A letter saying your WSIB benefits are ending, shrinking or on hold is frightening, especially when the bills keep coming. Take a breath. A decision like this can be challenged, and the first steps are simpler than they look.
Why did the WSIB stop or cut my benefits?
Loss of earnings benefits are paid while a work injury keeps you from earning what you earned before. The WSIB's page on the loss of earnings benefit says they end when:
- your work-related injury or illness no longer affects your ability to return to your pre-injury work
- you are no longer losing pay
- you reach 65, if you were younger than 63 on the day you were hurt
- two years have passed since the injury, if you were 63 or older on the day you were hurt
Benefits can also be reduced or suspended part way. The WSIB says that if you choose not to co-operate it may suspend or reduce your benefits, and that it can reduce, suspend or discontinue them when a change in your situation was not reported.
What does the decision letter tell me?
Three things matter most. The reason for the decision, the date on the letter, and the deadline it prints for objecting. The date on the letter starts your time limit, not the day you opened it.
How long do I have to object?
It depends on what was decided, under section 120 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
| The decision is about | You have |
|---|---|
| Return to work, work transition or re-employment, including a cut for not co-operating with a return to work plan | 30 days |
| Anything else, including a finding that you have recovered or are no longer losing pay | 6 months |
The deadline printed on your letter is the one that governs your file, so go by the letter. The WSIB explains both limits on its page on objecting to a decision.
What has to arrive in time is your Intent to Object form or a letter of objection. Your evidence can follow. The objection is what stops the clock.
What if the WSIB says I did not co-operate?
There is a set process before a penalty. Under the WSIB's policy on return to work co-operation obligations, the WSIB first tells you what is expected and what the penalty could be, confirms you are still not co-operating, then gives written notice. The penalty starts 10 calendar days after that notice.
The first penalty cuts wage loss benefits by 50% for up to 14 days, or until you start co-operating again, whichever comes first. If it continues past those 14 days, benefits can be reduced to your capable earnings or suspended.
Two things are worth knowing. A disagreement about whether a job offer is suitable is not, by itself, non-co-operation under the policy. And the fastest way to stop a co-operation penalty is usually to write to your case manager, say you are ready to take part, and ask what is needed.
What actually changes the decision?
New information. The WSIB reconsiders when you bring something that was not in the file, and it says that step generally takes 14 business days. A recent medical report showing your restrictions, a specialist's opinion, or a written record of tasks you still cannot do carries far more weight than a strong letter alone.
What should I record right now?
- Your restrictions, in writing. Ask your doctor or physiotherapist to put current limits on paper.
- What you can and cannot do, day by day. At home and at work, with dates.
- Every call and letter. The date, who you spoke to and what was said or agreed.
- Every job offer or plan. The duties, hours and how they compare with your restrictions.
- Money in and out. What you were paid, when it stopped and what you have spent on your recovery.
Why use Hurt Square?
Because the decision turns on what you can show about your restrictions, your pay and every offer made to you. Hurt Square guides give you one place to keep that record, so your objection starts from facts, not from memory.
- Your restrictions and your pay, on the record. The National Workplace Injury Recovery Guide has structured space for what you can and cannot do, every job offer, every call and letter, and the money in and out. That is what the WSIB reconsiders.
- The Ontario rules, in plain words. The Ontario Workplace Injury Companion Guide explains Forms 6, 7 and 8 and how to object, step by step through to the Appeals Tribunal.
- Ready for either deadline. Thirty days or six months, the date on the letter starts the clock. With your record already together, the time goes into your objection, not into searching for paperwork.
- Made for hard days. 123 pages and more than 1,200 fillable fields that work on your phone, tablet or computer, in plain language. When your union representative, worker adviser or lawyer asks for something, it is already there.
Both guides, $39 until 22 November. The National Workplace Injury Recovery Guide and the Ontario Workplace Injury Companion Guide, with the discount applied at checkout. Bought separately: $63.99.
Get both guidesWho can help me object?
The Office of the Worker Adviser, if you are not in a union. It is an independent agency of the Ontario government, and its service to non-unionized injured workers is free. Its number for English service is 1-800-435-8980. If you are in a union, start with your union representative. A community legal clinic is another free route.
What can I live on in the meantime?
Our article “The Bills Won't Wait!” | Waiting on WSIB With No Money Coming In? Where to Turn covers EI sickness benefits, workplace disability plans and Ontario Works, and how repayment works if the WSIB later pays.
Read next
- “I Think WSIB Got It Wrong!” | Disagree With a WSIB Decision? How to Appeal, Step by Step
- “I'm Not Ready to Go Back!” | Can You Refuse Modified Work on WSIB? What Happens If You Say No
- “Will WSIB Cover My Bills?” | Off Work on WSIB? Here Is What You Will Actually Be Paid
Every figure in this article comes from a named source. How we check
Last verified: October 2026.
