Counselling support for families of workers

When someone you love is badly hurt or killed at work - your son or daughter, your husband, wife or partner - it’s serious. Everything that was certain about your life suddenly seems to have completely changed. It can be a difficult time and the WCB is here to help.

The WCB’s role

The WCB focuses on the worker and assistance to families or friends is limited by WCB legislation and policy. Family members can get support from the WCB, as outlined in The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013 (the Act). A family member is a spouse, parent, legal guardian, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling, as described in Section 2(1)(y) of the Act.

Depending on the situation, we may be able to help you by:

• Paying for counselling and any costs for related travel outside of a family’s home community if a family member needs help coping with the worker’s injury. 
• Paying for travel expenses, if they are for hospital, treatment or rehabilitation centre visits. 
• Covering treatments, consultations and travel costs or travelling with your injured family member, if it is medically required.
• Paying temporary child care expenses, in certain circumstances, to allow a parent to visit an injured husband, wife or partner. 
• Paying for additional support such as family member earnings loss, laundry and parking.
• Covering spousal benefits for a spouse of a worker who died as a result of a work injury.

Get approval

Your case manager will let you know if other support benefits are available. All assistance must be approved in advance by the customer care facilitator working on the claim. Keep all your receipts. You may need to submit them for approved out-of-pocket expenses.

For more information, contact your WCB customer care facilitator or call 1.800.667.7590.