.jpg)
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has announced changes to its client services will proceed as planned now that feedback from employees has been considered.
According to ACC chief operating officer Mike Tully, ACC staff members suggested alternative options to the initially proposed structural changes. The changes will now see an additional 100 roles created, with some temporary roles to be included in ACC’s permanent workforce. This will take the total number of people in ACC’s client service teams to approximately 1,900.
New roles will be created in five hubs – Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin – to work with clients who do not usually need face-to-face support when recovering from less severe injuries such as sprains, strains and fractures, which make up 94% of claims. All ACC’s 25 existing offices will remain open, and clients will continue to be able to access face-to-face support where it supports their recovery.
The next step for ACC is an expression of interest process for affected employees, who will be offered either an appropriate role in the same location if one is available or a similar role elsewhere if they are interested. However, as previously signalled, ACC said there would be some redundancies over the next 12 months – particularly when neither option is feasible.
“We will get a clearer picture of the numbers involved once the expression of interest process is completed in July,” Tully noted.
Tully explained the changes are aimed at providing a faster, more flexible service that gives clients more options about the level of help they receive from ACC.
“We know our clients require varying levels of support from us as they recover from injury, and based on their feedback we’re tailoring our services to suit their individual needs – from intense one-on-one support, through to enabling clients to manage their recovery plan online if that’s what they want,” he added.
