Document name

Termination of Compensation Benefits – Notice

Document number

POL 17/2010

Fit means, for the purpose of this policy, sufficiently recovered from the work injury to enable a resumption of pre-injury employment at the pre-injury wage.

1. Section 101(1)(a) of The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013 (the “Act”) states that the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) may terminate or reduce payment to a worker where the worker’s loss of earnings is not related to the effects of the injury.
2. The intent of this policy is to specifically deal with the “termination” of benefits outlined in Section 101(1)(a) of the Act, whereas the “suspension” and “reduction” of benefits outlined in Section 101(1)(b) of the Act are covered in POL 01/2018, Benefits – Long-Term Earnings Loss and POL 15/2016, Suspension of Benefits.
3. While compensation benefits are to be withdrawn when the effects of the injury are no longer the cause of the worker’s inability to work, consideration will be given to workers who are in receipt of benefits for a prolonged period who are declared fit and their pre-injury employment is no longer available.

1. Where the worker no longer has employment to return to when declared fit for pre-injury employment, the WCB will provide a minimum of two weeks notice of termination, commencing on the date of notice, for every 12 consecutive months a worker is in receipt of wage loss benefits, up to a maximum of six months notice.
2. In addition to providing notice of termination, the WCB may inform workers of alternative support programs.
3. Where the worker returns to employment prior to the expiry of the notification period, the WCB will terminate the compensation benefits at the earlier date.