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Safety Assessments + Consultations: Air Quality Assessment, Combustible Dust Assessment, Confined Spaces Assessment, Critical Incident Response Services, Ergonomics, Machine Safeguarding Assessment, Noise Hazards | Surveys and Testing Services
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Leadership and Psychological Safety Services: Mental Health and Wellness at Work, Leadership Training and Coaching, Respectful Workplace Support
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Getting Certified: Steps to OSSE Certification, COR for Small Business, Safety Needs Analysis | GAP Analysis, COR / OSSE Small Business Referral Program, Certified OSSE/COR External Auditors
Certification Tools & Training: OSSE/COR Audit Tools, OSSE/COR Reference Materials, Certified OSSE External Auditor Training, OSSE/COR Internal Auditor Training
12
Months
of Safety
of Safety
January 2024
Return to work
If one of your employees is injured on the job, they may require a return-to-work program when they are ready to return to the job. As a small business, you may have more challenges to find suitable and available work to offer.
Return-tor-work programs are designed with the idea that many employees can safely perform alternate or modified work during their recovery.
A return to work program will:
- Help employees return to work in a safe and timely manner
- Reduce costs to train a replacement worker
- Reduce the length of time that your employee is away due to their injury
- Help employees to stay connected to their co-workers and supervisors
Focus on your worker's capabilities when designing a return-to-work strategy. The employee's medical team can identify any limitations that the worker may have in returning to work. Understand what your work can, and cannot, safely do.
Videos & Webinars
Mental health and stress-related accommodations and strategies and pathways for supporting successful return to work after a mental health leave—and for handling mental health-related impacts of physical injuries and illness on return to work.
Return to workHealth and Safety Resources and Tools
When people are injured on the job and need support during their return to work, WorkSafeBC may refer them to a Return to Work Support Services provider.
Quick Reference Card
A stay-at-work/return-to-work program provides the financial, social, and psychological benefits and stability of remaining in the workforce while injured or unwell.
Have a gradual return to work process. For example, consider increasing frequency of task rotation, frequency breaks of less duration, and access to drinking water. This will allow workers to return to pre-absence physical conditioning levels.
Ale (KSW Lawyer): If an employer terminates an employee within six months due to the injury, they may be liable for breaching the Duty to Maintain Employment. The determining factor is whether the termination was related to that worker’s compensable injury. WorkSafeBC wants to dissuade employers from terminating injured workers due to their injury and […]
Ale (KSW Lawyers): The Duty of Maintain Employment is not indefinite; it runs to the second anniversary of a worker’s date on injury. If a worker has been unable to return to work over two years from the date of injury, the obligation to maintain employment ends.
Teresa (WorkSafeBC): A worker can, but they are not obligated to, share their medical information. Many doctor’s reports can include information that is not relevant to the claim and is the confidential, private, information of the worked. For medical information to help identify suitable work, you can direct a worker to physiotherapy for the completion […]
TeksMed Service: Employers should keep in mind they do not NEED to wait for medical to make an offer of suitable/modified work. They can base the offer off common-sense restrictions (Ie: one-handed duties for a left-hand injury). Also, other treatment providers can provide limitations or assist in reviewing modified work (Ie: Physiotherapist). As WCB receives […]
Teresa (WorkSafeBC): The new legislation provides a legal framework for supporting an injured worker’s return to, or continuation of work.
Toolbox Talk
Recent changes to the Workers Compensation Act outline new requirements such as the Duty to Cooperate and the Duty to Maintain Employment for work-related (compensable) injuries. Both employers and workers are now legally required to maintain communication with each other and WorkSafeBC, participate in suitable work, and maintain a worker’s employment in many cases.
Teresa (WorkSafeBC): There is no limit prescribed. If the work is being completed regardless of accommodations than there is no effect. If providing accommodations becomes an undue hardship, then that will be reviewed. Make sure you document why an accommodation is not possible. Amanda (TeksMed Services): There is no set figure.
