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Requesting a review
- Prior to making a request for review
- Initiating a review
- What decisions can be reviewed?
- Who may request a review?
- When can a request for review be made?
- Parties to the review
Prior to making a request for review
WorkSafeBC decisions are normally communicated in a letter or other document that includes an explanation of the reasons for the decision.
An affected person who is not satisfied with the decision may wish to obtain more information before deciding whether to request a review. The person may wish to:
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(a)
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Contact the decision maker to obtain written clarification of the decision |
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(b)
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Request disclosure of the WorkSafeBC file prior to the submission of a request for review or appeal (in some situations, this may be subject to restrictions imposed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) |
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(c)
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Consult with a representative — the provincial government has appointed Workers' Advisers and Employers' Advisers to provide free advice to workers and employers related to the workers' compensation system. |
Some WorkSafeBC decisions, particularly in the Prevention or Finance Divisions, take the form of notices or letters that do not contain written reasons. It is recommended that the affected party requests written reasons from the division before requesting a review.
By filing a Request for Reasons form, the party notifies the division that a review is being contemplated and prompts it to provide a statement of review for the decision or order. The time limit for requesting a review is within 90 days of when the decision or order was made.Therefore, the Request for Reasons form should be forwarded early in the 90-day period for requesting a review. By filing the Request for Reasons form early, it may provide an opportunity to resolve the dispute, without the need for a review. If there is still no resolution, the party can request a review.
If the party does not request written reasons before requesting a review, the Review Division may request the division to provide a statement of written reasons and suspend the review while the statement is being prepared. (Further details are available in the Practices and Procedures Manual (PDF 378kb).)
The Act authorizes a WorkSafeBC division to reconsider its decisions on its own initiative. This authority ceases as soon as a request for review is submitted or, except for prevention decisions, within 75 days of the decision being made. (Further details are available in Sections 96(4)-(5) and 113(2) of the Act.)
Initiating a review
Before the Review Division can review a WorkSafeBC decision:
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(a)
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The decision must be made in a specific case and be of a type that the Review Division is allowed to review under the Act |
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(b)
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The person concerned must be directly affected by the decision and fall within a category of persons listed in the Act, and |
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(c)
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The person concerned must submit a written request for review containing sufficient information, and the written request must be received within the time limit specified in the Act. |
What decisions may be reviewed?
Most decisions made by WorkSafeBC officers on individual compensation, prevention and assessment matters are reviewable. The main exceptions are decisions concerning:
| (a) | Applications for the reopening of claims |
| (b) | Discriminatory action complaints |
| (c) | An employer's assessment rate except to the extent it is affected by experience rating |
| (d) | An employer's Industry Group or Rate Group for assessment purposes, and |
| (e) | Allocations of amounts to and from classes, subclasses and reserves for assessment purposes, except for relief of costs applications by individual employers under sections 39(1)(b), (d) and (e) of the Act and cost transfer applications under section 10(8) of the Act. [Section 96.2(1)-(2)]. |
The first two items on this list are appealable directly to WCAT. There is no formal right of review or appeal on the other items. Concerns regarding decisions on these matters should be addressed to the WorkSafeBC's Finance Division.
Who may request a review?
A worker who is directly affected may request a review of a claims and a prevention decision. An employer who is directly affected may request a review of a claims, prevention and assessment decision. The Act also allows certain other persons to request reviews of different types of decisions. (For further details, see section 96.3 of the Act and Item 2.2 of the Practices and Procedures Manual (PDF 378kb).)
To request a review, complete and submit the two-page Request for Review form (PDF 91kb). This form may be submitted by mail or by fax.
When can a request for review be made?
A request for a review must be made within 90 days after WorkSafeBC's decision or order was made [Section 96.2(3)].
The Chief Review Officer may extend this time period in certain situations. (For further details see Section 96.2(4) of the Act and Item 2.3 of the Practices and Procedures Manual (PDF 378kb).)
Parties to the review
A decision under review may affect persons other than the applicant. The Review Division will forward a Notice to Participate (PDF 76kb) form to persons that it considers to be affected by the decision under review. Affected persons will have 15 days to complete and return the form to the Review Division if they wish to be a party to the review.
If a person considers that they should be party to a review and is
not sent the form by the Review Division, they may submit the Notice
to Participate form to the Review Division. On receipt of the completed
form or a letter with all the required information, the Review Division
will determine whether the person should be recognized as a party.
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