What this is
What is a case closure record?
What is a case closure record?
A case closure record is the document that formally ends an occupational health case: the worker's final work status, whether the return has been confirmed, any permanent restriction, the cost and duration of the case, and what was learned. It is signed off by occupational health and the case manager, and it is the record other systems treat as the end of the file.
When should a case be closed?
When the outcome is known and stable enough to state: full duties resumed, redeployment agreed, permanent restriction accepted, or the worker has left employment. It should not be closed the moment a return date is set. The record captures the outcome, not the intention, and closing on intention is what produces cases that reopen.
Who signs off a case closure record?
Occupational health completes and signs the record, with a second signature from the case manager. Both signatures exist because closure has two components that rarely sit with one role: the clinical judgement that the case is resolved, and the operational judgement that the workplace side (duties, restrictions, cost) is accurately captured.
Scope
When is a case closure record required?
This is the terminal record in the Return to Work chain, and its most common misuse is being completed too early, as a status update rather than a genuine close.
Use this template when
- The worker has returned to full duties and that return is confirmed, not merely scheduled
- The worker has been redeployed and the new arrangement is settled
- A permanent restriction has been accepted and there is nothing further to progress
- The worker has left employment and the case has no further action open
- Occupational health and the case manager are both ready to sign; if either is not, the case is not ready to close
Do not use it for
- Occupational Health Case Record, which tracks the case from first report through to this closure, and is the record this one draws its history from.
- Case Progress Review, which reviews progress against the expected timeline while the case is still open.
- Claim Support Record, which records what was provided to support a workers compensation claim, and continues independently of when the case is closed.
- Sustained Return Check, which is the only record that confirms the return actually held once weeks have passed, and should be scheduled from this one rather than replaced by it.
- Work Restriction Record, which carries the detail of an ongoing restriction; this record should reference it, not restate it.
Compliance mapping
Which WCB guidance requirements does this satisfy?
WCB guidance sets the provincial obligation to record the outcome of a claim period; it does not specify a document format. Where the case sits inside a certified management system, ISO 45001's clauses on monitoring, corrective action and documented information supply the structure this record is built to.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| WCB return-to-work provisions | Employer obligation to support return to work and record the final outcome of the claim period | Header |
| ISO 45001 cl.9.1 | Monitoring and measurement of OH&S outcomes, including the status and cost of the case | Outcome |
| ISO 45001 cl.8.1.2 | Reduction of risk through the hierarchy of controls, reflected in redeployment and restriction decisions | Outcome |
| ISO 45001 cl.10.2 | Determination of root cause and corrective action following a nonconformity, with verification of effectiveness | What we learned |
| ISO 45001 cl.5.4 | Consultation and participation of workers in matters affecting their health and safety | What we learned |
| ISO 45001 cl.7.5.3 | Control of documented information, including retention and controlled access to records | Records |
| ISO 45001 cl.9.3 | Case outcomes and corrective actions considered as an input to management review | Records |
What it does not cover
- Occupational Health Case Record, which is the running record of the case from first report onward and is not superseded by closure.
- Case Progress Review, which belongs to the period the case is still open and active.
- Claim Support Record, which documents what was submitted to support a compensation claim and can extend past the closure date.
- Sustained Return Check, which is the actual test of whether the outcome recorded here held, and cannot be inferred from the closure record alone.
- The corrective action itself, which belongs in the CAPA record referenced here, not in the closure narrative.
Global
Case Closure Record requirements by country
The instrument behind this record is provincial in origin, but the case chain it closes usually sits inside a broader OH&S management system with its own international obligations.
Provincial workers compensation board (WCB) return-to-work guidance
Employers are expected to support and record return to work outcomes, with specifics set by each provincial board.
The closure record is often what a WCB claims officer asks to see when confirming a return, so its dates and reason need to withstand scrutiny.
State workers compensation systems; OSHA recordkeeping
No federal case closure format, but state comp systems track claim status and OSHA recordkeeping captures days away and restricted duty.
Days Absent Total and Days On Modified Duties map directly onto figures a US employer needs for its own recordkeeping, independent of the provincial framing.
ISO 45001
Case outcomes feed monitoring, corrective action and management review under the management system.
An auditor will look past the closure reason to whether root cause was addressed and the CAPA actually verified, not just raised.
