Return to work

Employers

Workplace injuries and illnesses significantly impact both workers and employers. There are two ways to reduce those impacts:

1. Invest in prevention:
   An effective safety and health program can help workers avoid sustaining an injury during the course of their workday 
2. Develop a practical and comprehensive return to work program:
   These programs can help your business maintain productivity, reduce days lost and provide your worker with the support they need for a healthy recovery.

Return to work programs

A return to work program is a proactive approach to helping injured workers stay at work or return to safe and suitable employment as soon as health permits following a workplace injury. A return to work program provides modified or alternate duties and/or graduated work schedules as needed to help injured workers come back to work while they are recovering from their injury or illness.

The goal is to facilitate a safe and timely return to work, prevent further injuries and optimize the worker’s recovery. The best approach is to have your return to work program and policies in place before a workplace injury occurs – but it’s never too late to start. 

A return to work program helps you:

• Keep experienced workers connected to the workplace. 
• Reduce the costs of recruiting and training replacement staff. 
• Maintain productivity and team dynamics. 
• Improve workplace morale. 
• Reduce direct costs related to workplace injuries. 
• Meet the legal requirements related to human rights and WCB re-employment legislation.

A return to work program helps injured workers:

• Recover more rapidly from their injuries. 
• Maintain their full rate of pay and benefits. 
• Continue to earn pension benefits and vacation days (in some cases). 
• Get back on track sooner with less uncertainty about the future. 
• Maintain social contact with co-workers.

Your role as an employer

• The employer should manage the return to work process and involve the injured worker and their healthcare provider. The worker should be given the option to include a union and/or worker representative. The WCB adjudicator or case manager assigned to the claim may be involved, when requested.  
• The return to work team develops a plan to help the injured worker return to safe and suitable work, within established timelines.  
• The return to work plan should be customized to the injured worker, take into consideration the worker’s abilities and reflect the recommendations of the healthcare provider, which may include modified or alternate duties.  
• The employer should keep in touch with the injured worker while they are off work and support them with a return to work plan when they are medically able to return. 
• The WCB should be notified if there is a dispute between the worker and employer on whether the return to work plan is appropriate. 

Re-employment obligations

The Workers Compensation Act (the Act) requires employers who have 25 or more full-time or regular part-time workers to re-employ injured workers who were in their employ for at least 12 continuous months prior to their injuries.

Where the re-employment obligation applies, the Act specifically requires employers to accommodate the injured worker’s work and workplace to the needs of the injured worker, to the extent that the accommodation does not cause the employer undue hardship. Those employers not subject to the re-employment obligation may still have duties to accommodate workers where otherwise required by law, including but not limited to the requirements of the Human Rights Code.

For more information, please visit re-employment obligations.

Tips for creating a successful return to work program

• Present the return to work process as part of your company’s benefits package and explain that you support helping workers with a timely and safe return to health and work. 
• Identify modified or alternate duties that may be used during a return to work plan before they are needed.
• Consider job modifications before injured workers return to their full regular duties.
• Allow recovering workers to ease into the full work routine, using graduated hours if necessary. 
• Keep in touch with recovering workers and maintain a positive attitude toward their return to work. 
• Focus on what the workers can do, not what they can’t do. 
• Have workers help to identify possible modified and alternate duties. 
• Ask for help from your WCB adjudicator or case manager if you need assistance.

Training

Join our free WCB workshops that help employers understand the WCB and the best practices in creating custom return to work programs to suit their business needs.

For more information on the available workshops and how to register, visit Training and workshops.

Return to Work Program Services

WCB Return to Work Program Services is a group of experts who offer free consultation services to help create or improve your return to work program.

The Return to Work Program Services team: 

• Leads workshops in WCB Basics and Return to Work Basics.  
• Provides custom workshops to employer groups of 10 or more.  
• Consults and supports workplaces in updating or creating a return to work program. 
• Explains how the WCB operates, including:
  • our current rate model
  • claims, adjudication and management
  • compliance (understanding rights and responsibilities)
  • appeal process