Exceptional Service

The WCB is ready to support workers and employers for gradual onset psychological injuries, having spent much of 2023 preparing.

With a new service model, new positions and approaches, our service for these injuries looks and feels a little different.

Here’s how:

• Workers and employers can complete an online self-assessment, to help them determine whether what they have experienced is likely a compensable gradual onset psychological injury.

• Workers can call us directly to open a claim. They’ll be assigned to a client care navigator who will quickly help them navigate the claim process, and connect them to community-level mental health supports while a decision on their claim is made.

• Our service is supported by external mental health service experts to ensure timely access, and business partners who help us with third party investigations and mediation if those services are needed.

• When a claim is accepted, a case manager is assigned to support recovery and return to work. But even if the claim isn’t eligible, the client care navigator will connect the worker to the supports they need to support their mental wellness.

The WCB is also helping employers make their workplaces psychologically safe. We offer monthly webinars, an e-newsletter, direct mail, and new online tools and resources.

For more information about the WCB’s coverage for gradual onset psychological injuries, visit: wcb.ns.ca/gpi.

For tools and resources to make your workplace psychologically safe, visit: worksafeforlife.ca/psychsafety.

Members of WCB’s new Psychological Injury Team join with members from human resources in wearing pink to help raise awareness about bullying. The new GPI team went through weeks of specialized training in preparation for gradual onset psychological injury becoming compensable Sep. 1, 2024.