Appeal Process

To start an appeal, you’ll need

• a final decision from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).  These decisions are usually made by a WSIB Appeals Resolution Officer.
• to fill out a Notice of Appeal Form. Click here to select either a worker or employer form.

You can send us your completed Notice of Appeal Form and a copy of the decision you are appealing by E-File or by mail.

For fast and convenient sharing of information, we encourage you to use our electronic services.  E-File allows you to send us information and E-Share allows us to send you information.  To enrol in E-Share, complete and send us an E-Share Form. 

Please note – we expect representatives to work electronically.

In most cases, when we receive your completed Notice of Appeal Form and the decision you want to appeal, we’ll

• let you know we’ve opened a file for you
• notify the respondent of the appeal and invite them to participate
• organize your Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) file into what we call a “Case Record”
• send the Case Record to the worker so they can review it and let us know if we can release it to the employer. (We only do this step if the employer is participating in the appeal).

If the employer is participating, they have a right to the same information the worker has for the appeal. This is so the hearing is fair. We send the Case Record containing the worker’s WSIB file(s) to the worker and ask if we can send it to the employer. If a worker objects to releasing the Case Record to the employer, we’ll process the objection through a separate process.

We’ll review the file to make sure all relevant information is available for the parties and the WSIAT’s decision-makers (a Vice-Chair or Panel). If we notice information is missing from the file, or we note jurisdictional problems, we’ll contact you. If necessary, we’ll place the appeal in inactive status so you can sort out any pre-hearing issues.

If we think the appeal is ready for a hearing, we’ll send you an “Issues on Appeal Letter”. The letter will summarize the issue(s) the Vice-Chair or Panel will decide. We’ll include a Hearing Ready Form and a Not Ready for a Hearing Form with this letter.

Once we send the Issues on Appeal Letter and forms, the Disclosure Period begins. The appellant will have 4 weeks to review the file and return one of the forms. If the respondent is participating, they will also have 4 weeks to review the file and return one of the forms.

Parties must send us all their evidence during the Disclosure Period if they are ready to proceed to a hearing.

If both parties are ready for a hearing, we’ll send a “Hearing Ready Letter” which confirms the issues on appeal and any other important details. It also confirms the end of the Disclosure Period.

Once we’ve confirmed that all parties are ready to proceed, we’ll forward the file to our Scheduling Department.

If an oral hearing is being arranged, we’ll contact you to schedule a hearing date that works for everyone. We’ll send you a letter to confirm the hearing format, date, and connection details or location.

For hearings in writing, the Vice-Chair or Panel will consider all the information in the case materials, including any evidence or submissions you sent in during the Disclosure Period. 

During an oral hearing, parties will present their case, review evidence and question witnesses. A single Vice-Chair or Panel (made up of a Vice-Chair, a worker member, and an employer member) will guide the hearing, ask questions and ultimately, make the final decision on the issue(s).

If a Vice-Chair or Panel needs more information to make an informed decision, the file will go through our post-hearing process to get that information.

After the hearing, we usually release our decisions within 120 days. We’ll send the decision to all parties to the appeal, even if they didn’t participate in the appeals process or the hearing. We’ll also send the decision to the WSIB.