6-730   EARLY AND SAFE RETURN TO WORK
Approved January 2008

POLICY

St. Leonard’s Community Services will endeavour to provide modified work on a temporary basis, where possible and available, to staff whose capabilities are limited as the result of an occupational injury or illness in accordance with the Workplace Safety & Insurance Act.

The Agency’s focus is to return the staff to his/her regular pre-injury/illness role as safely and efficiently as possible.  This will be done with the co-operation of the injured staff, his/her Supervisor and management.

The Early and Safe Return to Work Policy acknowledges the needs and the value of Agency staff and the Agency’s role in the staff’s effective rehabilitation.  The policy is for the benefit of all staff and is not to be interpreted as a reduction of the staff’s rights under any applicable legislation.

PROCEDURE

The injured staff’s Supervisor in consultation with the Human Resources Administrator will:

THE INJURED STAFF WILL

CONTACT WITH THE INJURED STAFF

The injured staff will be contacted by the Supervisor as soon as possible after the injury, to ascertain if there is any role the Agency can take in the staff’s rehabilitation.  Contact will continue throughout the staff’s recovery.

The frequency of contact with an injured staff will depend on several factors including, the nature of the injury/illness, the length of time away from work, the nature of the injured staff’s position and the personal preferences of the injured staff.

Contact with the injured staff will be documented in the Early and Safe Return to Work Communication Log (see Appendix 15) by the Supervisor, which will be placed in the staff’s Human Resources file after the staff returns to work.  Meetings will be scheduled regularly by the Supervisor to maintain contact.

MEDICAL MONITORING

When necessary, the Supervisor may consult with the injured staff and with the staff’s consent, the staff’s health care provider, in an effort to hasten the safe return to work.  The frequency of these consultations will be determined by the staff’s health care provider so as not to interfere with the staff’s recovery.

One tool that may be utilized by the health care provider during these consultations is the Functional Abilities Form, which is available through the WSIB.  This form will identify the abilities and limitations of the injured staff.

MODIFIED WORK

Modified duties may be arranged in cases where the Supervisor, in consultation with the injured staff and the staff’s health care provider decides a return to modified duties will benefit the staff’s recovery and re-introduction to the workplace.

These modified duties will take into account information gathered in the Functional Abilities Form and the Agency’s ability to modify the workplace in order to accommodate the staff without creating undue hardship for the Agency.

Above all else, the decision to return an injured staff to modified duties will be based on the best interests of the staff’s health and wellness.

Modified duties may include:

REPORTING TO THE WSIB

The WSIB will be an active participant in any Early and Safe Return to Work program.

The WSIB must be notified by the Human Resources Administrator in any of the following situations:

RE-EMPLOYING INJURED WORKERS

Group insurance benefits will continue while a staff is off work recovering.

The Agency will offer to re-employ the injured staff in the pre-accident job, a comparable job, or a job deemed suitable by the Agency and the Health Care Provider.

The obligation to re-employ lasts for the earliest of:

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