Effective Return-to-Work Strategies
Ensuring a Smooth Reintegration of Employees with Minimal Disruption
Conference: December 2, 2008
Ottawa, Ontario
Effective Return-to-Work Strategies
Wednesday, December 2, 2008
| 8:00 - 9:00 |
Registration and Continental Breakfast |
8:30 - 9:00 |
9:00 - 9:15
Welcome and Opening Remarks from the Chair
Representative, Emond Harnden LLP
9:15 - 10:15
Legal Ramifications of Non-accommodation
Natalie C. MacDonald, Partner, Grosman, Grosman & Gale LLP
- Understanding your duty to accommodate
- Defining undue hardship and determining criteria for assessing limits of undue hardship
- Ensuring both accommodation requirements and terminations are met with dignity and respect by the employer
- Avoiding human rights, mental distress, and punitive damages claims
| 10:15 - 10:30 |
Networking Break |
11:15 - 11:30 |
10:30 - 11:30
Differentiating between Legitimate Absenteeism and Abusive Leave
Darren Power, Partner, Ogilvy Renault LLP
- When and how an employer can inquire into the legitimacy of leave
- Measures employers can take to deal with excessive absenteeism
- Legality of discipline or termination for excessive absenteeism
- When are attendance recognition programs permissible?
11:30 - 12:30
Practical Strategies for Early Intervention within the Return-to-Work Programs
- Model for helping employees return to work early and effectively
- Evaluating the readiness of the employee to return
- Re-evaluation of duties and responsibilities for the employee
- Combining and educating all staff and departments involved in successfully reintegrating the returning employee
- Importance of consultation with the medical community, with a focus on medical limitations
| 12:30 - 1:45 |
Luncheon Break |
12:30 - 1:45 |
1:45 - 2:45
Case Study
Implementing an Effective Return-to-Work (RTW) Strategy: Reintegration of RTW Employees
- Cutting down the long return-to-work process
- Creative ways to facilitate an employee's return to work: job sharing, retraining, etc.
- Who's involved in RTW, and what are their roles?: Identifying and engaging stakeholders
- Practical examples
| 2:45 - 3:00 |
Networking Break |
2:45 - 3:00 |
3:00- 4:00
Return of Specialized Workforce: What Do You Do When Employees Can't Perform Their Specialized Roles?
Stefan Ginder, Director, Canada Post Corporation
- Finding alternatives for specialized workers
- Developing encouragement and training programs
- Analyzing employee skill sets to ensure proper role replacement
- Your responsibilities as an employer
- Roles of the manager and supervisor
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