Workers Injury Compensation Laws in South Australia slashed! Workers lose rights!
Jun 7th 2008, 1:06 pm
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Workers Injury Compensation Laws in South Australia slashed! Workers lose rights!
Hi all, I just thought I would let all considering moving to SAPOL when they begin the next recruiting drive that is. That the South Australian State Government were successful in implementing the 'New Workers Compensation Legislation' 2 days ago.
How will it affect you as a police officer with SAPOL?? easy, just like any other employee, be it clerk, baker, office manager, fire officer etc etc If injured, you will have 13 weeks to get better before you lose 10% of your pay, then if the injury is serious and are not completely healed after 2.5 years, they just stop paying you!! Yea after 2.5 years the claim is closed and you get paid nadda!! you lose 100% salary! Just as simple as that my friends.
They will have a panel of Doctors that will not examine you as the injured worker, that panel will make a decision as to your fitness etc based on a file shoved in front of them and whatever they say can not be challenged. That's right, it can not be challenged in Court even. You are not entiteled to be assisted or represented by a Solicitor either!! Thats right you are not entiteld to a Solicitor!! A breach of basic human rights in my opinion.
If you have a serious injury and some have in SAPOL (Serious MVA/Trauma from being shot or similar - you get the picture) that prevents you from returning to general police duties, but the panel states you have the capacity to say, answer a telephone, then according to that panel, regardless of the different and unique duties of a police officer, they will then consider you fit for work. Your problem then is to get SAPOL to find you alternate suitable duties like answering telephones...good luck...as those positions don't exsist in SAPOL, they don't even have a general switchboard now. SAPOL are going for a 100% operational force, the maimed and lame no longer wanted.
So in a nutshell my old mates, your career is over done and dusted, you could end up broke and unemployed. It's caused huge issues here with the Unions but nobody could stop the Bill being passed. Workers like us schmucks no longer have any rights left with SAPOL, SAPOL a few years ago convinced the Government to also bring in a Bill that if your are complained about by a member of the public, your employment can be terminated 'on the balance of probabilities Yes just like a civil case. The villains are innocent until proven guilty 'Beyond Reasonable doubt' but not SAPOL officers your guilty until proven innocent! The Commissioner can hire and fire at will and again there really can be no intervention by Government Ministers to assist. Again if you don't get legal assistance from the Police Association, you again can end up unemployed and broke as some scumbag lies about what you did to him/her.
So me old mates back in Blighty, I would be thinking about another force as I am. I'ts going to cause some problems I think in time to come.
But I suppose SAPOL rely on us not to know these things, they certainly won't tell you at the interview I bet. Guys and gals just take care when considering the move. Get in touch with any mates out here and ask them, look at SA Unions web site, do some research first.
The comments made here are just my own thought's and opinions and not those of all members of SAPOL or the Police Association.
How will it affect you as a police officer with SAPOL?? easy, just like any other employee, be it clerk, baker, office manager, fire officer etc etc If injured, you will have 13 weeks to get better before you lose 10% of your pay, then if the injury is serious and are not completely healed after 2.5 years, they just stop paying you!! Yea after 2.5 years the claim is closed and you get paid nadda!! you lose 100% salary! Just as simple as that my friends.
They will have a panel of Doctors that will not examine you as the injured worker, that panel will make a decision as to your fitness etc based on a file shoved in front of them and whatever they say can not be challenged. That's right, it can not be challenged in Court even. You are not entiteled to be assisted or represented by a Solicitor either!! Thats right you are not entiteld to a Solicitor!! A breach of basic human rights in my opinion.
If you have a serious injury and some have in SAPOL (Serious MVA/Trauma from being shot or similar - you get the picture) that prevents you from returning to general police duties, but the panel states you have the capacity to say, answer a telephone, then according to that panel, regardless of the different and unique duties of a police officer, they will then consider you fit for work. Your problem then is to get SAPOL to find you alternate suitable duties like answering telephones...good luck...as those positions don't exsist in SAPOL, they don't even have a general switchboard now. SAPOL are going for a 100% operational force, the maimed and lame no longer wanted.
So in a nutshell my old mates, your career is over done and dusted, you could end up broke and unemployed. It's caused huge issues here with the Unions but nobody could stop the Bill being passed. Workers like us schmucks no longer have any rights left with SAPOL, SAPOL a few years ago convinced the Government to also bring in a Bill that if your are complained about by a member of the public, your employment can be terminated 'on the balance of probabilities Yes just like a civil case. The villains are innocent until proven guilty 'Beyond Reasonable doubt' but not SAPOL officers your guilty until proven innocent! The Commissioner can hire and fire at will and again there really can be no intervention by Government Ministers to assist. Again if you don't get legal assistance from the Police Association, you again can end up unemployed and broke as some scumbag lies about what you did to him/her.
So me old mates back in Blighty, I would be thinking about another force as I am. I'ts going to cause some problems I think in time to come.
But I suppose SAPOL rely on us not to know these things, they certainly won't tell you at the interview I bet. Guys and gals just take care when considering the move. Get in touch with any mates out here and ask them, look at SA Unions web site, do some research first.
The comments made here are just my own thought's and opinions and not those of all members of SAPOL or the Police Association.
