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Part of our community rehabilitation

Workplace and employment services

Workplace health is the employer-facing side of CTC's community rehabilitation, for employers and insurers in BC and Alberta. Occupational therapists, kinesiologists and counsellors help prevent injuries, respond early and support recovery, with programs based on real job demands.

Refer a workerCall 1-888-880-3222
Clinician coaching a client through a safe squat movement as part of return-to-work conditioning

Workplace services at a glance

Who qualifies?

Employers and insurers in BC and Alberta who want to prevent injuries, respond early or bring an employee back to work. Individual services suit workers who are off or struggling at work because of a physical or psychological concern, and employees who need accommodations to keep working. Job demands analyses and employment screening are for the employer's roles rather than a specific worker.

What is covered?

Workplace services are paid for by the employer or the insurer that requests them. The funder approves the services, so a worker should confirm coverage with their HR or disability manager, case manager or benefits provider. See fees and funding for more.

How referrals work

Send a referral by email to referrals@creativetherapyconsultants.ca, call 1-888-880-3222, or use our online referral form. We contact the worker within 1 business day. For job demands analyses, screening or ergonomic programs, call us to scope the work.

What to expect

An occupational therapist assesses what the worker can do now and, where needed, the demands of the job. We set out a graduated return-to-work plan or specific accommodations for the supervisor, with kinesiology and counselling alongside from the same team. We check in regularly with the worker and the employer and change the plan if it isn't working. Services can be delivered onsite or virtually.

What's included

Physical, functional and psychological health, addressed by one team.

Job demands analyses (JDAs)Physical and cognitive mapping of essential and non-essential tasks, for hiring, accommodation and return-to-work planning.
Pre- and post-offer employment screeningRole-specific physical and cognitive testing that is objective and legally defensible, to reduce onboarding risk and early claims.
Ergonomic and workstation assessmentsOnsite or virtual assessments, practical task and workstation changes, and staff education on injury prevention.
Early intervention programsRapid access for physical and psychological concerns: OT-led return-to-work planning, kinesiology for activation and conditioning, and counselling for stress, anxiety and trauma.
Workplace accommodationsOT assessments and recommendations for changes to the workspace, duties or hours, with follow-up to check the accommodations are working.
Phased return to workGraduated plans that build workload over time, with regular check-ins and adjustments to reduce the risk of re-injury.

Return to work

How we help an injured employee get back to work

Most return-to-work plans fail for simple reasons: nobody talks to the worker early, the plan doesn't match what they can actually do, or nobody checks how it's going. Here's how we avoid that.

Early contact

We contact the worker within 1 business day of referral. The sooner someone talks to them about getting back, the better the outcome.

Match the plan to the person

An occupational therapist assesses what the worker can do now, and, where needed, the physical demands of the job through a job demands analysis or a functional capacity evaluation.

A graduated return

We build a graduated return-to-work plan that adds hours and duties in steps, with any accommodations to the workspace, tasks or schedule set out clearly for the supervisor.

Support alongside

Kinesiology for conditioning and counselling for stress, anxiety or trauma can run alongside the plan, from the same team.

Check in and adjust

We check in regularly with the worker and the employer and change the plan if it isn't working, rather than waiting for it to fail.

Read our guide for BC employers on supporting an injured worker

Workplace accommodationsWhen an employee needs changes to keep working, an occupational therapist assesses the job and the person and recommends specific accommodations: changes to the workspace, the duties or the hours. We work with the employee, HR and, where there is one, the union, and check back after the changes are in place to see whether they are working. Employers in BC have a duty to accommodate under human rights law, and a clear, practical plan makes it easier to meet.Guide to requesting accommodations
Hiring and keeping people with disabilitiesOur occupational therapists and employment specialists help employers set up roles, workspaces and supports so people with disabilities can do the job well, and help keep experienced staff at work after an injury or illness instead of losing them.Why it pays to hire inclusively

Disability management and job analysis in practice

Real work from our files, with names removed.

