Workflow Template
Return to Work Workflow
Coordinates a safe return to work after employee leave. Captures the employee's expected return date and any medical/capacity restrictions, has HR and the manager agree suitable duties or workplace adjustments, secures employee agreement, and tracks progress through check-ins until full return is confirmed and HR is notified.
When an employee returns from leave with medical restrictions, HR and managers often scramble through email chains to agree duties, get sign-off, and confirm the employee is actually on board — and details fall through the cracks. The RTW Coordination Workflow captures restrictions upfront, routes the draft plan for manager approval, secures employee agreement, and tracks progress through check-ins until full return is confirmed. Teams eliminate missed accommodations and get a clean audit trail from case creation to HR notification.
Business Outcomes
- Cuts RTW plan turnaround time from weeks to days
- Eliminates missed medical restrictions through structured capture at case creation
- Creates a full audit trail of approvals and employee agreement for compliance
- Reduces failed returns by tracking readiness through recurring check-ins
- Ensures HR is notified automatically the moment full return is confirmed
Workflow Steps
Steps
- 1Create RTW Casecreate record
Registers the return to work case from the employee's submission.
- 2Set Status: Submittedupdate record
Marks the case as submitted and awaiting HR/manager review.
- 3HR & Manager Review Restrictions and Draft Plancreate task
HR and the manager review restrictions and supporting information and draft suitable duties or workplace adjustments.
- 4Set Status: Plan Under Reviewupdate record
Records that the drafted plan is being sent to the employee for agreement.
- 5Manager Approval of Draft Planrequest approval
Manager signs off on the drafted duties/adjustments before it is sent to the employee.
- 6Route on Manager Plan Approval
Routes based on whether the manager approved the drafted plan.
approval_status: "approved"→Send Plan to Employee for Agreementapproval_status: "rejected"→Loop Back to Revise PlanDefault→End - 7Loop Back to Revise Planrestart from step
Manager rejected the draft; HR and manager revise the plan.
- 8Send Plan to Employee for Agreementrequest external input
Sends the agreed duties/adjustments to the employee and asks them to agree or raise concerns.
- 9Persist Employee Plan Responseupdate record
Saves the employee's response to the plan onto the record.
- 10Route on Employee Plan Agreement
Routes based on whether the employee agreed to the proposed plan.
employee_plan_response: "Agree"→Set Status: Plan Agreedemployee_plan_response: "Disagree"→Loop Back: Employee DisagreedDefault→End - 11Loop Back: Employee Disagreedrestart from step
Employee did not agree to the plan; HR and manager revise it.
- 12Set Status: Plan Agreedupdate record
Marks the plan as agreed by all parties and ready for implementation.
- 13Manager Check-in on Progresscreate task
Manager records progress against the plan and determines if the employee is fully returned or needs continued support.
- 14Persist Check-in Outcomeupdate record
Saves the check-in notes, readiness outcome, and next review date to the record.
- 15Route on Readiness Outcome
Routes based on whether the employee is fully returned or needs further check-ins.
readiness_outcome: "Full Return Confirmed"→Set Status: Fully Returnedreadiness_outcome: "Not Yet Ready"→Loop Back to Next Check-inDefault→End - 16Loop Back to Next Check-inrestart from step
Employee not yet fully ready; continue the plan and schedule another check-in at the new review date.
- 17Set Status: Fully Returnedupdate record
Marks the case as fully returned - final status.
- 18Notify HR of Full Returnsend email
Sends HR a notification confirming the employee has fully returned to work.
Fields
- Employee Name*
- Employee Email*
- Manager Email*
- HR Email*
- Expected Return Date*
- Capacity or Medical Restrictions
- +8 more fields
Forms
Return to Work Notification
7 fields
Data Views
Return to Work Cases
employee_name, expected_return_date, rtw_status, review_date +1 more
Dashboard Widgets
Recommended integrations
Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.
Send email in the workflow
AWS SES
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FAQs
What happens if the manager rejects the draft RTW plan?
If the manager doesn't approve the draft plan, the workflow routes it back to the Loop Back to Revise Plan step so HR and the manager can rework duties or adjustments. The case stays in Plan Under Review status until a revised plan is submitted and approved, so nothing moves forward without sign-off.
Can this handle an employee disagreeing with the proposed plan?
Yes. When the employee response is persisted, the workflow routes on employee plan agreement — if they disagree, it loops back through the Loop Back: Employee Disagreed step to revise the plan before resending it. The plan only progresses to Plan Agreed status once the employee has formally accepted it.
What if the employee isn't ready to return at a check-in?
The Manager Check-in on Progress step captures a readiness outcome each time, and the Route on Readiness Outcome step decides what happens next. If the employee isn't fully ready, the case loops back to the next check-in instead of closing prematurely, keeping the return gradual and monitored.
How do we customise the check-in frequency or approval steps?
All steps, roles, and routing logic are editable directly inside assess.one — you can adjust who reviews restrictions, how many check-ins occur, and what triggers escalation. No developer involvement is needed; changes are made in the platform and take effect on the next published version.
Who needs access to this workflow?
Typically HR, the employee's direct manager, and the employee need access at different steps — HR and the manager for plan drafting and check-ins, and the employee for reviewing and agreeing to the plan. Access and permissions per step are configured inside assess.one, so you control exactly who sees medical restriction details.
How long does it take to get this workflow live?
The RTW template is ready to use — you publish it and it's live in seconds, no implementation project required. Your team can start creating RTW cases and running the process immediately after publishing.
What if we need to record sensitive medical restriction details securely?
Medical and capacity restrictions are captured directly within the case at creation and stored within assess.one, with access controlled by the roles and permissions you configure per step. You can restrict visibility of these details to HR and the manager only, keeping sensitive information out of general email threads.
Can this workflow integrate with our existing notification tools?
Yes. Notifications like the HR notification on full return can be configured to send via email, Slack, or other integrations set up directly inside assess.one — no third-party development work is required to connect them.
What happens once the employee is confirmed fully returned?
Once the readiness outcome confirms full return, the workflow sets the case status to Fully Returned and automatically triggers the Notify HR of Full Return step. This closes the loop without HR needing to manually track or chase case status.
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