Near Miss: The Undervalued Key to Workplace Safety
It happens all the time, whether we are aware of it or not. It affects our behaviour, whether we are aware of it or not. It changes the way we do things, whether we are aware of it or not. It happens when we least expect it and even when we think we are prepared – it is a ‘near miss’. What is a ‘Near Miss’? Loosely defined, a ‘near miss’ is a close call, an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage, but had the potential to do so – an incident, that under other circumstances, could have resulted in a less than favourable outcome but did not. Why Near Miss reporting is important to the workplace safety? If everything turned out okay why bother talking about it, reporting it, or investigating it? The reality is that a ‘near miss’ holds valuable information that can […]
Why Performance Matters
When it comes to WCB premiums, it is an employer’s performance – in terms of the number and severity of work-related accidents, incidents and illnesses – that has a significant impact on premium rates. Simply put, employers who have a large number of WCB claims and high WCB claims costs will pay more in WCB premiums than employers with few or no WCB claims and little or no WCB claim costs. Although the WCB provides discounts and rewards for employers with good accident records, the primary incentive to get employers with poor performance histories to make immediate improvements to their disability management and prevention programs is through monetary repercussions. The Poor Performance Surcharge (PPS), which is levied on large employers (i.e. employers who pay more than $15,000 per year in industry rated premiums in a 3 year period) who have consistently poor accident records over consecutive years. It is, perhaps, […]
What is a Concurrent Condition and How Does it Affect Temporary Disability Benefits?
On June 6, 2017, the WCB Alberta announced changes to policies regarding the application of cost relief for concurrent conditions, directly affecting Policy 04-02, Part II, Application 1, paragraph 11 and Policy 05-02, Part II, Application 1. The proposed changes were put forward on December 8, 2016 and the WCB welcomed comments and input until March 9, 2017. More details on the possible implications of the proposed changes can be found on our blog. Now that the policy changes have been implemented, what exactly has changed, and how does it affect employers? Let’s take a closer look: By WCB definition, a concurrent condition refers to a non-compensable condition that exists at the same time as a compensable disability. The onset or identification of a concurrent condition can occur either before or after a compensable accident and may or may not have an impact on a worker’s recovery from a compensable […]
Seasonal Worker Safety: An Employer Priority
Summer is here! The season of sunshine, warm weather, vacations, festivals, exhibitions, concerts, Stampede, landscaping, outdoor activities and, of course, construction. It’s also one of the busiest times of the year for seasonal hires – whether it is extra staff to handle the peak traffic at resorts, camp counsellors, summer students to cover vacations, special event workers or extra manpower to complete construction and other projects while the weather permits. With the hire of new employees, whether permanent, temporary or seasonal, workplace safety should be an integral part of the on-boarding process and ongoing operations. Let’s explore more about Seasonal Worker Safety: Greater Risks for New Hires A recent study by the Institution for Work & Health (IWH), based on research over a 10 year period, indicates that there is a higher risk of work injury among workers new to a job and virtually every seasonal worker is ‘new’. The […]
April 28th – The National Day of Mourning in Canada.
Today There Will Be Three April 28th marks The National Day of Mourning in Canada, a day of remembrance, officially recognized by the Canadian government in 1991. The purpose of the day is twofold, a time to honour and remember workers who lost their lives or were injured on the job and to renew a commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace. Since it’s inception, The Day of Mourning has spread to nearly 100 countries and has been adopted by the AFL-CIO(American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations) and the International Confederation of Free Trade. According to the latest statistics from 2019, in Alberta alone, 165 men and women lost their lives while at work and countless more that were seriously injured. Across Canada, a total of 925 work related fatalities were recorded in 2019 – almost 3 lives every day of the year. Workplace fatalities […]