Safety & Workforce worked example

Return to Work Savings with cost avoided with a return-to-work program of 63 units: a worked example

Suppose cost avoided with a return-to-work program falls to 63 units. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate savings from return-to-work program compared with lost time cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Cost avoided with a return-to-work program: 63 units (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 125)
  • Cost of the injury without the program: 100 units (held at the documented default)
  • Baseline injury cost for reference: 100 units (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Margin = gain or available amount - cost or required amount.
  • Return to work savings margin works out to -37 % at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Return to work savings amount gap works out to -37 value at these inputs.
  • Available return to work savings amount works out to 63 value at these inputs.
  • Required return to work savings amount works out to 100 value at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where cost avoided with a return-to-work program sits at 125 units and the headline result is 25 %, this scenario comes in 248% below the baseline at -37 %.
  • It computes the net margin between the cost avoided through a return-to-work program and the cost the injury would carry without it. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Return to work savings margin: -37 % (headline result)
  • Return to work savings amount gap: -37 value
  • Available return to work savings amount: 63 value
  • Required return to work savings amount: 100 value

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Return to Work Savings calculator, set cost avoided with a return-to-work program to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.