How to complete it
How to complete a case closure record, step by step
The fields are easy to complete honestly and still produce a closure that closes too soon. The judgement calls sit outside what the form prompts for.
Case Closed Date and Date Returned To Full Duties answer different questions: when the file was finished, and when the person came back. Closing on the return date means the file was finished before the return had any chance to be tested, which is the single most common way this record understates risk.
These fields route the case into prevention, and they are trivially easy to mark 'No' and 'Yes' without any investigation behind either answer. A closure that cannot say why the case happened has not learned anything from it, whatever the scored fields suggest.
CAPA Verified Effective accepts 'Pending', and a case can close with that answer standing. If it does, something outside this record needs to own bringing the verification back, because closure itself will not resurface once the case is filed as done.
Records Complete and Retention Period Applied describe the paperwork, not the person. A closure can be administratively perfect, every field populated, both signatures present, and still misdescribe what happened to the worker if the closure reason was chosen for how it reads rather than what occurred.
What auditors find
Most common case closure record findings
The closure record almost always exists and is almost always signed. The findings concern what it asserts and whether anything follows from it.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Case closed same day full duties resumed, no sustained return check scheduled. | ISO 45001 cl.9.1 | Make scheduling the sustained return check a condition of setting 'Returned to full duties'. |
| Preventable and Root Cause Addressed answered without any investigation behind them. | ISO 45001 cl.10.2 | Require a reference to the underlying investigation or CAPA before either field is marked. |
| Permanent Restrictions Remain marked Yes with Restriction Record ID left blank. | WCB return-to-work provisions | Enforce the link to the Work Restriction Record whenever a permanent restriction is recorded. |
| CAPA raised and referenced, but never verified effective before closure. | ISO 45001 cl.10.2 | Hold CAPA Verified Effective at 'Pending' as a flag routing to the action owner, not a closing state. |
| Regulatory Reporting Complete marked without evidence of what was reported, or to whom. | WCB return-to-work provisions | Attach confirmation of the report filed, or record the specific basis for 'Not required'. |
| Second signature absent, backdated, or from someone other than the named case manager. | ISO 45001 cl.7.5.3 | Treat the two signatures as sequential and required before the record is treated as final. |
Case in point
Case in point: the closure that read as a success
A warehouse case closed with Final Work Status 'Full duties', Returned To Full Duties 'Yes', and both dates set to the worker's first day back. Preventable was marked 'No', Root Cause Addressed 'Yes', and the case manager signed alongside occupational health the same afternoon. Every scored field pointed the same way.
Eleven weeks later the worker was off again with the same condition. No sustained return check was on file, because none had been scheduled, and the closure dates gave no reason to look for one. The absence trend review only caught the pattern when the second absence created a new case, by which point the link to the first had to be reconstructed from memory.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
4 sections
- Reference
- HLT-020
- Archetype
- Record
- Record ID
- HCC-2026-000
- Scoring
- Not scored
- Direction
- n/a
- Singleton
- No
- Basis
- WCB guidance
- Links
- Links Health Case, Worker
- Tags
- Health, Case
- Sections
- 4
- Fields
- 40
- Follow up fields
- 4
- Repeating sections
- 0
- Links out
- 5
Header
11 fieldsRecord ID*
Auto sequence. Format CCL-2026-000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Date and Time*
Completed By*
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Worker*
Person ID*
Format PER-0000.
Links to FDN-003 Person ID
Case ID*
Thread key
Case Duration Days*
Closure Reason*
- Returned to full duties3 pts
- Redeployed2 pts
- Permanent restrictions accepted1 pt
- Left employment0 pts
- No longer required2 pts
Outcome
9 fieldsFinal Work Status*
- Full duties3 pts
- Modified duties permanent1 pt
- Redeployed1 pt
- Left employment0 pts
Returned To Full Duties*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Date Returned To Full Duties
Permanent Restrictions Remain*
- No3 pts
- Yes1 pt
Restriction Record ID
Links to HLT-017 Record ID
Redeployment Required
- No3 pts
- Yes1 pt
Days Absent Total
Days On Modified Duties
Cost Of Case
What we learned
7 fieldsPreventable*
- No2 pts
- Partly1 pt
- Yes0 pts
Root Cause Addressed*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
CAPA Verified Effective*
- Yes3 pts
- Pending1 pt
- No0 pts
What Helped The Return
Worth capturing. The things that worked here will work for the next person.