Amanda (TeksMed Services): Being on Probation does not bar a worker from claim, however the Duty to Maintain employment only applies to workers who have been employed for at least 12 months. Many workers have underlying or pre-existing conditions, the Board can consider accepting this as only an aggravation to a pre-existing condition and/or may […]
Teresa (WorkSafeBC): The duty to cooperate requires workers to “not unreasonably” refuse suitable work when it is made available by an employer with whom the worker has an existing employment relationship. If a worker refuses work duties that are suitable and available, WorkSafeBC will investigate to determine the reasonableness of the worker’s refusal. If WorkSafeBC […]
Ale (KSW Lawyer): The Duty to Cooperate is reciprocal. Employees also have a duty to communicate with the employer and WorkSafeBC. Failure to do so puts them at risk of losing claim benefits. The Duty to Cooperate is applicable to cases where a worker is disabled from earning full wages, even if they were employed […]
Ale (KSW Lawyers): Terminating a worker and paying them termination pay does not automatically cancel the Duty to Maintain Employment obligations. Employers may still be required to establish that the termination was unrelated to the injury under the WorkSafeBC system. Whether there was a breach of the Duty to Maintain Employment is determined on a […]
Teresa (WorkSafeBC): I am not sure if that has been a consideration, as it is outside of my department, but if you would like to know, please send an email so that I can forward it to the appropriate department and try to find an answer for you.
Teresa (WorkSafeBC): Undue hardship refers to a point at which accommodating a worker becomes too difficult, unsafe, or costly for the employer. WorkSafeBC determines if the situation meets the undue hardship criteria on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the specific circumstances of each situation. Employers are obligated to identify and offer work that is […]
Conference Session
2025-10-08 13:55:00
Explore practical, evidence-informed strategies to support safe and timely return to work following injury or illness—including psychological injuries. After a brief presentation on the essential principles and best practices, you’ll get hands-on with quick-start tools to create your customized recover-at-work toolkit, addressing a range of factors—from diverse workplaces and job roles to operational realities. Get […]
Registration OpenAmanda (TeksMed Services): Employers should keep in mind they do not NEED to wait for medical to make an offer of suitable/modified work. They can base the offer off common-sense restrictions (Ie: one-handed duties for a left-hand injury). Also, other treatment providers can provide limitations or assist in reviewing modified work (Ie: Physiotherapist). As WCB […]
Amanda (TeksMed Services): This depends on the circumstances, failure to report is not always necessary a bar to claim but can be depending on the situation and circumstances. One would need to review the specifics for a recommended action, but generally one can always ask WCB to investigate or if the factors are strong enough […]
Ale WorkSafeBC: keeps a record of the phone calls throughout a claim. Case Managers often summarize conversations after speaking to a worker or an employer. You can find this under the “Communications” tab via the online claim portal. The call centre may also “log” a message that you leave for the Case Manager, Vocational Rehabilitation […]
Teresa (WorkSafeBC): In response to your question, it seems that you are asking about the DTME and how to communicate to the employer that they cannot terminate an employee who may not meet the DTME because they were recently hired. The DTME applies to employers who regularly employ 20 or more workers and workers who […]
Ale (KSW Lawyers): WorkSafeBC can adjudicate whether the worker is expected to remain in the accommodated role and whether they are entitled to wage loss benefits in these cases. Since the Duty to Maintain Employment poses a positive duty on the employer to find alternate work, exploring alternate accommodation/position may be required if the current […]
WorkSafeBC offers a Return to Work Coordinator course. It is a two-day course focuses on the role and responsibilities of a return-to-work (RTW) coordinator, providing participants with the information, tools, and templates that will allow them to do the job. The course focuses on the value of a proactive approach, which provides support for an injured […]
Ale (KSW Lawyer): Employers are expected to accommodate a worker to the point of undue hardship, the point at which it is too difficult, unsafe, or expensive to remove barriers so that injured workers can return to work. If creating a new position is financially unfeasible for a business, the employer can establish that doing […]
This website links to and references a study funded by NIOSH that looks at the long-term impacts of workplace injuries on workers.
News & Blog Articles
Editorial from TeksMed Services on Bill 41
December 6, 2023
Editorial: TeksMed Services Inc. As a disability management consultant, TeksMed Services Inc. regularly counsels employers on return-to-work requirements and issues. The following is an article TeksMed published on their own website for their clients and has agreed to share it...
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