With the same goals in mind – helping workers to return to work after an injury while helping a worthy charity – Melbourne-based recruitment agency HORNER Recruitment has formed a unique partnership with St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria. By working together, the two organisations have developed an agreement that enables injured workers, those with the capacity to continue with modified duties, to work in one of 100 Vinnies shops.

“HORNER Recruitment approached our volunteer co-ordinator and proposed the idea of forming a partnership in order to provide opportunities for injured workers to return to the workforce on their way to returning to full duties,” explains Sue Trzcinski, Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator of St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria.

“We immediately recognised what a ‘win-win’ situation the proposal represented and as the relationship developed, we worked together to create a formal agreement and put in place the processes required to quickly and smoothly bring the injured workers on board.

“This is the only agreement we have in place with any recruitment organisation for this type of initiative. From the Society’s perspective, it’s been wonderful to be able to give someone the opportunity or stepping stone to get back to what want to do,” says Trzcinski.

The idea for the initiative initially came about when HORNER’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and WorkCover Co-ordinator, David Forbes, was conducting an OHS site evaluation at a St Vincent de Paul Society worksite where HORNER was supplying on-hired workers on a regular basis.

“During this meeting the Vinnies manager talked about the huge role volunteers play within their organisation and with the ongoing success of their stores operations. However, Vinnies were always in need of more volunteer workers and in some instances the motivation of volunteers varied greatly,” says Forbes.

“Although having restricted capacity workers that have come through the return to work program during their recovery are enthusiastic, motivated and willing to work,” explains Forbes. “At HORNER we recognised and supported the findings of professional studies that revealed how important it was to the moral and confidence of injured workers, and to their long-term employment to return to work at the earliest possible time, and that is always my objective.”

One of the success stories of this innovative partnership was Sanne. Sanne sustained a shoulder injury in June 2013 and thought she would be out of work for weeks, even months. However, through this program, she was able to work while she recovered, and Vinnies gained a skilled and engaged volunteer to assist them in their store.

As an on-hired casual worker for HORNER Recruitment, Sanne had been engaged in the local government sector where her duties involved outdoor work caring for the council’s parks and gardens. An assessment by a physiotherapist confirmed she would no longer be able to perform the pre-injury duties that had been the mainstay of her role.

Committed to assisting on-hired workers return to suitable pre-injury duties as soon as possible, Forbes was briefed on Sanne’s injury assessment to gain a better understanding of the duties she could perform. Sanne was equally motivated to return to the workplace and continue in a role that enabled her shoulder to recover. Sanne was the perfect candidate to be engaged through the Vinnies-Horner return to work program.

“It is a very stressful time when you have an injury,” says Sanne. “I was an on-hired casual worker with no entitlement to sick leave and I honestly thought I wasn’t going to have a job anymore.

“Instead, thanks to HORNER Recruitment and Vinnies, I worked right through my recovery phase, engaging with colleagues in a caring and supportive environment, continuing to earning an income,” says Sanne.

“Vinnies were so helpful and supportive of my goal to return to work. I just needed the time to regain full fitness. While I was recovering, I was able to complete meaningful tasks at Vinnies such as sorting donations, serving customers and pricing goods. It was fantastic!” continues Sanne.

This industry-leading initiative has been incredibly successful for all parties involved.