As with any workplace injury, transitional work involves connecting the worker with meaningful work they can do safely while they recover. 

This means planning safe accommodations. These are changes in a worker’s job that they agree to, with the support of the employer and health care provider. If you are recovering from a workplace injury, these changes will help you do meaningful and productive work until you can get back to your regular job. The transitional duties chosen are based on your needs and abilities, which will evolve as you recover. 

As part of the return-to-work plan, timeline goals should be put in place. These timelines should outline a plan for a gradual return to the worker’s regular role.  Goals based on a timeline will help everyone involved to understand whether the plan is working and adjust where needed. 

See some transitional work example scenarios.

As an employer, if you have an employee with a workplace injury, you are required to support transitional work and accommodations. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s your duty as an employer. 

From the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission:

Duty to Accommodate: Employers are required by law to accommodate employees with disabilities associated with mental illness. Accommodation should be facilitated to the point of undue hardship. 

Undue Hardship: The duty to accommodate is not limitless. The duty to accommodate ends when an employer reaches the point of undue hardship. Undue hardship is a point when the accommodation(s) would be prohibitively expensive or create health or safety risks.

Find out more about employers’ Duty to Accommodate

Resources for Transitional Work and Accommodations

Here are some helpful resources for workers and employers on safe and timely return to work. 

• Return-to-Work Took Kit for Employers (PDF) - A guide for healthy recovery from psychological workplace injury.
  
• Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool for workers and employers – this tool can help identify the support workers may need to continue to work safely. 
  
• Understanding Transitional Work (PDF) – For People Injured at Work