Workers’ compensation serves as insurance for employees who are off work as the result of an injury suffered in the workplace. Managed by the Workers Compensation Board in Nova Scotia, it has served thousands of Nova Scotians and businesses over the years. WCB financial awards are paid by employers.
The administration of WCB and decisions on claims can be complicated despite extensive guidelines, in place to adjudicate claims. For both employers and injured workers, decisions by the Board to approve (or not approve) claims are sometimes in dispute.
This year, new policies approved by the Nova Scotia legislature will come into effect in September. Claims will now be accepted based on time from work caused by mental stress in the workplace. Our businesses are sympathetic to employees facing these difficulties, but claims, after the fact, do little to solve the problem for individuals.
Work done last year as part of our Chamber’s recent safety/inclusion study, SafePaths, concluded that employers need to discover new and innovative ways to help employees deal with stressful situations, often related to bullying, harassment, diversity, and other social issues, before they lead to lost time from the job.
Action on this has begun in several local workplaces. The Chamber intends to assist employers find ways to improve workplace culture in the months ahead, with the support of the Provincial Department of Labour.
The new policies will, without question, add costs to the bottom line and may impact recruitment and retention efforts. WCB will be challenged to make fair and reasonable decisions on financial awards, always a concern of employers and employees.
As part of our Chamber advocacy program, we are working with the WCB and government to understand the true impact of the policies and assist employers cope with this significant change.
We urge our Chamber members to contact us with your views on these changes to help us as we engage with the government.
