Workers’ Compensation Act Committee of Review: Final Report Published

A high-level outline of some key recommendations relating to Service Hospitality:

The 2022 Committee of Review Report is now available.  You can view the news release from the Government of Saskatchewan here. 

The Workers’ Compensation Act 2013 requires a review to be conducted five years after the previous report was submitted.  The Committee of Review reviews and reports on all matters concerning the Act, regulations and the administration of the Act and regulations and provide an opportunity for individuals and organizations to make suggestions for improvement to the Saskatchewan workers’ compensation system.

Last November, Service Hospitality reached out to many of our largest member organizations, encouraging them to submit feedback on some key issues.  Thank you to all of Service Hospitality’s members who provided submissions. The Committee of Review decided not to comment on matters regarding the safety associations; however, many other recommendations were made. The Committee of Review received over 100 submissions which resulted in 34 recommendations.  A full list of participating organizations can be found at the end of the report. 

Some highlights relating to health and safety from the 2022 Committee of Review report include:

• Encouragement for continuing safety programs throughout high schools in Saskatchewan with safety association involvement (Recommendation Nine).

• Regarding psychological injuries, updates to WCB’s Policy & Procedure manual to ensure it supports the intent of the Act and how it pertains to “presumptive coverage” (Recommendation 16).

• Recommending a communication strategy that highlights the primary practitioner’s role in return-to-work which includes providing details on functional abilities, restrictions, and limitations (Recommendation 20).

• Highlighting the need to improve all communications regarding return-to-work programs to encourage injured workers’ continuous involvement at the workplace during their recovery (Recommendation 26).

• Recommending that Board Appeal Tribunal decisions are published, which would align with most other Canadian jurisdictions (Recommendation 34).

Along with recognition, the report gives WorkSafe Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Safety Council for raising awareness of injury prevention for youth; Service Hospitality has also performed significant work with youth since 2012 to support our members’ current and future health and safety needs. 

The public is welcome to share their feedback on the report until January 31, 2023, by emailing [email protected].  This report is now available for use by the WCB Administration, Board, and for discussion about updates to the WCB Act. Because this report is recommendations only, how many of the recommendations are implemented (and when) will be up to the parties listed above.

To access the full report and more information on the process, visit the Government of Saskatchewan website here.

If you have any questions about your workplace or the service and hospitality industries, please get in touch with us directly!