What Delayed The Return
Process Improvement Identified*
- No3 pts
- Yes1 pt
Worker Feedback On Support Received*
- Positive3 pts
- Mixed1 pt
- Negative0 pts
Records
13 fieldsRecords Complete*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Retention Period Applied*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Regulatory Reporting Complete
- Yes3 pts
- Not required3 pts
- No0 pts
Claim Record ID
Links to HLT-021 Record ID
Case Closed Date*
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Case Manager*
Signature*
Occupational Health*
Second Signature*
HLT-020 · record IDs look like HCC-2026-000 · Links Health Case, Worker
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The record itself is straightforward to complete. What slips is the step after it: the check that was never scheduled, the CAPA left pending, the pattern that only a later case reveals.
Holds the case closure record against the case chain, and flags a closure that sets Closure Reason to a return without a linked sustained return check on the calendar.
Takes a case marked preventable into the risk register, so a workplace-caused case feeds back into the hazard it came from.
Watches CAPA references left at 'Pending' past their expected verification date, and raises the follow-up rather than letting closure end the tracking.
Turns 'What Helped The Return' into guidance for the next case manager handling a similar case, rather than leaving it as free text nobody revisits.
This template lives in KnowHealth — employee wellbeing. Exposure monitoring, health surveillance, case management and return to work.
Meet KnowHealth→Glossary
Case Closure Record definitions and key terms
- Closure Reason
- The scored field stating how the case ended: return to full duties, redeployment, permanent restriction accepted, exit, or no longer required.
- Permanent restriction
- A limitation on duties expected to remain indefinitely, recorded here as a flag and detailed in the linked Work Restriction Record.
- CAPA
- Corrective and preventive action: the record raised when a case reveals something that should change, tracked to verified effectiveness rather than to completion alone.
- Sustained return
- A return to duties confirmed to have held after a defined interval, distinct from a return that is merely underway on the closure date.
- WCB
- Workers Compensation Board: the provincial body governing injury claims, benefits and return-to-work obligations in Canada.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about case closure record
Can a case be closed before the worker is back on full duties?+
Yes, closure covers redeployment, accepted permanent restriction and exit from employment as well as full duties. What it should not do is close on an anticipated full return before that return is confirmed to have happened.
What happens if Preventable is marked Yes?+
It should route into the same prevention mechanism as any other finding: a CAPA with an owner, verified before the loop is closed. Marking a case preventable and closing with no CAPA reference records the judgement and discards the consequence.
Does closing this record end the workers compensation claim?+
Not necessarily. The Claim Support Record continues independently where a claim is active, and this record's closure reflects the occupational health case, not the claim's status with the board.
Should Days Absent Total include the modified duty period?+
No. The two figures mean different things: time away from work entirely, and time working under adjustment. Merging them loses the distinction return-to-work reporting depends on.
Who should be consulted before closing a case with restrictions attached?+
The worker, the case manager and whoever owns the role the worker is returning to. Worker Feedback On Support Received exists because a closure decided without the worker's account misses half of what actually happened.
What if the sustained return check later shows the case did not hold?+
The check should reopen the case chain with a new referral rather than editing this closure record. The closure stands as what was believed at the time; the later check is the correction, and both need to exist for the history to be honest.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Return to Work
Occupational Health Case Record
Records and tracks a health case from first report through to closure
Work Restriction Record
Records what a worker can and cannot do while recovering, and for how long
Modified Duty Plan
Sets out the temporary duties a recovering worker will perform
Case Progress Review
Reviews how a health case is progressing against its expected timeline
Claim Support Record
Records the information provided to support a workers compensation claim
Absence Trend Review
Reviews absence patterns by area, shift and cause category to find where work is making people ill
More in Case Management
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- Provincial Workers Compensation Board (WCB) return-to-work guidance
- ISO 45001:2018 clauses 9.1, 8.1.2, 10.2 and 5.4
- ISO 45001:2018 clause 7.5.3, control of documented information
- OSHA recordkeeping requirements, days away and restricted or transfer cases
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.