Return-to-work plan
A return-to-work plan is a written plan for bringing an employee back after an illness, injury or long leave, with duties, hours and review dates.
Also called: RTW plan, graduated return to work, gradual return plan, back-to-work plan
What return-to-work plan means
A return-to-work plan sets out how an employee will come back to work after time off for an illness, an injury or a long leave. It says which duties they will do, how many hours they will work, how that will change over the coming weeks, and when you will check how it is going.
A plan is most useful when the employee cannot go straight back to full duties. A gradual return, such as half days for two weeks, or a period of modified duties, can help people get back to work safely without waiting until they are fully recovered.
Return-to-work planning is part of the duty to accommodate under human rights law when the absence is related to a disability. For a workplace injury, the workers' compensation board in your province also has its own return-to-work rules.
How it works
Start before the return date. Contact the employee a few weeks ahead, ask how they are doing, and ask whether they will have any limits on what they can do. Ask for information about functional limitations from their health care provider, not the diagnosis. British Columbia, which limits sick notes for short absences, still lets employers ask for a note about fitness to return or accommodation.
Write the plan together. Include the start date, the hours for each week, the duties the employee will and will not do, any equipment or schedule changes, who the employee reports to about how it is going, and the review dates. Keep it to one or two pages.
Review it on the dates you set and adjust as needed. Some returns go faster than planned; some need more time. If the employee cannot progress, talk with them and their health care provider about what else might work. Record each change.
Keep medical information confidential and separate from performance files. Share only what supervisors need to know, such as "no lifting over a set weight until 1 March", not why.
Common mistakes: waiting for a "100% fit" note before allowing any return, planning without the employee, giving "light duties" that are not real work, and forgetting to review the plan.
Is it the same in every province?
The idea of a return-to-work plan is the same across Canada. The rules around it come from human rights law (the duty to accommodate), from your province's employment standards law on job-protected leave and medical notes, and from your workers' compensation board for workplace injuries, and those details differ by province.
Example: Back after surgery at a Peterborough dental office
Dr. Patel runs a 10-person dental office in Peterborough, Ontario. Her hygienist Erin has been off for 10 weeks after shoulder surgery. Erin's surgeon says she can return but should not do full days of cleanings yet.
They write a one-page plan: weeks 1 and 2, four-hour days with mostly patient education and charting; weeks 3 and 4, six-hour days with up to 4 cleanings; week 5, full days. They agree to review the plan at the end of weeks 2 and 4, and Dr. Patel keeps the surgeon's note in a separate confidential file.
Hollis drafts the letter
Hollis, part of the Staffkin HR Suite, drafts province-specific return-to-work plans and letters for your approval; it never sends on its own.
Try Hollis liveFree tools and guides for this
Questions about return-to-work plan
Do I have to offer a gradual return to work?
If the absence is related to a disability, human rights law can require you to accommodate the return, which may include reduced hours or modified duties, up to the point of undue hardship.
What should a return-to-work plan include?
Start date, hours by week, duties the employee will and will not do, any changes to equipment or schedule, who to report to, and review dates.
Can I ask for a medical note before someone comes back?
You can usually ask for information about fitness to return and any limits. Ask for functional limitations, not the diagnosis, and check your province's rules on medical notes.
Related terms
Official sources
General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.
Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.