The ABCs of gradual return and temporary assignment

Progressive return to work is an important tool for limiting the impact of occupational injuries on CNESST contributions. Progressive return to the workplace is the employer’s responsibility. It is part of its management rights. Employers are advised to plan and organize a gradual return to work for their employees. Good planning contributes to the effectiveness and compliance of the planned preventive measures.

If one of your employees suffers a work accident or suffers from an occupational disease, you can facilitate his or her return to work through temporary assignment. This consists in assigning the worker tasks that are less intense than those he or she was doing before the accident.
Temporary assignment (or “light work” as it is commonly known) can be a source of anxiety for workers. They often fear a hasty return to work, which could worsen their situation. Yet it’s a safe and motivating solution!

The benefits of temporary assignment are as great for the employee as they are for the employer. Its aim is to maintain the employment relationship and help an injured worker recover.

DR Conseils can help you implement temporary assignment by working with you to draw up an inventory of tasks to meet the temporary restrictions of your injured workers.

What is temporary assignment?

Governed by sections 179 and 180 of the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (AIAOD), temporary assignment, as its name suggests, consists of temporarily assigning suitable tasks to an employee who has been injured or is suffering from an occupational disease.

The worker’s temporary assignment must be validated by a health professional in charge of the worker. The latter must assess the functional limitations resulting from the patient’s injury. He or she must be of the opinion that the injured worker is capable of performing the work, that the new tasks involve no danger to the employee’s health, safety or physical integrity, and that the work to be performed is conducive to rehabilitation.

If any of these conditions are not met, the assignment is invalid and cannot take place. In addition, a form must be duly signed by the attending physician.

In light of these observations, the employer will assign modified tasks adapted to the employee’s functional restrictions. This may involve, for example, modifying the loads to be handled or the movements to be performed, in order to reduce the physical demands required to perform the job. In addition, the tasks assigned may be another job within the company, or a set of different tasks. They must, however, be related to the company’s objectives and contribute to its normal activities.

If no assignment is possible, the employee will be declared off work and may receive income replacement indemnity (IRI).

What are the advantages of temporary assignment?

There are a number of advantages to returning an injured employee to work. First of all, he or she is entitled to the same salary and benefits as his or her regular job. They also keep their vacation days, group insurance and pension plans. The worker also maintains a link with his or her workplace, while enriching his or her skills.

For the employer, the introduction of temporary assignment also offers major advantages, most of them financial. A company that favors the best conditions for rehabilitating its injured workers, such as temporary assignment, saves the CNESST significant sums of money!

Calculations to understand the economic impact on your CNESST contributions

First, let’s define an active file. An active file is simply a work accident file for which the worker is receiving income replacement benefits. A file is considered inactive when the worker stops receiving benefits (due to a temporary assignment/light work).

It is important to understand that the CNESST calculates the cost of a work-related injury by considering the disbursements associated with the injury, which include income replacement benefits (IRB), medical expenses, bodily injury and death benefits.

Then, to determine the total cost of a case, we apply a loading factor ranging from 1 to 4. The factor varies according to the periods during which the worker receives benefits. The highest factors appear in quarters 8 to 16, with the 8th quarter being the most important, with a loading factor of 4, and falling between October 1 and December 31 of the year following the occupational injury.

Here’s an example of a work accident that occurred in 2020, which shows that the amounts charged to the file will be higher starting in the 8th quarter (in 2021). If a worker receives income replacement benefits during this period, the total disbursements to the file will be multiplied by the factor of 4. It is this amount that is charged to the employer’s file, which can result in a significant increase in the actual cost of the file.So for every $1 paid, CNESST charges 4 times the cost!

As for quarters 9 to 16, the factors vary from approximately 1.2 to 3.

Here’s an example, assuming that there are $30,000 in disbursements for an employment injury that occurred in 2020, and that the worker still hasn’t returned to work between October 1 and December 31, 2021. A single day not worked during this period would increase the actual cost of the case to $120,000, whereas if the worker were on temporary assignment, the cost of the case would be $30,000.This would mean an additional cost of $90,000 for a single day of compensation!

It’s important to remember that the longer the case lasts, the higher the costs charged. Since it is the employer who bears the costs of work-related injuries, it is to the employer’s advantage to try to reduce these costs to minimize his or her CNESST contributions.

It is therefore in the employer’s best interest to promote the reintegration of injured workers, while respecting their abilities and functional limitations. Temporary assignment remains the best solution, since it promotes the worker’s rehabilitation while minimizing the costs involved.

Under temporary assignment, the employer must pay 100% of the worker’s salary to avoid CNESST compensation payments.

DR Conseils will guide you through the steps you need to take to limit CNESST contribution costs and avoid the impact of loading factors.