. Its a shame to feel like that but in the main they are right. What you have to decide is whether the individual is a valued member of the team and do you want them to potentially be on the SSP for weeks? Other companies have a time served procedure that if the employees have worked for x years they get full pay for a set number of weeks, after y weeks they get half pay and then onto the SSP. You are damned if you do and damned if you dont, but the money you spend with a good OH professional say after 2 weeks to see them will be money well spent