Manitoba WCB Appeals and Deadlines
How appeals work on a WCB claim in Manitoba. Free. No email required. For anyone injured at work.
Manitoba runs two levels of appeal and pays your wages to attend the second one. The shortest clock on the whole page has nothing to do with either, and most people never notice it.
Ten business days to object to your employer seeing your file. If your employer asks for access to your claim file during an appeal, that is the window you have to consent or to put written objections in.
You can also review the file yourself in person or ask for a copy at that point. And if the WCB decides to give your employer access anyway, that decision can be appealed to the chief appeal commissioner.
AT A GLANCE
| You have | To do this | Counting from |
|---|---|---|
| 5 business days | Get new evidence to the Appeal Commission before your hearing | Working back from the hearing date |
| 10 business days | Consent or object to your employer accessing your file | The request |
| 30 days | Appeal an administrative penalty | Being served the decision |
| 60 days | How long the Review Office aims to take deciding | Your reconsideration being listed |
What are the two levels of appeal in Manitoba?
The Review Office, then the Appeal Commission. Before either, WCB asks you to raise the issue with a representative and try to resolve it directly.
The Review Office is an independent department inside the WCB. It decides on the file rather than at a hearing, and aims to complete most decisions within sixty days of the reconsideration being listed.
The Appeal Commission sits outside the WCB entirely. Its commissioners are appointed by Order-in-Council and are not WCB employees. It is the final level, and it can only consider issues the Review Office has already decided.
Can you go back to the Review Office instead of appealing?
Yes, and it is worth knowing before you escalate. If you disagree with a Review Office decision and you have new information it has not seen, you can submit a fresh request for reconsideration with that information rather than going straight to the Appeal Commission.
Which means a specialist's report, a new diagnosis, or a record of function you did not have before is not just supporting material. It can reopen the door you thought you had gone through.
What do you need before an Appeal Commission hearing?
Five business days for anything not already on your file. The Commission works from your actual WCB claim file, so you do not need to copy anything that is already in it. Anything that is not has to reach them at least five business days before the hearing, and after that you need a Request to File Additional Evidence form.
Tell them in advance if anyone is coming with you. If you are bringing a witness, that needs a Witness List.
Do you get paid for the time off to attend?
Yes, and this stops people missing their own hearing. A worker who has to miss work to attend is reimbursed for actual wages lost, on verification. Reasonable expenses to get there are also reimbursable.
And if health reasons mean you cannot travel alone, the cost of someone accompanying you can be covered as well. Keep the receipts and the pay records.
Who can help you for free in Manitoba?
The Worker Advisor Office. It is a Government of Manitoba programme, independent of the WCB, and worker advisors know the compensation system well. There is no charge.
Worker Advisor Office
204-945-5787
Toll free 1-800-282-8069 extension 5787
Watch the extension. Manitoba's free advocate for road accident claims, the Claimant Adviser Office, sits on the same toll free number at extension 7413. Same switchboard, different office, and they do not handle each other's cases.
Were you injured in a vehicle while working?
Then the other Manitoba system applies too, and unlike this one it has hard deadlines. Sixty days for an internal review, ninety to appeal. Our Manitoba MPI page sets those out, along with your right to make MPI pay for the medical reports you need.
Last verified: July 2026
Checked against: WCB Manitoba, Appealing a WCB decision, and The Appeal Commission of Manitoba. The administrative penalty window sits in section 109.7(1.3) of The Workers Compensation Act.
We give no figure here for the deadline to request a Review Office reconsideration or to appeal to the Appeal Commission, because Manitoba does not publish those plainly and we have not confirmed them. Ask WCB for your own dates in writing and see Policy 20.10 Reconsiderations.
Deadlines change. If you find something on this page that is out of date, write to Recovery@hurtsquare.ca and we will correct it publicly.
Keeping the record these deadlines depend on
The two useful things on this page both reward someone who has kept a file. New information can reopen a Review Office decision. Evidence gets you five business days before a hearing and no later.
Two things decide how an injury claim goes. What you wrote down and whether you did the right thing at the right time for where you live. The National Recovery Guide handles the first, the daily record of symptoms, appointments, calls and costs that a claim is eventually judged on. The Provincial Companion Guide handles the second, the deadlines on this page and the forms, boards and appeal routes behind them. People who have only one tend to end up with a careful record aimed at the wrong process, or the right dates and nothing to put in front of them.
Your Recovery. Documented. Protected.
See the Manitoba Workplace Injury Companion Guide
This page is general information for people in Manitoba. It is not legal or medical advice. Rules differ by province and change over time. Confirm anything specific to your situation with a representative, WCB Manitoba or the Worker Advisor Office.