Document name
Second Injury and Re-employment Reserve
Document number
PRO 03/2021

Effective date: April 1, 2021

Application: All injuries on or after the effective date.

Policy subject: Employer accounts – Claims costs adjustments and cost relief

Purpose:

To establish guidelines for charging claim costs to the Second Injury and Re-Employment Reserve.

BACKGROUND

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POL 03/2021, Second Injury and Re-Employment Reserve establishes guidelines for providing employers with cost relief under the Second Injury and Re-Employment Reserve (the “reserve”).

PROCEDURE

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  1. When do Operations staff determine if cost relief should be provided to an employer?
    1. Operations staff will review claims for cost relief throughout the life of a claim.
    2. This includes reviewing claims for cost relief as decisions are made (e.g., referral from Claims Entitlement Services to Case Management, when a claimant is placed on long-term earnings loss benefits and at claim closure).
  2. What type of costs can be charged to the reserve?
    1. Compensation.
    2. Medical.
    3. Pension/long-term earnings loss benefits.
    4. Rehabilitation, or
    5. All of the above.
  3. What amount of partial claim costs can be charged to the reserve?
    1. A percentage of costs charged to expense codes (e.g., wage loss, medical, etc.),
    2. Costs before and/or after specific dates, or
    3. A combination of (a) and (b) above.
  4. Are employers notified if they qualify for cost relief?
    1. Operations staff will notify employers in writing if a claim qualifies for cost relief. The letter will note:
      1. The reason why they are receiving cost relief, and
      2. How much cost relief they will receive.
    2. If an employer requests a review for cost relief, Operations staff will provide the employer the results of the review in writing.
  5. What happens when an employer disagrees with a decision regarding cost relief?
    1. An employer may submit a request of appeal regarding the cost relief decision (POL 21/2013, Appeals – Claims).
    2. Upon request, the WCB may provide copies of claim documents relevant to the cost relief decision to the employer or their representative (POL 05/2017, Privacy of Information).
  6. In situations where cost relief has been granted, employers may request to have their previous years’ discount/surcharge calculation reviewed (POL 27/2016, Experience Rating Program – Discounts or Surcharges).

Policy references

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Legislative Authority

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Document History

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(1)    March 1, 2022. Housekeeping changes to the procedure for minor updates including removal of references to secondary approval amounts.
(2)    POL and PRO 11/2017, Second Injury and Re-Employment Reserve (effective October 1, 2017 to March 31, 2021).
(3)    POL and PRO 21/2010, Second Injury and Re-Employment Reserve (effective February 3, 2012 to October 1, 2017). 
(4)    POL and PRO 14/1999, Second Injury and Re-Employment Reserve (effective February 1, 2000 to February 3, 2012). 
 

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Complements

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