Glossary
Suitable Employment
Work an injured worker could reasonably do given their injury, skills and experience, and a broader test than adjusted duties with their current employer.
Definition
Suitable employment is work an injured worker is, or would be, able to do given their injury, skills, experience and the other factors set out in the NSW workers compensation legislation. It is a broader concept than suitable duties: it considers employment the person could reasonably obtain, not only adjusted tasks with their current employer. Suitable employment is used when assessing a worker's capacity to earn and in work capacity decisions about weekly payments. Whether that work is with the current employer or in the open labour market, it shapes what a realistic return looks like.
In practice
Suitable employment comes into focus when the pre-injury role is not available and the question becomes what work the person could realistically do. Nexus's vocational assessment maps transferable skills, qualifications and realistic job options, and where a new employer is needed we coordinate placement and work trials. We provide the evidence and the legwork; how suitable employment factors into a work capacity decision is a matter for the insurer and the scheme.