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 [...]
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, [...]
There hasn’t been too many times in my 30 year career in disability management where I’ve met an employee that has been too eager to return to work, but they do pose a big problem when you do have one. disAbility claims management seems to focus on the continuous effort of case managers to move the employees along to a return to work on [...]
Doctors are extremely busy professionals and will provide a ‘note’ regarding an employee’s ability to return to work or to stay off of work when requested. ‘Does it suffice for your work environment’ is the question? The answer is, ‘it depends’. If you provided the doctor with clear expectations as to what needs to be on the note to assist you in the return [...]
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 [...]
This is definitely one of my pet peeves. Rest assured, the insurance carrier you think you have managing your short-term disability, long-term disability and WSIB, ADJUDICATE your claims only! If you are an employer, or a case manager working for an employer, you need to manage your insurance carriers as well as your employees’ claims. The primary purpose of insurance carriers is to adjudicate [...]
Staff members leave their positions for a variety of reasons, but the number one reason that they STAY and EXCEL is the corporate culture. They are looking for somewhere inclusive, where they feel valued and appreciated for their hard work. According to WhatIs.com, corporate culture is the pervasive values, beliefs and attitudes that characterize a company and guide its practices. You can almost think [...]
In today’s times, there remains an increase in disability claims throughout Canada, despite the efforts of MANY case managers to reduce absenteeism for employers. We see the increase in health care costs, benefit costs, production costs, overtime and replacement costs throughout organizations. The numbers continue to rise. So why isn’t claims management working? Because…. You NEVER get to the root of WHY an employee [...]
