Return to Work Policy

Disability: is defined by the Ontario Human Rights Code as:

1. any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device,
2. a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability,
3. a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language,
4. a mental disorder, or
5. an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Medical Restrictions and Limitations: Restrictions are those physical or mental activities that an employee is not able to carry out and are to be avoided, as a result of the employee’s medical condition or treatment, or in order to prevent an increase in severity of symptoms. Limitations are those physical or mental activities that an employee may carry out but only in a limited capacity, as a result of the employee’s medical condition or treatment, or in order to prevent an increase in the severity of symptoms. To support the Return to Work process, an employee will provide the College with medical documentation that outlines their restrictions and/or limitations as completed by their physician or health care provider.

Modified or Transitional Duties: Alternate work, task, function or combination thereof that an employee who requires accommodation may perform safely, which may or may not normally have been performed by that employee prior to the occupational or non-occupational illness or injury. Examples of modified or transitional duties include but are not limited to:

• Reduction in hours worked
• Change in shift or rotation
• Reduction in the volume of work
• Modification to regular duties
• Placement in a different position
• Work hardening (gradual reintroduction of work tasks)
• Job sharing/splitting
• Placement in a different location

The assignment of modified work will be dependent on the employee’s functional abilities and is based on whether the employee can physically, psychologically and vocationally perform the tasks without aggravating the injury or illness and not impeding recovery.

Non-Occupational Injury or Illness: An injury or illness not arising as a result of workplace duties, activities, exposures and/or other workplace factors.

Occupational (work-related) Injury or Illness: An injury or illness arising as a result of workplace duties, activities, exposures and/or other workplace factors.

Personal Health Information: Under the Personal Health Information and Protection of Privacy Act, personal health information is considered to be individually identifiable information that pertains to an individual’s health status, including information about the individual’s physical or mental health, health care services, test results, identification of health care providers and/or health number.

Reasonable Accommodation: Is an individualized process which, to the point of undue hardship, involves the implementation or modified or transitional duties for the removal or alleviation of barriers that prevent an otherwise capable individual from participating equally in the workplace because of a disability, in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

For the purpose of this document, “reasonable accommodation” and “accommodation” are used interchangeably.

Return to Work (RTW): The process of returning to work following a period of disability related to an occupational or non-occupational injury or illness. The primary goal is to return the employee to work that is both suitable and available. Suitable work is safe, productive, and consistent with the employee’s functional abilities. This process begins at the time of the injury or awareness of the medical condition or illness, and continues through the recovery or impairment period. Ideally, the employee will return to their pre-injury job, with accommodations if required. At times, it may be necessary to explore temporary alternate suitable work while the employee recovers.

Return to Work Plan: A written document that outlines the steps to help a worker return to suitable and available work. It is an individualized plan developed collaboratively by the College and the employee (and the third party insurance provider for employees returning from a WSIB or long-term disability absence) to ensure that these parties understand what will happen during the employee’s Return to Work. The Return to Work Plan will document functional abilities, relevant limitations or restrictions, the work activity identified within the employee’s medical capabilities, any stipulations to be observed during the plans duration, meeting timeframes, and evaluation dates for review of progress.

Stakeholders: Although the administration of the disability claim and Return to Work process will depend on the details of a specific employee’s situation, relevant stakeholders will include those who have specific knowledge or input into the process. In general, this will include the employee, the employee’s manager, the Senior Abilities and Accommodation Specialist, the Human Resources Business Partner, the employee’s union representative if requested by the employee, the employee’s health care provider, and/or third party insurance providers (e.g. WSIB, Sun Life).

Undue Hardship: The point at which, after examination of all relevant circumstances, it is determined that providing an employee with an accommodation would result in excessive impact on the business or operations of the College. The Ontario Human Rights Code prescribes three factors to consider when assessing whether an accommodation could cause undue hardship: financial costs, outside sources of funding, and health and safety risks.