Accountability and collaboration drive faster injury recovery in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia’s workers’ compensation system is reporting faster recoveries and fewer long-term injuries in 2025, with the province’s workers spending tens of thousands more days on the job instead of off work due to workplace injuries, according to new figures from WCB Nova Scotia.

Anchored by its “Protect More” strategic plan to prevent more injuries and support people back to their job sooner after an injury, the Workers’ Compensation Board says it helped add 83,000 more working days to Nova Scotia’s labour force in 2025 compared with 2024. The organization frames that gain as the equivalent of more than 300 people working full-time for a year, time that translates into direct service across key sectors, including health care, construction and business operations.

WCB says those additional days at work are part of broader progress toward its strategic target of restoring the equivalent of 1,000 full-time jobs to the workforce by the end of 2030 through better injury prevention and return-to-work outcomes.

Injury and time-loss indicators move in the right direction

Key performance indicators all moved in a positive direction in 2025. Time-loss days fell to 226 per 100 covered workers, down from 269 the previous year. The number of Nova Scotians moving onto long-term benefits dropped sharply to 240 from 451 in 2024. Workplace injury rates also reached their lowest recorded level, at 1.22 injuries per 100 covered workers as of October, which WCB says represents roughly 400 fewer people injured on the job in 2025.

These results are tied to “Safer Workplaces Together,” a collaborative prevention strategy that brings government and industry partners into shared planning around workplace safety. WCB reports it is already two-thirds of the way to its 2030 prevention goal, even as it simultaneously improves return-to-work performance.

According to WCB CEO Karen Adams, the recent progress is rooted in clearer expectations for all parties in the system.

“WCB’s remarkable success is down to one word: accountability,” says Adams. “We are holding ourselves accountable to get back to people quickly. We are holding employers accountable to keep workers safe and accommodate them in the event of injury. We are holding healthcare service providers accountable to help people get back to work safely. And we are holding workers accountable too. WCB is different now. We’re showing up differently for our fellow Nova Scotians.”

Closer employer partnerships shorten wait times and recoveries

WCB highlights closer, hands-on partnerships with employers as a major driver of change, citing work with the provincial Public Works department, one of Nova Scotia’s largest government bodies. Joint efforts have focused on tailoring training and education to frontline roles, alongside streamlining access to assessments. As a result, the average wait time for an assessment has dropped to about five days, which WCB says has reduced time-loss days.

“There’s been real, meaningful action from this partnership,” said Dan Leopold, executive director with Public Works. “In May 2025, 50 per cent of people with a workplace injury were back on the job within 30 days. Because of the work we’ve done together, it’s now 70 per cent and that’s a significant improvement in just eight months.”

Financial stability enables rate cuts and stronger worker protections

With what it describes as a now financially stable system, WCB says it is positioned to deliver the first employer rate cut in more than 30 years, scheduled for 2027. Those rate reductions will coincide with recent government changes that fully index worker benefits to inflation, intended to help injured workers maintain their standard of living while recovering off the job.

Original Article – The Safety Mag