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1. WCB Cost Relief and Recovery

 Claims costs stemming from compensable injuries are charged to an employer’s experience account thus contributing to higher premiums. However, the Board may choose to waive these costs under certain conditions. Seeking cost relief is a hassle-free proposition that often results in a substantial transfer of expenditures away from a company’s experience rating. 

2. Disability Management Program

Disability management is a proactive and coordinated strategy to facilitate and manage employee health and productivity. Instead of treating disability as an unavoidable cost of doing business and allowing claims to be victimized by chance, a disability program empowers employers and leads to better outcomes for themselves and employees. 

3. Employer Advocacy

Employers have a right to question decisions made on claims. If you feel your case deserves a second look, or if you’re unsatisfied with the results of a review process, Ben can help take your appeal to the Decision Review Body or the Appeals Commission. Put our knowledge of WCB law to work for you. 

4. Classification Review

Companies may be inadvertently misclassified on their workers’ compensation policies.  Classification errors can prove costly, as premium rates are based on a risk-weighted scale. If your company has been misclassified, or placed into category inconsistent with the primary scope of your operation, you may be paying too much. 

WCB Claims Management

Ben shows employers of all aspects the basics and complexities of WCB account management. Learn how to cut operating costs, reduce legal exposure, and properly submit decision appeals. As a WCB expert, Ben can offer sound advice on all your account-related concerns.

Ben Barfett

While working in business operations several years back, Ben noticed that the cost of worker absenteeism, injury and illness was creeping ever upward. And then came the legal changes which heaped even more responsibility on employers to maintain physically and psychologically safe workplaces. And so it became that more and more business resources were consumed by costs and administration related to workers compensation, to say nothing of the operational disruptions caused by staff shortages. And yet, no one seemed to notice, as disability has always been deemed an uncontrollable cost of doing business. But Ben disagreed, and his fascination with the subject prompted him to launch as an independent consultant in 2018, helping employers both private and public manage the complicated nuances of disability.

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Areas of Expertise:

  • Designing disability and absence management programs in compliance with Human Rights, CSA-Z1011, WCB and case law.

  • Case management administration linked to measurable organizational goals.

  • Delivering measurable outcomes for program design, administration, employee engagement, operational efficiency and risk management.

  • Provision of real-time advisory relative to managing complex WCB claims q.g., return-to-work planning, designing modified duties, etc

  • Preparing and presenting requests for claims cost relief and removal.

  • Representing employers during mediation, rehabilitation, and appeal hearings. 

Work Experience

Having spent years in management within the oil & gas, heavy civil, and environmental industries, Ben decided to transition into a seemingly unrelated venture: disability management. This pivot from construction into the world of disability was, however, more natural than met the eye.

Credentials & Designations:

  • Integrated Disability Management diploma (University of Fredericton)

  • Advanced certificate - Managing psychological injuries (University of Fredericton) 

  • B.Comm (marketing and finance) Athabasca University

  • Marketing diploma - honors (NAIT Business Admin)

  • Capital asset inspector (American Petroleum Institute)

  • Welding inspector (Canadian Welding Bureau)

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