The Workers Compensation Board (WCB) is Manitoba’s “no-fault” insurance system for employers and workers. The WCB can pay money (compensation) to injured workers who cannot work because they are hurt on the job. If you do get injured or sick because of your work, it is important for you to know about the WCB. What is the Workers Compensation Board?

Injury risks for newcomers to Manitoba Newcomers to Manitoba do not always find the work they hoped to find right away. Newcomers may be more likely to work in manual jobs, which have higher rates of injury.

In a factory? In a restaurant? Doing cleaning or maintenance work? In healthcare or child care? In construction? In other types of jobs? What types of injuries and illnesses can happen at different workplaces?

What should you do if you get sick or injured as a result of your work? Tell your employer or supervisor about your injury, even if it seems small. A small injury could get worse. Your boss cannot fire you just because you are hurt or injured.

What should you do if you get sick or injured as a result of your work? If you require medical attention, go see a healthcare provider (hospital, doctor, walk-in clinic, etc.) as soon as possible. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider that your pain or injury is related to your work. The healthcare professional will fill out a WCB Healthcare Report and send it to the WCB.

What should you do if you get sick or injured as a result of your work? If you have a safety and health representative at work, tell this person about your injury. You can also tell your union representative if you feel comfortable doing so. If you get hurt in an incident at work, get the names and contact information of anyone who saw the incident.

What should you do if you get sick or injured as a result of your work? If you miss time from work because of your injury, report your injury to the WCB. Call or toll free at You can ask to have an interpreter join the call if you are more comfortable speaking in a language other than English. You can also fill out a Worker Incident Report form. Available on the WCB website: Send to the WCB

Scenario: Why it is important to report injuries Naseem gets a metal splinter in his hand at work. He tells his boss, and they fill out a WCB form to report the injury. Naseem thinks this isn’t necessary and laughs about it. He doesn’t tell his co-workers because he is embarrassed. He didn’t need to report this type of injury in his home country. The splinter in Naseem’s hand gets infected, and he has to take a week off work. If he hadn’t reported the injury to his boss and to the WCB, he may not have been paid for staying home from work to get better.

What should you do if you get sick or injured as a result of your work? Write down the details of your injury, illness or incident at work. Your turn… What sorts of information should you provide?

If you get medical care, your healthcare provider may fill out a WCB Healthcare Report and send it to the WCB. Your employer has to let the WCB know about your injury within five days of learning about the injury. Your employer may fill out a WCB Employer’s Incident Report form or report the injury over the phone or online. How does the WCB find out about your injury?

What the “Worker Incident Report” form looks like…

What happens next? Once the WCB receives a Worker Incident Report form, a WCB Employer’s Incident Report form) or WCB Healthcare Report, it will open a file on the claim and contact you for any further information. The next four slides provide more detailed information about making a claim to the WCB.

Steps involved in making a WCB claim When to make a claim As a worker, you can make a claim for a work-related injury or illness if you: receive healthcare for your injury or illness; or miss time from work. Tell your employer about the injury or illness as soon as possible. Your employer should report the injury or illness to the WCB. Call the WCB at , or toll-free at to report your injury. Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Steps involved in making a WCB claim You will need to provide the following information: – your name – your address and phone number – the date of your injury – your social insurance number – your workplace’s name, address and phone number – the symptoms or illness for which you are making a claim, as well as information about the type of work you do or about the incident – the healthcare provider you saw for your injury and the date when you saw him/her

Steps involved in making a WCB claim When a claim is registered, you will be given an eight-digit claim number. Keep your claim number so that you can follow up with your adjudicator or case manager about your claim. Once your form is received, an adjudicator will call you to get any information still needed to make a decision on your claim.

Steps involved in making a WCB claim There is a deadline for employers to make a claim to the WCB. A claim must be filed within five working days of an injury or of when they learned of the injury. You must contact (report to) the WCB if there are any changes to the status of your claim. These changes could include: – returning to work – beginning to receive other income or benefits – significant changes in your medical condition.

Acknowledgements This document is part of the Prevention is the Best Medicine toolkit created by a research team at the Institute for Work & Health (Kosny A, Lifshen M, Smith P, Saunders R and Rhooms R. 2011). It was modified by Workplace Safety and Health and the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba. The Institute for Work & Health is an independent, not-for-profit research organization. Its mission is to conduct and share research that protects and improves the health of working people and is valued by policy-makers, workers and workplaces, clinicians, and health and safety professionals. For more information, call 957-SAFE in Winnipeg or SAFE outside Winnipeg.