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What you might not know about Accredited Employer Programmes Gallagher Bassett chief client officer, Steven Walsh
T
he Accredited Employer Programme (AEP) can be appealing and cost-effective for large employers seeking to lower costs and self-manage injury claims within their workforce. Facilitated by the Accident Compensation Corporate (ACC), this scheme allows large organisations to take control of their ACC levies, actively manage their Health and Safety environment and the total cost of when employees injure themselves at work, often resulting in better outcomes for their injured employees.
The AEP enables the organisation to ‘step’ into the shoes of the ACC, but it does come complete with the obligations that ACC has to injured workers. These responsibilities when managing workplace injury management claims require considerable skill, time, knowledge and resourcing – a limitation for many organisations wishing to leverage the many benefits of participating in the AEP. 22
March 2022
These limitations can play out in many forms, including; not having a claims team with adequate knowledge of the correct adjudication and legislation to apply which can result in additional claims costs, lack of independence when handling colleagues claims, availability of advanced claims management platforms and best practice, lack of data and analytics when coupled with manual and antiquated processes resulting in excessive administrative costs, not to mention the advances and best practice in the rehabilitation. These risks are only compounded when staff retention is challenged. To counteract these challenges, part of the ACC’s AEP program allows companies to manage their claims through a third-party claims administrator (TPA). First, what are the constraints of using the AEP program? The AEP program can be ideal for large employers that have the desire and capabilities to take control of
their workplace health and safety practices and have a ‘hands on’ involvement to ensure that injured employees are provided with the best possible outcome when injured performing their duties at work, which, with the impact of COVID-19, now includes those injured when working from home. Meeting the criteria set by ACC To be eligible to join the ACC’s AEP program, employers must meet various requirements including being able to: •
Demonstrate their experience and commitment to effective workplace health and safety
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Show their commitment to preventing injuries and providing the support and time for rehabilitation should it be needed
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The policies, procedures, and resources for injury prevention, claims management and rehabilitation provide audited financial records that show
