Glossary
Suitable Duties
The tasks an injured worker can safely do while recovering, matched to the capacity their treating doctor has certified.
Also called: suitable work · modified duties
Definition
Suitable duties are the tasks an injured worker can safely perform while they recover, matched to the capacity certified by their nominated treating doctor. They may be the pre-injury role with adjustments, reduced hours, or different tasks that keep the person at work without setting back their recovery. Under the NSW workers compensation scheme, employers are expected to provide suitable work where it is reasonably practicable. Suitable duties are set out in the return-to-work plan and change as certified capacity changes. They make recovering at work possible rather than waiting at home.
In practice
Suitable duties are where a plan succeeds or stalls. The work on offer has to match the certificate, the workplace and the person. Nexus works with the employer to identify tasks within certified capacity, and a workplace or ergonomic assessment can confirm a role is set up safely. We coordinate the duties into the return-to-work plan and adjust them as capacity changes; the medical limits themselves come from the treating doctor.