As an employer in Canada, you have certain obligations outlined by Canadian workers’ compensation requirements. Each province has its own Act and a corresponding workers’ compensation board to enforce their Act.
Many of the workers’ compensation boards (WCB) refer to this as a duty to cooperate. Some of these obligations may be obvious, such as reporting payroll and paying premiums. Other obligations do not become clear until a workers’ compensation claim (WC Claim or WCB Claim) occurs.
The policies that make up the employer’s duty to cooperate are meant to return an injured worker to their date of accident employment as quickly and safely as possible. No matter the province you are operating in, this includes the following actions (at minimum):
- reporting a workplace accident or injury within the guidelines outlined by the board,
- communicating with your worker and the WCB throughout the return-to-work process,
- offering modified duties to accommodate your injured worker,
- participating in care and return-to-work planning discussions, and/or
- allowing your worker time to participate in their treatment.
When an employer meets their WCB obligations both the employee and employer benefit. It has been demonstrated that employees who maintain a relationship with their employer after a work accident have much more successful outcomes. Returning your employee to a modified version of their position, or alternative suitable work tasks, as soon as medically possible is the best way to maintain this relationship and will help your worker with their recovery.
This means that employees recover better not just physically, but also psychologically. This also means that as an employer you can reduce your workers’ compensation costs as well as shorten the amount of time you need to operate without your employee.
PEO Canada assists our clients with navigating the return to work process while meeting their WCB obligations. We can help you by finding the appropriate claim forms and documents, brainstorming modified work options, and maintaining contact with respective workers’ compensation boards in Canada.
Learn more about how we assist our clients: Workers Compensation Solutions at PEO Canada.