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 [...]
All too often the question of how much longer should the modified work continue, comes to my attention. The answer of course is, it depends. For the most part, modified work should be between 4-8 weeks long. It should be progressive, suitable and productive. That's a lot to consider when deciding how and when to accommodate, never mind how long it should be. Make [...]
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 [...]
This is an all-too-common occurrence – right? Many organizations have a union and some have multiple unions. Hospitals have at least 5 for the most part. You have to work with them. There is no way around this. When an employer says to me, how do you manage unions or do you have a problem working with unions, I shake my head. Seriously! Why [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Have you ever heard of Manuka Honey? It is an incredibly powerful substance created by bees that pollinate the Manuka bush, found only in New Zealand and Australia. Australian researchers have found that this honey is better than all known antibiotics. Why? Because pharmaceutical antibiotics have a short shelf life, in addition to the fact that bacteria tend to become resistant in a short [...]
