Modified duties for return to work

The BC public service supports early intervention and gradual return-to-work practices such as modifying duties or hours to allow employees to safely complete some duties while they recover from an illness or injury.

On this page

• What are modified duties?
• What are your responsibilities as a supervisor?
• Health, safety and sick leave resources
• Disability case specialists

What are modified duties?

Modified duties are a type of temporary employment modification that allows someone to safely recover while remaining connected to their work.  

The following short informational video helps supervisors gain a better understanding of what modified duties are, why they should be offered, and when and how they should talk about them.

Using a conversational approach, supervisors can explore temporary job modifications with employees and demonstrate flexibility and innovation to help them stay at work.

view with descriptive video

What are your responsibilities as a supervisor?

Supervisors should work with their employees to identify duties that can be temporarily modified to meet the employee’s limitations while recovering from illness or injury. 

As noted in the Accountability Framework for Human Resources Management, it's the supervisor’s responsibility to provide early, safe and modified return to work opportunities when appropriate.

Modified duties may be considered for absences ranging in duration from a few days, up to several months.

The Temporary Modified Duties Decision Tree (PNG,170KB) is a support tool that provides supervisors with a general overview of the process for offering modified duties to employees who are off work due to illness or injury.

Health, safety and sick leave resources

Health, safety and sick leave resources are available to support managers and supervisors, including eLearning courses that provide information regarding supporting employees in the workplace, and how to successfully manage health-related absences.

Disability case specialists

Disability case specialists are available to provide additional information and guidance to BC Public Service supervisors who have questions regarding modified work, or who need help developing return-to-work plans.

Submit an AskMyHR (IDIR restricted) service request using the categories Myself or My organization > Health & Well-being > Sick Leave.