How to offer modified work to employees with a workplace injury without restrictions from a health professional is a common question from employers. In very simple situations, which will be explained during our discussion on Linkedin Thursday, June 13, an employer does NOT need a health care practitioner to provide restrictions prior to the offer of modified work. I know! I know! Employers are [...]
All too often our biggest focus in disAbility management is how fast can we get someone back to work. Rather than making this your goal, cultivate a culture of genuine and universal concern for your injured and/or ill employees. Their chances of a speedy recovery is exponentially increased when the organization says 'I want you back yesterday' and we can help! Too many employees [...]
This issue seems to be arising much more frequently these days and unfortunately, employers are not handling it well whatsoever. If you take one or two notes and accommodate, I can guarantee you, there is a line of employees wanting to change their shift as well. How do run an organization, let's say a hospital, if a majority of your employees only want to [...]
It's very frustrating to me when I hear or read about how employers are accommodating their sick or injured employee. There's a right way to do this, and then there's the lazy way. Let's start with the lazy way - since it seems to happen all too often. When a worker provides restrictions or limitations, it's so easy to pull them out of their [...]
Over the years we've become very good at establishing appropriate accommodations when someone has a physical injury such as a sore back, or repetitive strain injury (RSI) but we need to get great at accommodating those with mental health issues. This seems to be a relatively new concept, one that is still yet to be adopted by most employers but definitely crucial in our [...]
All too often, the inconsistencies in claims management comes from not having a systematic process that you can rely on for ultimate success in reducing disability loss, whether this be financial, or an employee's absence. In today's times, employers make choices on the employee's absenteeism and work record as to how they are going to manage a particular claim. From a Human Rights perspective, [...]
WSIB has a campaign to eliminate workplace accidents called Road to Zero. In one of my earlier blogs, I wrote that I thought this was impossible. I still believe this today, unfortunately. Accidents happen all the time. The whole point of safety in the workplace is to reduce and/or eliminate them from happening but they continue to happen. With the new Rate Framework to [...]
A recent conversation with a new disability case manager sparked this blog. 'Since the employer is paying my salary, I work for the employer and have their best interest in mind. Right?' Wrong! Your job as a disability case manager is to 'sit on the fence' and represent BOTH sides with integrity and diligence. We do our job by representing the employer but not [...]
Prevention is the KEY to Cost Containment With WSIB’s New Rate Framework Modernization starting January 1, 2020, it is time for employers to decrease their financial impact of work related claims and allow for significant cost containment through prevention utilizing a variety of strategies such as: advanced WSIB trainingonsite occupational health care measuresrecruitment or hiring of health care professionals establishing preferred vendor contractsimplementation of Health [...]
With over 30 years as an Occupational Health Nurse in Ontario and I thought that toxic environments were slowly fading but not so much. While we continue to struggle with increasing awareness about Mental Health issues in the workplace, reducing our workplace injuries and managing our absenteeism, a toxic workplace negatively feeds the souls of many employees and management team alike. It has the [...]
