Returning to work after long-term disability should happen when your medical condition has improved enough to attempt it and your employer can provide a safe, medically appropriate plan.
You do not have to be fully recovered before returning. However, your functional restrictions should be clearly documented, your hours and duties should be realistic and the plan should allow for changes if your symptoms become worse.
Your LTD insurer can’t order you to attend work. It can, however, reduce or end your benefits if it decides that you are capable of returning or says that you have not participated in a reasonable rehabilitation plan.
If your doctor says you are not ready, your gradual return is progressing too quickly or an attempted return fails, respond promptly. Document what is happening, obtain updated medical support and notify both the employer and insurer in writing.
For a broader explanation of coverage, eligibility and insurer decisions, read our guide to long-term disability benefits in Canada.
On This Page:
- When Should You Return?
- Can LTD Force You Back?
- Doctor, Employer and Insurer Roles
- Gradual Return-to-Work Plans
- Not Returning After LTD
- When a Return Moves Too Quickly or Fails
- Returning to Work in Ontario
When Should You Return to Work After Long-Term Disability?
You should normally attempt a return when your condition has improved enough that your doctor supports the attempt and your workplace restrictions can be accommodated.
Many employees return while still managing pain, fatigue, cognitive difficulties, anxiety, depression or another ongoing condition. The question is not whether every symptom has disappeared. It is whether you can perform useful work safely, consistently and within your medical restrictions.
Before returning, there should be a clear written understanding of:
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The proposed start date
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The initial hours and workdays
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The duties you can and can’t perform
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Required breaks, equipment or scheduling changes
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How and when the plan may progress
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When your doctor will reassess your capacity
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What happens if your symptoms become worse
A return should not be based only on the insurer’s preferred date or a general statement that your health has improved. Medical improvement does not always mean that you can immediately maintain full-time hours, regular attendance and normal productivity.
Can LTD Force You Back to Work?
No. An LTD insurance company can’t order you to attend the workplace or decide what duties your employer must provide.
The insurer is not your employer and does not control the workplace. It does, however, control whether it continues paying your disability benefits.
The insurer may:
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Review whether you continue to meet the policy’s definition of disability
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Request updated medical information
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Propose rehabilitation or a gradual return-to-work plan
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Request an independent medical examination or functional assessment where permitted by the policy
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Reduce or end benefits if it decides that you are capable of working
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Claim that you failed to participate in reasonable treatment or rehabilitation
Many LTD policies require claimants to participate in reasonable rehabilitation and return-to-work efforts. That does not mean you must accept a plan that conflicts with supported medical restrictions or creates a serious risk to your health.
If the insurer relies on physical or functional testing, read our guide to functional capacity evaluations in Canada.
What Do Your Doctor, Employer and Insurer Each Control?
Return-to-work disputes often happen because the doctor, employer and insurer have different responsibilities.
Your Doctor or Treatment Provider
Your doctor provides medical guidance about:
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Whether you are medically ready to attempt a return
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Your functional restrictions and limitations
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The hours you may initially be able to tolerate
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Duties or activities you should avoid
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How quickly the schedule should progress
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When you should be reassessed
Your doctor does not decide whether the insurer must pay benefits or which specific jobs are available in the workplace.
Your Employer
Your employer controls the workplace and determines how reasonable accommodation can be implemented.
It should consider:
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The essential duties of your position
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Whether duties can be temporarily modified
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Whether reduced or flexible hours are available
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Whether remote or hybrid work is appropriate
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Whether suitable alternative work is available
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Whether the accommodation would create undue hardship
Employers generally must consider reasonable disability accommodation to the point of undue hardship. The process should be individualized rather than based only on a standard return-to-work policy.
The employer is entitled to enough medical information to understand your restrictions, essential-duty capacity and accommodation needs. It should not automatically require your complete medical history or unrelated records.
Read our guide to communicating with your employer while on LTD.
Your LTD Insurer
The insurer decides whether it believes you continue to meet the policy’s definition of disability.
It may also determine:
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Whether benefits continue during reduced hours
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How employment income affects your LTD payment
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Whether rehabilitation or partial-disability provisions apply
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Whether a failed return falls under the recurrent-disability clause
Your Role as the Employee
You must participate reasonably in the accommodation and return-to-work process. This generally means providing appropriate medical information, discussing possible accommodation, trying a medically supported plan and reporting problems promptly.
You may need to accept a reasonable accommodation that properly meets your restrictions, even if it is not your preferred option. You do not have to accept a plan that conflicts with clear medical restrictions or fails to address your disability-related needs.
How Should a Gradual Return-to-Work Plan After LTD Be Structured?
A gradual return-to-work plan allows you to resume employment in stages instead of immediately returning to full hours and duties.
The plan may begin with fewer hours, fewer days or lighter responsibilities. Your workload can then increase as your stamina, concentration and physical capacity improve.
A strong plan should be:
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Supported by current medical information
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Based on your actual job demands
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Written and shared with everyone involved
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Specific about hours, duties and restrictions
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Flexible enough to respond to medical problems
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Reviewed at planned intervals
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Clear about what happens if you can’t progress
The plan should not assume that you will reach full-time work by a fixed date regardless of your symptoms or progress.
