Determining Suitable Employment & Earnings Capacity Loss

June 30, 2012 - June 30, 2022

RE-13

General Information

The injured worker, the employer, the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health & Safety Board (YWCHSB) and health care providers share responsibility for assisting the worker in mitigating the effects of a work-related injury. This is typically achieved through the recovery, rehabilitation and return to work process, by focusing on the worker’s functional abilities.

In some cases, a worker will be unable to fully overcome the effects of a workrelated injury and will continue to have a loss of earnings capacity. This worker is entitled to compensation for the difference between their pre-injury earnings, as determined under YWCHSB policy EL-01, “Loss of Earnings Benefits”, and the worker’s estimated earnings capacity once rehabilitation is completed.

These compensation benefits are not fixed or permanent. They are reviewed regularly, taking into account factors including, but not limited to, changes in the worker’s functional abilities, changes in his or her capacity to earn and changes in the labour market.

Purpose

This policy outlines how YWCHSB will estimate a worker’s loss of earning capacity, to ensure that a fair, reasonable and predictable approach is followed.

Together with the series of YWCHSB policies on return to work, this policy ensures a collaborative and client-centered approach that assists a worker to recover from his or her injury and to return to pre-injury work or to employability in another suitable occupation.

Appendix A outlines the key steps in determining a suitable occupation and earnings capacity loss