Productive and safe workplaces for an ageing workforce

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Age and work-related injuries

To further explore the risks associated with an ageing workforce, this section considers available statistical information about work-related injuries, workers compensation claims and associated costs.

In September 2000, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducted a work-related injuries survey throughout Australia as a supplement to the Monthly Labour Force Survey. The survey collected information about persons aged 15 years and over who worked at some time in the previous 12 months and who suffered a work-related injury or illness, whether or not they applied for workers’ compensation. As Figure 2 shows, the age group with the highest rate of injury or disease was 35-44 years—with a rate of 58 per 1000 (70 per 1000 for males, and 41 per 1000 for females). The next highest rate was for the age group 25-34 years—with a rate of 50 per 1000 (62 per 1000 for males, and 34 for females). The age group with the lowest rate was 65 and over—with a rate of 21 per 1000 (23 per 1000 for males, and 14 per 1000 for females).

Figure 2: Work related injury or illness rate by age

Chart

Despite evidence that the age-related changes that affect older workers may make them more vulnerable to some types of occupational injuries, the ABS workrelated injuries survey does not suggest that injuries and disease increase with increasing age. Several reasons have been proposed to explain this finding:

first, it may be that older workers are more likely to be aware of safety in the workplace and, therefore, less likely to have an accident²⁵
secondly, older workers tend to develop their own coping strategies (such as pacing, anticipation, planning and organisation) as they age²⁶, and these strategies may help them to reduce their injury risk
thirdly, selection factors may be important. That is, older employees may seek to move out of occupations or industries where their risk of injury or illness would otherwise tend to increase with age and into other forms of employment, phased retirement or early retirement.²⁷ Older workers may also withdraw from the workforce prematurely and involuntarily due to ill health or disability.²⁸

Comcare's experience

Comcare claims data for premium-paying agencies, including ACT government agencies, covers a diverse range of occupations. While the work predominantly involves the provision of administrative and community services, much of which is desk-based, a variety of work types are covered, including operational and field workers such as fisheries scientists, meteorologists, police, security services, customs officers and meat inspectors, as well as teachers and bus drivers.

Analysis of Comcare workers' compensation claims data for the period 1998-99 to 2000-01 shows a different pattern to the ABS injury and illness survey reported above. Comcare's claims data shows that while the under-20 age group has a relatively high incidence of accepted claims, the incidence of accepted claims is fairly uniform across the 25-54 age group, and shows a moderate increase for the 55-59 and 60 and over age groups.²⁹

Analysis of the average total cost per claim for the same period shows a steady increase in cost with increasing age until age 50-54, when costs decline significantly. This increase in costs may be in part explained by the tendency for an individual's pay to increase with age and experience. The decline in costs after age 50-54 is partly related to the cessation of incapacity benefits (i.e. payment for time off work, which is the largest component of compensation costs) at age 65 under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988.³⁰ Workers compensation claims for employees aged 55 and over cost less on average per claim than do claims for all but the youngest age groups, as Figure 3 shows

Figure 3: Average total cost per claim (1998-99 to 2000-01)

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Comcare premium paying agencies, including ACT Government.

Looking at the average of total weeks' incapacity paid (or paid time off work) shows that the average for all age groups for 1998-99 to 2000-01 was 7.6 weeks.

Average weeks of incapacity paid peaks with the 50-54 age group, and falls after age 54, as Table 1 shows.

Table 1: All accepted claims by age and incapacity, 1998-99 to 2000-01

Age group	Average weeks of incapacity paid
Less than 20	4.0
20-24	4.2
25-29	6.0
30-34	7.2
35-39	7.4
40-44	7.3
45-49	8.6
50-54	9.4
55-59	8.1
60 or older	6.5
All age groups	7.6

Comcare premium paying agencies, including ACT Government.

Analysis of the claim characteristics of employees in the 50 and over age group, compared with the under-50 age group for the period 1998-99 to 2000-01 shows a strikingly similar claims profile. The most significant injury incidence categories for both age groups are sprains, followed by back injuries and occupational overuse syndrome. The incidence of psychological injury claims was found to be relatively low (at less than two claims per thousand employees) for both the 50 and over and the under-50 age groups for the period 1998-99 to 2000-01.

Despite the relatively low incidence of psychological injury claims, data for 1998-99 to 2000-01 shows that these claims have the highest average total cost per claim. Detailed analysis shows that the costs associated with psychological injury claims do not show a direct relationship with age. As Figure 4 shows, the average total cost per claim reaches a peak for the 50-54 age group, but is also relatively high for the 30-34 age group, and falls dramatically after age 54.

The pattern shown in Figure 4 is in large part related to the average of total weeks incapacity paid (or paid time off work) for accepted psychological injury claims for each age group. As Table 2 shows, incapacity is highest for the 50-54 age group, and relatively high for the 30-34 age group, and is significantly lower for the 55 and over age groups. It may be that older adults who choose to remain in employment after age 55 are more resilient to psychological injury than younger employees.

Certainly, an examination of factors other than age related deterioration would be necessary to explain these trends.

Figure 4: Average total cost per claim for psychological injury claims (1998-99 to 2000-01)

Chart

Comcare premium paying agencies, including ACT Government.

Table 2: Accepted psychological injury claims by age and incapacity, 1998-99 to 2000-01

Age group	Average of total weeks incapacity paid
Less than 20	12
20-24	11
25-29	23
30-34	29
35-39	20
40-44	28
45-49	28
50-54	44
55-59	27
60 or older	16
All age groups	28

Comcare premium paying agencies, including ACT Government.

Mechanism of injury (or the cause of the claimed condition) shows a very similar profile for employees in the 50 and over and under-50 groups. Body stressing and slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of injury across both groups. However, employees over 50 do have a slightly higher incidence of body stressing and slips, trips and falls, and a significantly higher incidence of falls on the same level when compared to the under-50 group. Claims related to hearing loss, whilst of relatively low incidence, also have a higher incidence rate for employees over 50. However, most of these hearing loss claims relate to employment types that have reduced significantly in the Commonwealth over the past decade.

In summary

In summary, the above analysis suggests that age is not the key to understanding workers’ compensation claim patterns for employees of Comcare’s premium paying employers. It seems likely that this is because:

The causes of work related injuries are similar for employees across all age groups.
Individual differences can be significant, so many older employees may be more functionally able than some younger employees, and are likely to develop their own coping strategies to help them reduce their injury risk.
Differences in the cost of workers’ compensation claims in part reflect the higher pay rates that tend to apply as employees gain experience and progress through the career structure. However, the influence of increasing pay is moderated by the cessation of incapacity benefits at age 65 and the tendency for average weeks’ incapacity paid to decline from age 55.

25 L Laflame and E Menckel, 1995

26 K Munk, 2002

27 B de Zwart et al., 1997 found that workers in physically demanding jobs were more likely to change occupations or become too disabled to work than those in other occupations.

28 A Dolan, 2003, p. 267

29 Based on the Comcare premium-paying group, including ACT government agencies. The data considered did not include selfinsuring licensees, such as Australia Post and Telstra. Incidence takes into account the number of persons working within each age group.

30 Note that the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2001 enabled all employees to receive weekly compensation payments beyond the age of 65 for a maximum period of 104 weeks if they are injured after the age of 63.