If you are ever involved in an accident and badly injured, you will need to take a considerable length of time off work. This can be frustrating for a number of reasons. Not only will you fall behind on your work and could end up out of the office loop, you might also be off for so long that you are no longer eligible for statutory sick pay. That’s because your employee is only obliged to continue paying you a partial amount of your salary for a limited amount of time.

This could be a bad situation to end up in but, thankfully, there are a few things you will be able to do while off work with an injury to make things slightly better and more manageable. Read on to find out more!

Look After Yourself

First of all, you need to make sure that you look after yourself. Your health should be your number-one priority so that you can quickly get over your injury. Make sure you attend all your hospital appointments and listen closely to what your doctors and nurses tell you. It’s also essential that you carry on with all your courses of medicine until you have completed them in full. If you ever stop taking any medicine, then your recovery could end up going backwards and it’ll take you even longer to get back to work.

Consider Claiming Compensation

Did your accident occur in the workplace? If so, and it wasn’t your fault, you could be eligible to claim some work injury compensation. Most employers will pay some compensation out to any worker who ends up injured at work through no 

fault of their own. However, if the company you work for refuses to do so, you will be within your right to hire a lawyer to pursue your claim. It’s worth discussing your case with a lawyer before you proceed as they will be able to weigh up your situation and see whether you have a good chance of winning the case.

Look For Benefits

One of the main things that people struggle with when they are off work for a long period is their finances. Once their employee stops paying them sick pay, they might not have another income. It’s essential that you look for some benefits that you might be able to claim. Most local governments will have some form of benefit for people who are off with an injury for an extended period of time.

Think About Looking For A Home-Based Part-Time Income

If you are still mentally fit and able to use a computer, you could always think about trying to find a part-time income from home. For instance, it could be worth selling some of your old clothes and books on online auction site. You might even be able to get some freelance work doing what you usually do full-time for your work. This extra income should help your finances.

Keep In Touch With Your Manager

It’s also really worth keeping in touch with your manager whenever you can. This is your chance to inform them how your recovery is going. It’s also a chance for them to keep you up to date with everything that has been going on in the office while you have been away. You can be updated on any staff departures and developments within the department in which you worked. The more you are aware of, then the easier you will find your return to the office once you are able to go back to work. It’s a good idea to plan a regular catch up with your manager and most companies will expect their sick employees to do so at least once a month. This can be done over the phone or via Skype so you won’t have to go into the office if that will still be too much of a struggle.

Plan Your Return To Work

Once you have a date for your return to work, you can start to plan going back to the office. As soon as you have a definite date, make sure you let your manager know. They can start making the necessary arrangements in the office. Let them know if you will need any assistance, like wheelchair access or special ergonomic office furniture to help with any lasting pain and aches. You might even want to see if you are able to return on a part-time basis at first so that you can build up back to full-time. That gives you a chance to make sure you truly are ready to return to work.

Good luck!