Staying active, productive, and connected to the workplace can help injured workers recover faster. Evidence supports that many times, the most successful return to work plans involve the worker remaining at work or losing as little time away from work as possible. Getting back is part of getting better.
Helping an injured worker return to work is also good for business. It can lower your claims costs and lead to lower WCB rates.
Did You Know?
Research shows that at just six months from date of injury or illness, the probability of someone ever returning to gainful employment is only 50% if they do not remain connected to their workplace. By two years, that number drops to less than a 5% probability.
Work Disability Prevention
Effective prevention of work disability is becoming an increasingly important strategy in today’s workplaces. Work disability occurs when a worker is unable to remain at work or return to work due to an injury or illness. Injuries and illnesses can be physical or psychological or both and every injury or illness is different.
There is a growing trend in today’s competitive markets of employers intervening earlier and implementing work disability prevention strategies in an effort to minimize work disability in their organizations. These strategies can be any workplace activity, organizational program, or policy designed to support injured or ill workers remaining at work.
Providing safe and suitable work arrangements for recovering workers takes teamwork. Workers, employers, and health care providers all have important roles to play in this process.
Work Disability Prevention Programs
A Work Disability Prevention Program (WDPP) is a strategic and proactive approach to helping injured workers stay at work or return to safe and productive work as soon as possible. A WDPP enables employers to be prepared, and it ensures that modified or transitional duties or graduated work schedules are available to help injured workers continue to be at work while they are recovering from injury.
The goals of a WDPP are to enable safe and timely return to work, prevent or reduce the physical and psychological impact of workplace injuries, and to optimize worker recovery. The best approach is having a WDPP in place before a work-related injury occurs – but it’s never too late to start.
A WDPP also benefits you as an employer by:
- Reducing the costs of recruiting and training replacement staff.
- Maintaining productivity and team dynamics.
- Improving workplace morale.
- Reducing productivity losses and workflow interruptions.
- Meeting the legal requirements related to human rights and workers compensation legislation.
- Reducing your WCB premiums.
Return to Work Plans
Return to Work (RTW) plans are an important part of a WDPP. Within a WDPP, generic plans are developed based on the key job functions for each job or group of jobs. This is a solid starting point that can be individualized to meet the needs of a recovering worker, based on limitations and restrictions. Having these generic plans in place also helps you meet the return to work requirements in the Workers Compensation Act.
Some options for RTW plans include a gradual increase in hours over a period of time, transitional or modified duties, identification of other suitable work, work conditioning or a multi-disciplinary program to build strength and stamina in conjunction with a transitional return to work plan. The plan is individualized to each worker. Focusing on what a worker can do rather that what they can’t do makes it easier to determine appropriate modified and transitional duties. Health care providers will provide information about a worker’s abilities in an effort to determine what a worker can do at work throughout their recovery.
A best practice RTW program can use the S.P.I.C.E. model as a guide:
S – SIMPLICITY
Keeping things simple. Avoid overcomplicating your program by removing confusing steps and processes.
P – PROXIMITY
Keep the workers connected while they’re off work by maintaining close proximity to the work environment. This can be as simple as regular check-ins. And making accommodations helps workers stay connected to the workplace before full recovery.
I – IMMEDIACY
Make sure injuries are immediately reported. Respond quickly with support, offer early accommodations, and be ready to adjust plans as needed.
C - CENTERING THE WORKER
The worker plays a significant role in their successful RTW outcome. Create inclusive and interactive processes to capture their needs and input on what think is necessary for a successful RTW.
E – EXPECTATIONS
Expect a good outcome. Most workers can successfully return to work, and everyone involved should anticipate a successful RTW.
How can the WCB help?
The WCB can help you develop a RTW plan, working with you, the worker, and healthcare providers. As a team, we design it specifically around the worker’s abilities and the kind of work that is available.
Do I have to create a new job to support the return to work?
No. You do not have to create work where there is no work. However, a job vacancy does not have to exist for work to be available. If you have multiple job sites, you can offer suitable work at one of those sites.
What are the benefits of returning to work?
If you are an employer, helping a worker return to work as quickly as possible after an injury has many benefits. It can help to maintain your business’s productivity, retain important knowledge and experience and reduce the cost of training replacement workers. A successful RTW program shows all employees that the business values them. It can also reduce your claim costs.
For workers, returning to work can provide a chance to gain new skills and experiences through different work opportunities. It also contributes to the healing process and reduces lost earnings.
Can the worker return to work before being fully recovered?
Yes. Most workers will be able to safely return to some type of work at some point during the recovery process. Depending on their injury, the worker may be able to do some regular job duties or other suitable work. Many workers can return to all of their regular job duties before they fully recover from their injury.
What is suitable work?
Suitable work is work that the worker can do with their current functional ability and skills. It must not be a health and safety risk for the worker or coworkers. It should match the worker’s pre-injury earnings, if possible. In general, suitable work should be appropriate, meaningful, reasonable, and productive. We will work with you and your worker to find suitable work.
Will the RTW plan include details about suitable work?
If suitable work is available, the RTW plan should include the following details about the work:
- How the work compares to the pre-injury work
- How the earnings compare to the worker’s preinjury earnings
- How the work accommodates the worker’s functional abilities
- The salary of the work
- The date when the worker can start
Does the worker have to accept suitable work if I offer it?
Unless the worker has a legitimate reason to refuse the work, the worker should accept it.
Your role as the employer:
- Stay in contact with the worker during the worker’s recovery period.
- Help create a RTW plan.
- Discuss suitable work. Determine if the work is compatible with the worker’s capabilities, and, where possible, if it pays the same.
- Provide the WCB with any information about the worker’s return to work.
The worker’s role
- Talk to their healthcare providers about what they do at work and what they can do while they recover.
- Attend all scheduled appointments and follow the set treatment plan.
- Keep you informed about their recovery.
- Keep the WCB informed about their progress
Explore these resources to help support you in developing RTW plans:
- Returning to Work Makes Sense for Employers
- Work Disability Prevention: A Guide for Employers
- Return to Work Toolkit – Recovery from Psychological Work-Related Injury