The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a serious toll on the country’s mental and physical health. A recent Statistics Canada study found that nearly half of Canadians felt that their stress levels were worse than before the pandemic.
For many individuals, anxiety can prevent them from being able to work. If you legitimately can’t work due to illness or injury, you should be able to access long-term disability (LTD) payments through your company’s benefits plan — if they offer one — and take time off work to recuperate.
In my practice as a disability lawyer, I am routinely asked how to deal with employment issues while on a disability leave.
Here are five key things to remember about your employment rights when you are on a disability leave.
1. It’s best not to ignore communication from your employer
Most insurance companies will provide regular updates to your employer about the status of your LTD claim. If they do this, you won’t need to provide updates yourself. But insurers won’t always update employers.
Your employer can contact you while you are on a disability leave. They may need information from you about things like ongoing extended health coverage or your return-to-work status.
I tell clients to respond to any communication from your employer, even just to acknowledge that you have received it, and preferably in writing. This is to avoid inadvertently risking your employment. If you do not respond, an employer may assume that you have abandoned your job.
READ MORE: Can your LTD insurer force you back to work?
2. You only have to provide prognosis, not diagnosis
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While you are on LTD, your employer is entitled to know your prognosis, but not your diagnosis. This means that you do not need to share the details of your medical information and why you are off work with your employer, but your employer does need to know when to expect you back at work.
Some employers will ask for periodic updates and medical support for your leave. Your doctor can prepare a brief note confirming you are medically unable to work and provide either a re-assessment period, say in three to six months’ time, or a date when a return to work is expected.
READ MORE: How to successfully fight a long-term disability claim denial for long COVID
3. You can still be fired while on long-term disability benefits
Many people I speak to assume they can’t be fired while on LTD, but terminations can happen at any time, for any reason. This type of dismissal is referred to as a termination without cause, a scenario in which you could be owed as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on certain factors.
What your employer can’t do is fire you for discriminatory reasons, including the fact that you have taken a disability leave due to an injury or other medical issue. In my experience as a disability lawyer, most companies are reluctant to lay off an employee on a disability leave, because the employer risks potentially violating the employee’s human rights.
Whether or not your termination is the result of an injury or ailment, you should always talk to a lawyer, like the team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, to find out what your options are, and how to secure a full severance package tailored to your unique situation. You can also use the firm’s Pocket Employment Lawyer to get a quick understanding of what your best course of action may be.
READ MORE: Do you lose severance if you don’t sign by your employer’s deadline? Lawyer explains why not
4. Your employer has a duty to accommodate you
If you’re considering whether you are ready to return to work, think about whether you require any modifications to your duties or hours. Some insurance companies will set up a return-to-work plan for you, with your existing employer.
In other cases, it will be your responsibility to broach a return strategy directly with your employer. You will be required to submit medical information and support for any job modifications that need to be put in place to allow you to get back to work. It is your employer’s legal duty to accommodate your request to the point of undue hardship, for which the bar is set very high.
READ MORE: Most common mistakes people make when they are denied long-term disability
5. You can contact the right lawyer for assistance
If you lose your job while on a disability leave or are denied LTD benefits, one of the first things you should do is contact an experienced lawyer, like the team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP. Your employer may tell you that you have no options, or your insurance provider will instruct you to appeal an LTD denial, but a lawyer can inform you of the full scope of your rights and advise you on how to protect them.
Fired while taking a leave of absence from work? Denied your long-term disability benefits by the insurance company?
Contact the firm or call 1-855-821-5900 to secure assistance from a disability lawyer in Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia. Get the advice you need — and the compensation you deserve.
Tamar Agopian is a disability lawyer and partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, Canada’s most positively reviewed law firm specializing in long-term disability claims and employment law. The firm provides free advice on Canada’s only Disability Law Show on TV and radio.