Open and respectful communication is key to achieving safe and successful outcomes. Our goal is to work together with our clients at every stage of your claim or account. Collaboration during the recovery and return to work process is necessary to achieve the best possible outcomes, and we’re here to help.
Our commitment to you
Code of Rights and Conduct
We want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to provide injured workers and their employers with service that is respectful, fair and timely. We want you to know that we are committed to you and you can rely on us.
We will treat you with dignity and respect during all of our interactions. You can read more about our client commitment on our Code of Rights and Conduct webpage and within the full Code of Rights and Conduct included in our Policies and Information Manual.
Decision review and appeals process
We know the decisions we make impact peoples’ lives, so we do our best to make sure they are fair and consider all the facts. If you disagree with a decision we make, our robust decision review and appeals process helps ensure our decisions are accurate. This process is available to you if you disagree with a decision and would like to see it reviewed or changed.
Fairness review process
If you believe you were treated unfairly, our fairness review process is available to support you.
Client and staff collaboration
Talk to us
Client communication and collaboration is an important part of the claim and account experience. This includes both written and verbal communication. Effective collaboration is essential to achieving successful outcomes.
We are committed to working with you, and we understand that sometimes issues may arise. If it feels like we didn't get something right, please raise your concerns. We ask that you state any concerns and/or requests clearly so we can properly address the area(s) you’re worried about. This is not possible if content is uncollaborative (e.g., threatening, abusive or disrespectful).
If a client interacts with our staff in a way that is not collaborative, we will work together to communicate in a way that is safe and respectful for everyone. Our goal is to get the relationship back on track and move forward in a positive direction.
Addressing uncollaborative behaviourUncollaborative behaviour interrupts the communication, recovery and return to work process. Lack of collaboration may include any of the following:
- behaviour: extreme anger, aggression, threats or violent conduct, including harassment and/or intimidation.
- demands: insisting on unattainable outcomes, changing agreed-upon goals or plans, or demanding to have matters dealt with in ways that are difficult to accommodate.
- persistence: continuing to raise issues once they have been finalized, refusing to accept a final decision, or sending excessive amounts of correspondence by phone, email or mail.
- lack of cooperation: providing purposefully disorganized, excessive or irrelevant information, failing to provide relevant information, or refusing to clearly define concerns.
- arguments: seeing cause-and-effect arguments where there are none, holding theories unsupported by evidence, or refusing to accept other interpretations of facts or viewpoints.
If we receive written or verbal communication that contains uncollaborative content, we will ask the sender to correct their communication. This can include returning inappropriate communication and inviting the sender to resubmit it after removing the disrespectful content. We won’t respond to personalised or negative comments that intimidate or threaten a WCB employee.
In most cases, we can quickly address issues by working together. However, if uncollaborative communication or conduct persists, we may take steps to modify how we interact. This may include sending a letter outlining the uncollaborative behaviour and impacts of that behaviour. Changing how we interact could include communicating through a designated representative and/or by communicating in writing only for a brief period of time.
Anyone can write to us to ask to have communication restrictions removed at any time. We’re always willing to revisit communication restrictions and collaborate on a plan to move forward in a professional and productive way.
