Legislation is part of Stronger Workplaces for Nova Scotia Act, passed last year
The Nova Scotia government has announced that new return-to-work legislation known as the duty to co-operate, which seeks to help employees heal and remain connected to their workplace after an injury on the job, took effect on July 15.
The recently operative law is part of the Stronger Workplaces for Nova Scotia Act, introduced and passed last September, according to a news release from the provincial government.
“These changes are about making return to work part of recovery,” said Nolan Young, Nova Scotia’s minister of labour, skills, and immigration, in the news release.
Under the new legislation, workers injured on the job, their employers, and the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCB Nova Scotia) should collaborate to support a timely and safe return to work.
Specifically, the new law expects:
- employers to provide meaningful accommodations, including the type of available work, and keep open lines of communication
- employees to participate in planning their safe return, including assisting in identifying appropriate work
- WCB Nova Scotia to help the parties navigate the process and comply with their responsibilities
“Workers want to get back to their lives, and employers want a strong, stable workforce,” said Karen Adams, WCB Nova Scotia’s chief executive officer, in the news release. “We believe in that shared goal.”
Law’s goals
In its news release, Nova Scotia said the new legislation aims to mitigate the effects of workplace injuries on employers and employees and reflect the recommendations from a 2024 review seeking to improve the workers’ compensation system.
The province’s news release noted that employees tend to achieve better physical, psychological, and economic outcomes if they remain linked with their work while healing from injuries sustained on the job.
“We know that when workers stay connected to the workplace after an injury, they recover better and have better long-term outcomes,” Young said in the news release.
“Research, experience and common sense all tell us the same thing: when it’s safe to do so, staying connected to work helps people recover faster and more fully,” Adams added. “Duty to Co-operate is about ensuring no one goes through recovery or return to work alone.”
“Protect More” – WCB Nova Scotia’s 2024–30 strategic plan – revolves around the three pillars of injury prevention, return to work, and exceptional service.
These last six months, WCB Nova Scotia has collaborated with employers, employees, and healthcare providers to help workplaces adjust to the change. To this end, it provided relevant webinars, tools, and resources.
Relevant data
In its news release, Nova Scotia shared statistics pertinent to the new return-to-work legislation. Across Canada, the province has the lowest return-to-work rates and one of the longest claim durations, with an 168-day average in 2022.
Nova Scotia is also seeing workers injured on the job recommencing work more slowly than they did a decade ago. Specifically, among the province’s workers:
- 46 percent returned to work within 30 days in 2022, compared with 52 percent in 2012
- 81 percent went back to work within 180 days in 2022, down from 88 percent in 2012