Can LTD Continue During a Gradual Return?
LTD benefits may continue in full or in part, depending on your policy and the employment income you earn.
Some policies provide rehabilitation or partial-disability benefits. Others reduce the LTD payment according to a formula based on your earnings.
Before returning, ask the insurer to confirm in writing:
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Whether benefits will continue
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How your earnings will affect the payment
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What medical updates are required
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What happens if the attempt fails
Sample Gradual Return-to-Work Schedule
Every schedule should reflect the employee’s health, restrictions and job duties. One possible six-week schedule could look like this:
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Week 1: Three non-consecutive days at three hours per day
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Week 2: Four days at four hours per day
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Week 3: Five days at four hours per day
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Week 4: Five days at five hours per day
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Week 5: Five days at six hours per day
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Week 6: Full hours if medically supported and successfully tolerated
This is only an example. Some employees may progress more quickly. Others may need a longer plan, fewer consecutive days or additional time at one stage.
Someone with chronic pain, fatigue or post-exertional symptoms may require recovery days between shifts. Someone with psychological or cognitive limitations may need shorter periods of concentration or lower-pressure duties.
Modified Hours and Duties
Modified work should address the actual barriers created by your disability.
Possible changes include:
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Shorter shifts or fewer workdays
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Non-consecutive days or flexible start times
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Additional rest breaks
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Reduced lifting, standing, walking or driving
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Fewer deadlines, meetings or competing priorities
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Reduced customer or public interaction
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Temporary removal of safety-sensitive duties
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Remote or hybrid work where appropriate
Modified work should still be useful and productive. An employer is not generally required to invent unnecessary duties, but it must genuinely explore reasonable ways to remove disability-related barriers.
Functional Restrictions and Limitations
Functional restrictions and limitations explain how your condition affects your ability to work. They are usually more useful than a diagnosis alone.
A restriction identifies an activity you should avoid because it may be unsafe or medically inappropriate. Examples include no lifting above 10 kilograms, no night shifts, no driving or no safety-sensitive work while using certain medication.
A limitation explains that you can perform an activity only for a limited period, at a reduced level or with assistance. Examples include:
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Sitting for no more than 30 minutes before changing position
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Concentrating for approximately 20 minutes before requiring a break
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Working no more than four hours per day
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Requiring a recovery day after each shift
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Being unable to manage multiple competing deadlines
Vague statements such as “light duties” or “return as tolerated” may not provide enough information to create a safe plan.
What Should the Doctor’s Note Address?
A useful return-to-work note should explain your abilities and medical needs clearly enough that a practical accommodation plan can be created.
The note may address:
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Whether you are medically able to attempt a return
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The recommended start date
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Maximum hours per day and days per week
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Whether workdays should be consecutive
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Physical, cognitive or psychological restrictions
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Required breaks, flexibility or remote work
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Duties that should be modified or avoided
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When reassessment should occur
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Whether progression requires further medical approval
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Signs that the plan should be paused or reduced
The note does not usually need to disclose your complete medical history. Its focus should normally be your functional abilities, restrictions and accommodation needs.
Read more about medical reports for an LTD claim.
What Happens if You Are Not Returning to Work After Long-Term Disability?
Not returning to work after long-term disability does not automatically mean that you have abandoned your job or lost your LTD benefits.
What happens next depends on why you are not returning, your medical prognosis, possible accommodation and the definition of disability in your policy.
Your Doctor Says You Are Not Ready
If your doctor says you are not medically ready, advise the insurer and employer promptly and in writing. Do not simply fail to attend work or stop responding.
Ask your doctor to provide an updated note addressing:
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Why you remain unable to attempt the return
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Your current restrictions and limitations
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Whether further treatment or recovery time is required
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When your capacity should be reassessed
Tell the insurer that you are willing to participate when it becomes medically appropriate, but that the proposed plan is premature. Ask whether it intends to continue or terminate your benefits.
You Can’t Return to Your Previous Position
You may be unable to perform your original duties but capable of modified work or another suitable role.
Your employer should consider whether reasonable accommodation could allow you to perform useful work. The insurer will separately consider whether you continue to satisfy the policy’s disability test.
Many policies initially assess whether you can perform your own occupation and later consider whether you can perform another suitable occupation. Learn more about the change from own occupation to any occupation.
You May Be Unable to Return to Any Work
Your condition may prevent you from returning to your previous job or any realistic alternative occupation.
The outcome may depend on:
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Whether your doctor continues to support your absence
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Whether you continue to meet the LTD definition of disability
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Your prognosis for returning in the future
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Whether accommodation could allow you to perform useful work
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Whether you are participating in treatment and the accommodation process
Do not allow communication with the employer or insurer to stop simply because a proposed return date has passed.
If your employer is considering termination, read our guide to how long an employee can be on LTD before termination.
What if a Gradual Return Is Moving Too Quickly or Fails?
