New COIDA Regulations now published: Rehabilitation Framework takes shape

The new regulations are published in four separate sets, dealing respectively with prescription of claims, inspection compliance and enforcement, rehabilitation, reintegration and return-to-work, and the registration of third parties transacting with the Compensation Fund. What is of particular significance to employers are the Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Return-to-Work Regulations, which give practical effect to the statutory framework inserted by the recent amendments to COIDA which imposes substantial new obligations on employers, the Compensation Fund, and licensees.

These rehabilitation regulations adopt a comprehensive, person-centred approach with the aim of assisting the employee who suffered a workplace injury or illness to be able to recover and return to work. These regulations encompass early intervention, holistic rehabilitation programmes, sustainable reintegration, provision of assistive devices, reasonable workplace accommodation, vocational rehabilitation intervention, and ongoing support to optimise the affected employee’s physical, psychological, and social well-being in their journey to recovery.

Critically, employers would now be required to designate or appoint an employee health and wellness representative to act as a liaison officer between the employer and the Compensation Fund or licensee on all rehabilitation, reintegration, and return-to-work matters. Such representative must have the necessary knowledge, skill, and competencies to discharge this function, including coordinating the provision of assistive devices, monitoring return-to-work programmes, and maintaining confidential case files.

Employers face a wide range of new obligations under these regulations. They must facilitate access to rehabilitation for injured employees or those who have suffered a disease to assist in their reintegration in the workplace as far as reasonably practicable. This includes providing reasonable accommodation and transitional or temporary work, which may involve the possibility of changing aspects of the physical environment, adjusting work schedules, modifying job tasks, or transferring the employee to an alternative position. Employers who participate in the rehabilitation programmes are also required to incorporate rehabilitation, reintegration, and return-to-work provisions into their human resources policies, which must be freely accessible and communicated to all employees. Of particular note to employers is the prohibition on terminating the services of an employee based on incapacity or reducing an employee’s remuneration due to an injury sustained on duty or where the employee contracts an occupational disease, without adhering to the prescripts of the relevant employment legislation.

The regulations also set out the rehabilitation benefits that employees would be entitled to receive. These include clinical rehabilitation for physical, cognitive, sensory, and psycho-social recovery; vocational rehabilitation to assist in preserving, obtaining, or regaining employment through vocational counselling and re-skilling; social rehabilitation aimed at restoring independence and social integration; and the provision of assistive devices and assistive technology as part of an agreed return-to-work plan. The costs of clinical rehabilitation, social rehabilitation, and assistive devices for employees with permanent or temporary total disablement are borne by the Compensation Fund. However, for employees who have already returned to work, the costs of the vocational rehabilitation will be borne by the employer. The provision of rehabilitation benefits and the resumption of work by an affected employee does not mean that they are disqualified from receiving the prescribed compensation benefits otherwise payable under COIDA. Employees undergoing rehabilitation shall not mean a forfeiture of any compensation benefits potentially due to them.