Case study

Disability management for a multi-employer plan, 20 years on

The situation

A health and welfare plan covering workers at many employers in the BC Interior put its disability management out to public tender in 2002.

What we did

We won it from a large BC insurer and built the program: early contact with each member, return-to-work planning with each employer, and therapists who live in the same communities. We still run it today.

The result

An independent audit by Morneau Shepell of our first ten years found claims ran shorter and cost less per member, while industry averages for both went up.

12.4%
shorter average claim duration
36%
lower cost per member, inflation adjusted
$700
per member in 2012, against $1,100 projected
~$6M
saved over ten years

Independent audit by Morneau Shepell, 2012, covering 2002 to 2012.

Case study

Job demands analyses that started an early-intervention program

The situation

A port employer in BC wanted injured and ill workers to stay at work or come back sooner. First it needed a true picture of what each job asks of a person.

What we did

Our OTs went on site and completed job demands analyses for 10 positions, covering the physical demands plus the cognitive and psychological ones most job descriptions leave out.

The result

The analyses became the base of the employer’s early-intervention program. Supervisors, safety staff and treating providers now plan modified duties from the same description of each job.

Return-to-work planning: what a good plan includes

A written return-to-work plan makes expectations clear for the worker, the supervisor, the case manager and the doctor. Ours cover four things.

A goal and a timeline

The target job and hours, and a realistic timeline based on what the worker can do now and what the job demands.

Week-by-week steps

Hours and duties that increase in planned steps, with set dates to review progress and adjust.

Accommodations

Temporary changes to tasks, schedule, equipment or the workstation, written so the supervisor can put them in place on day one.

Roles and check-ins

Who does what, who to call if something goes wrong, and when the OT checks in. Since January 1, 2024, BC employers have a legal duty to cooperate with an injured worker's return to work.

Who refers

Employers, HR and disability managers, and insurers. We work with municipalities, insurance partners, construction, healthcare and industrial companies, including forestry and mining operations.

Our services scale across regional and rural operations, from 12 offices across BC and in Calgary.

For employersPreferred Partner Program

Frequently asked questions

Can you work onsite?

Yes. We offer onsite and virtual options.

Do you coordinate with HR and case managers?

Yes. We liaise with everyone involved.

Do you support multi-site organizations?

Yes. We coordinate services across regions.

Do you offer early intervention for employees?

Yes. Our early intervention programs give rapid access for physical and psychological concerns, with OT-led return-to-work planning, kinesiology for activation and conditioning, and counselling for stress, anxiety and trauma.

Which areas do you cover?

We work from 12 offices across BC and in Calgary, and our services scale across regional and rural operations.

How we work

Who does the work on employer files

Who provides the service

Registered occupational therapists and BCAK kinesiologists. Our team includes certified job demands analysis evaluators, certified office ergonomics evaluators and OTs trained in Matheson ergonomic assessment.

Reports and timelines

We contact the worker or site within 1 business day of the referral and agree report dates with you at referral.

Complex and multidisciplinary files

A lead clinician coordinates the file and is your single contact. Clients seeing more than one of our clinicians are discussed at internal case conferences, senior occupational therapists and mentors consult on complex cases, and we join case conferences with adjusters, physicians and employers when asked.

Experience with similar work

Long-standing working relationships with forestry, mining, insurance and long-term disability organizations, and a multi-employer disability management program we have run since 2002.

See it in practice

Case studies from our clinicians, with identifying details changed.

Employer program for repetitive strain injuries

Job demands analyses, early kinesiology and physio, modified duties and ergonomics for an employer with rising WorkSafeBC costs.

Read the case study

Nurse returns to work after a workplace assault

Counselling for PTSD alongside a graduated return-to-work plan with WorkSafeBC.

Read the case study

Related services

Vocational rehabFCEs and PDAsKinesiologyCounsellingCommunity rehabilitation

Ready to refer? It takes two minutes.

Make a referral1-888-880-3222