The Plan Is Progressing Too Quickly
A schedule may look reasonable on paper but become unsustainable once you start working.
Warning signs may include:
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Increasing pain or fatigue
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Needing several days to recover after a shift
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Worsening sleep, anxiety or depressive symptoms
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Reduced concentration, memory or decision-making
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Missing shifts or arriving late because of symptoms
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Being unable to complete duties safely
If this happens:
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Document the problem. Record the hours worked, duties performed, symptoms experienced and recovery time required.
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Tell the employer. Explain which part of the plan is becoming unsustainable.
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Contact your doctor. Ask whether the plan should pause, remain at the current stage or move backward.
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Notify the insurer. Provide updated medical information and ask that benefits continue.
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Request a written revision. Do not rely only on telephone conversations.
The Return-to-Work Attempt Fails
A failed return does not automatically prove that you are capable of working or disqualify you from LTD benefits.
It may instead demonstrate that your disability continues to prevent reliable and sustainable employment.
When a return fails:
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See your doctor promptly. Explain the symptoms and difficulties you experienced.
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Obtain written medical support. The note should explain why you need to stop, reduce or change the plan.
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Tell your employer in writing. Confirm the medical reason for stopping or reducing work.
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Notify the insurer immediately. Request continuation or reinstatement of LTD benefits.
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Preserve evidence. Keep schedules, emails, attendance records and notes describing your symptoms.
An insurer may argue that completing some work proves you are no longer disabled. The proper issue is whether you could sustain that work regularly—not whether you performed limited duties for a short period.
Learn what to do when your long-term disability benefits are denied or cut off.
Recurrent-Disability Clauses
A recurrent-disability clause may allow you to resume LTD benefits without completing a new waiting period when the same or a related disability causes you to stop working again.
The clause may consider:
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How long you were back at work
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Whether you returned to full-time or modified work
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Whether the new absence involves the same or a related condition
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Whether you remained covered under the policy
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Whether the recurrence deadline was met
Many policies use a period such as six months, but the exact wording varies. If you return beyond the recurrence period, the insurer may treat the absence as a new claim and require another elimination period.
Read our detailed guide to recurrent disability and LTD claims.
Returning to Work After Long-Term Disability in Ontario
Similar accommodation principles apply across Canada, although the governing human-rights legislation and employment rules vary by province.
Employees returning to work after long-term disability in Ontario are protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code. An Ontario employer must consider disability accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
This may require the employer to consider:
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A gradual return to the employee’s original position
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Modified hours or duties
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Temporary workplace changes
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Remote or hybrid work where appropriate
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Another suitable position if the original job can’t be accommodated
There is no single return-to-work schedule that applies to every Ontario employee. An employer should not demand that the employee be completely symptom-free. The focus should be on whether the employee can perform useful work with appropriate accommodation.
Read our guides to long-term disability in Ontario and working while receiving LTD benefits in Ontario.
If your benefits are ended during or after the attempt, review our page on denied long-term disability claims in Ontario.
Frequently Asked Questions About Returning to Work After LTD
Can LTD force you back to work?
The insurer can’t order you to attend the workplace. It can reduce or end benefits if it decides that you are capable of working or have refused a reasonable rehabilitation plan. That decision can be challenged.
What if my doctor says I’m not ready to return?
Tell the insurer and employer in writing. Provide an updated note explaining your restrictions, why the proposed return is premature and when your capacity should be reassessed.
How long should a gradual return to work last?
There is no universal length. Some plans last several weeks, while others continue for months. The schedule should reflect your condition, job demands and ability to sustain each stage.
Can I stay on LTD while working part-time?
Possibly. Some policies provide partial or rehabilitation benefits during reduced work. Your earnings may reduce the LTD payment.
What happens if I try to return and can’t continue?
Notify your doctor, employer and insurer promptly. Document why the attempt failed and request continuation or reinstatement of benefits.
Can I be fired if I am unable to return after LTD?
Termination is not automatic. The employer must consider your prognosis, possible accommodation and whether you may be able to return in the reasonably foreseeable future.
What if I am unionized?
Contact your union immediately. Return-to-work, accommodation and termination disputes may need to proceed through the collective agreement and grievance process.
Get Help With Return-to-Work Pressure or a Failed LTD Return
A return-to-work plan should help you resume employment safely. It should not be used to force you back before you are medically ready or create an excuse to end your benefits.
Contact Samfiru Tumarkin LLP if:
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Your insurer is pressuring you to return before your doctor supports it
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Your gradual return is moving too quickly
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Your employer is refusing medically supported accommodation
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Your return-to-work attempt failed
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The insurer refuses to reinstate your benefits
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Your LTD benefits were reduced or cut off
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Your employer is threatening termination
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP represents people with denied and terminated long-term disability claims throughout Canada, excluding Quebec.
Our employment lawyers also advise non-unionized employees in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia about accommodation, return-to-work disputes and termination.
Contact us before accepting an unsafe return-to-work plan, resigning or allowing an insurer to end your LTD benefits.