The Employee Health and Attendance Support Manager plays lead role in case management of employees on sick leave and long-term disability, including the development of return-to-work plans and accommodations, and supports supervisory staff and employees with attendance support, disability case management, sick leave absences and various leave benefits. The Employee Health and Attendance Support Manager will liaise with supervisory staff, treatment providers, long term disability carriers and unions to effectively manage claims for employees (teaching and non-teaching) who become ill during the course of their employment. The Employee Health and Attendance Support Manager is responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating policies, processes and programs that promote an attendance support program that supports employees in maintaining regular attendance at work. As well, the Employee Health and Attendance Support Manager evaluates medical documentation to support decisions relating to applicable leave benefits. The Employee Health and Attendance Support Manager reports directly to the coordinator of Human Resource Services.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Collaborates with and provides direction and support to human resources managers, school administrators and supervisors in all departments on matters relating to employee health and abilities and attendance support, including developing and providing educational sessions and materials regarding the attendance support program.

2. Plays the lead role in case management of employees on illness/injury related leaves including monitoring compliance with collective agreements, evaluating requests and assessments, and the development and implementation of complex return to work plans and accommodations in conjunction with the employee, supervisor and union.

3. Enhances employee attendance and manages leave benefits effectively by overseeing the attendance support program. This includes making informed decisions based on medical documentation, collaborating with health care providers, and developing processes and programs that support employees in maintaining regular attendance.

4. Supports the development of an effective attendance management program to reduce employees’ absenteeism by researching best practices, examining absence data and performing trends analysis, as well as changes and developments in legislation to make recommendations on policy and program development related to employee health and attendance matters.

5. Works collaboratively with the Human Resources Manager and the Occupational Health and Safety Officer to ensure efficiency and consistency in the claims management model including the appeal and management of complex injury on duty and worker’s compensation claims.

6. Educates and supports supervisory staff and employees with attendance support, disability case management procedures and collective agreement provisions pertaining to leave provisions.

7. Develops and implements wellness initiatives to support presenteeism.

8. Other related duties as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS IN EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• A University degree in a healthcare related field, such as occupational health, rehabilitation studies or acceptable equivalent
• 3-5 years related experience in an attendance management or health and abilities case management role, working with healthcare professionals, insurers, unions and other third party service providers
• An equivalent combination of education and experience which includes a combination of health related and/or human resources related education, together with additional experience in abilities case management, may be considered.
• Experience in the development and implementation of policies and procedures in relation to attendance management and abilities case management would be considered an asset.
• Experience in a leadership role would be considered an asset.
• Expertise in the collection and analysis of data, including strong related computer skills.

Additional Qualifications:

• Ability to apply best practices and excellent organizational skills to effectively manage a demanding employee health and abilities caseload;
• Ability to use medical documentation and functional assessments to develop accommodation and return to work plans;
• Expertise in matching functional abilities with position demands;
• Ability to apply knowledge and understanding of collective agreements and legislation affecting the management of employees in a unionized environment.
• Ability to effectively maintain accurate records, in both automated and manual systems;
• Ability to maintain, in strictest confidence, information received concerning confidential matters such as labour relations, legal issues, personal medical information, performance management, and any other confidential information.
• Strong analytical, problem solving and decision making skills.
• Excellent interpersonal (written, oral and electronic) communication skills.
• The ability to effectively utilize current technologies such as databases, spreadsheets, word processing, email, internet and presentation software;
• Valid Driver’s Licence and access to a reliable vehicle.