Compensation and benefit policy
When workers are injured or people with disabilities are unable to work, they usually turn to compensation and benefit systems for the income and other supports they need to deal with the physical, emotional and financial consequences of the injury or illness. Like most benefit payment systems, Canada’s workers’ compensation and disability support systems are complex and sometimes give rise to disputes. Institute for Work & Health (IWH) research in this area aims to help point the way forward by finding out what is working (and what is not) in the world of public- and private-sector disability support programs, including workers’ compensation, public pension and unemployment programs for people with disabilities.
Latest news and findings

Sign up now: Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA) launch event
On Thursday, May 18, the Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA) social innovation laboratory is hosting a launch event. This partnered, knowledge-to-practice initiative is focused on building employers’ capacity to hire, promote and retain persons with disabilities, and to create accessible and inclusive workplaces.
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/inclusive-design-for-employment-access-idea-launch-virtual-attendance-tickets-602804042117
IWH Speaker Series webinar explores persistent pain after work injury
How common is it for injured workers to continue experiencing pain after a work injury? In the next IWH Speaker Series, on November 15, Dr. Kathleen Dobson shares findings from a study conducted with workers’ compensation claimants in Ontario.
Sign up for the webinar
WSIB Health & Safety Excellence Program makes use of IWH safety culture measure
A version of the IWH-Organizational Performance Metric (IWH-OPM) is used by Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to let workplaces in its Health and Safety Excellence Program measure their safety culture against a benchmark. The measure also allows the compensation agency to track trends in safety culture over time among participating organizations.
Read about this use of research
IWH links ER and workers’ comp claims data, finds important patterns in under-reporting
Over a third of work-related injuries and illnesses treated in Ontario hospital emergency rooms (ERs) don’t get reported as Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) claims. That’s according to a recent Institute for Work & Health (IWH) data linkage study that found notable patterns in work-related injury reporting and under-reporting—including a change in reporting levels following the 2008/09 global financial crisis.
Read about the study findings
Registration now open for Spring 2022 session of Project ECHO OEM
Are you an Ontario primary health-care provider who treats or supports patients with injuries and illnesses that affect their ability to work? Project ECHO OEM is a telementoring program on occupational and environmental medicine set up just for you. Learn about best practices to better support patients in recovery and return to work or stay at work. Sessions are held via videoconference each Friday from April 22 to July 15, 2022. Registration is ongoing.
Find out about the project and register