WCB Question
 

I got injured at work. Soft tissue/pulled tendon in my arm. I can lift about 15lbs before my arm gives out. I am off work for between 2-3 weeks (so the doctor thinks) as my job is quite physically demanding. My boss called me and fired me this morning saying that he needs to train and hire someone new, and since there are many hours going into training that he no longer needs me. I have been with the company just under 3 months. Is this legal? Its no fault of my own, and now I lose my job because of it. I have been going to physio 3 times a week as instructed, and I visit my doctor once a week as I am supposed too.

Just from the sounds of it, it does sound like wrongful dismissal. But there are a few other questions that needs to be answered.

Are you part of a union? If you are, you should contact them.

Are you under a probation period? Most places that puts you in a probation period can terminate you within the probation period.

Were there any policies that you signed off on when you were hired? You might have to look back on that and see what it says.

But based on what you have said, it does sound like you were fired wrongfully.

Nope its not legal since you were hurt at work and now you can go to labour relations and after the company for firing you while hurt. Sounds like you have your ducks in line and I would tell your WCB case worker right away and file a claim with them.

probation period or not he can't get fired while being out of work due to injury. It's against the law.

get your ROE
after WCB, claim EI

:fuckyea:

Nope, no union. I am 1 of 3 employees, 1 of them is the boss.

I can not find anywhere that is is illegal to fire someone while undergoing a wcb claim. Can someone find me proof of this? I have looked everywhere.

Speak to your case worker don't talk to us...

Been over a week and still waiting on 1. WCB will not assign a case worker until my employer has sent in their wcb paperwork. Still waiting for it to get sent in, unless they sent it snail mail

Contact labour relations now and file a complaint as well

when did you hurt yourself
when did your doctor say you should be back to work
how long until you plan to go back to work
did he "fire" you, or say he needs to find someone who can work?


i dont think he can fire you for getting hurt. but he can let you go for not being able to do the job as hired. perhaps he can let you go on grounds that you are a liability and unable to safely perform your job. not for getting hurt, but for continually looking like you're going to get hurt

He cannot fire you while you are away with an injury. PERIOD. EDIT: AN INJURY THAT HAPPENED IN THE WORKPLACE THAT IS.

If you feel like pursuing it, this is the form you need:

http://www.worksafebc.com/forms/assets/pdf/57w1.pdf

I recommend you phone worksafe in the morning and speak with them regarding the entire incident. Also you may choose to talk to your employee about this, he might not fully understand what he is doing, lots of people with no small business experience get buttraped by WCB simply because they have never had to deal with this sort of thing, I can see this being especially true given he is just one guy with a couple people working for him.

After dealing with WCB, I highly recommend contacting the Employment Standards Branch, which is a part of BC Ministry of Labour. The case workers there are knowledgeable and well versed in the Employment Standards Act.
Employment Standards Branch, Ministry of Labour, Government of B.C.

small company, with every incident the wcb coverage price goes up for the company, i doubt they will send in the paperwork without some arm twisting. CYA (Cover Your Ass), talk to labour relations and call WCB and tell them the situation as soon as possible so that they have it in their records.

what nabs said.

Word of advice aswell..

You want compensation, but I wouldn't recommend going back to work for them after. The situation will be garbage and your boss (sounds like a complete dick) will ride your ass and probably shit on you. (Terrible work environment)

Did you have a first aid attendant fill out a first aid report? Did they send you to medical aid or Keep you working?

If they sent you to medical aid they HAVE to file a form 4 or whatever it is to WCB notifying them of a worker leaving work due to an injury.

If you never filled out a first aid report and just left work due to the injury and went home you're going to be SOL

I don't think it's that cut and dry. I know I injured my shoulder at work, was sure it would just go away on it's own and didn't say anything. After 1 month of living in pain I finally went to Doctor and called WCB. They weren't happy about me not reporting but they covered me. In my case I really just didn't want to mess up my employers rates, I didn't think it was that serious at the time.

If the OP went to the Doctor and reported it as a work injury I think the paper trail would be there so they may still have a chance. Every case is looked at on an individual basis. For me I wasn't looking to stay off work I wanted to still work through it I just wanted the injury fixed and if it took surgery to fix it I knew going through WCB would be the quickest route which is why I eventually called them.

Going straight to the doctor without a record of the injury at the workplace sides hugely with the employer though, because who's to say where the injury occurred unless a witness is willing to basically testify against the company

ya making a report immediately or the next day is pretty damn critical

If you were let go because you got injured at work and filed a WorkSafeBC claim, call them and ask to be transferred to the Preventions department. An investigation may be started by WorkSafeBC but you would have to have evidence to back up your claims.

As a word of advice, anytime you get hurt at work no matter how minor, report it to your Employer and make sure there is a paper trail. Reporting your injury in a timely manner to your employer and getting medical attention outside of work as soon as possible are both very important for WorkSafeBC when making a decision. Any delays in reporting your injury or seeking medical attention outside of work can lead to your claim being disallowed.

Also, anytime you see a physician and they are notified it is a work related injury, they will be submitting a Form 8 to WorkSafeBC automatically and a claim will be generated.

pay some money and get an employment lawyer.

delete your posts on the internet.

years ago as a summer job, i used to work at a futon manufacturing plant and it was a very well known fact that people didn't last very long after they came back from a WCB claim. their premiums would go up and i THINK they would have to pay out of pocket for part of your wages.

that's probably why they let you go. you're going to cost them money in the long run.

they shouldn't have to pay out of their pockets to pay for his/her wages. because the company would be reimbursed by WCB.

You can 100% fire someone who is injured.

Keep the following in mind though;

1- Typically a company will want to avoid having WCB claims as it affects premiums. The company will offer a modified work arrangement to accommodate your physical issue that will usually have you working less hours performing some lame ass desk job etc hoping you decide to get better or quit. Note they do not have a responsibility to offer modified work arrangement.

2- If you refuse modified work, and the company refuses to pay you while you are taking time off to recover, you're essentially forcing a claim and will have to rely on WCB to back you. At this point the company can certainly fire you for the same reasons they could always fire you.. you being employed less than 3 months it's pretty easy to terminate you without much cause.

FWIW though, I'm no expert with this, but I've seen a ton of this shit go on.

GL OP

So... My employer called me last night asking for my SIN and health card number. How the heck was I receiving a paycheck without them having my SIN??? (i told wcb this) Anyways, they still have NOT sent in the WCB paperwork. I get my ROE Today in a few hours. My boss refused WCB a "modified back to work" as he could not come up with anything for me to do. No I never saw a first aid attendant as my company does not have one, and yes... I continued to work until the shift was over. My physio talked to my boss and I guess they had a yelling match about me doing my job proper/improper and physio stated that perhaps if he gave his employees proper training he wouldnt be dealing with wcb BUHAHA And.. its been 2 weeks and still no case worked due to him not submitting his side of the story. :(