Complaints of being too old, or too disabled to function in a particular program were common. An additional problem with re-training programs is the lack of jobs for many workers outside of urban areas. In the committee's view, the most important aspect in rehabilitation and re-training programs is the use of common sense. An individual should only be re-trained if there is a real opportunity for that person to find employment, otherwise these programs will do little other than to raise a worker's level of frustration. The medical opinion of a worker's family doctor must be given serious consideration before any decision is made to terminate benefits.
Compassion is also important.
The committee feels it is important that workers be encouraged to return to work, but they should not be placed in a position where they are doomed to failure or which further jeopardises their health. It is possible for a worker to suffer a temporary recurrence of illness, over and above an extended earnings-replacement benefit they are already earning. This recurrence was not taken into account when setting the benefit the worker received. In cases where an illness recurs temporarily, the committee recommends that allowance be made for extended earnings-replacement benefits to be topped up temporarily. To calculate benefit levels, the WCB looks at a worker's income based on the previous two years of employment.