Agenda

• WCB Basics • Who is a contractor? • Who is a principal? • What does that mean? • Online Services

The Basics: What is the WCB?

• The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013, together with the General Regulations and Exclusions, make up the laws under which the WCB operates.

• Provides no fault insurance program that protects employers and workers against financial loss due to workplace injury and disease.

• Employers are protected from lawsuits resulting from workplace injury and workers receive the financial assistance and vocational rehabilitation they require when a workplace injury or illness occurs.

• These benefits are paid for by employers through the assessment of premiums.

The Basics: What is a Work Injury?

• A work injury is the result of any work-related event that causes the need for medical treatment and/or time away from work.

• Workplace injuries must be reported to the WCB within 5 days of being made aware of them.

• An Employer’s Initial Report of Injury (E1) can be filed online or by phone/fax.

The Basics: Worker Benefits

• Wage-loss Benefits • Medical Costs

– Medical treatment, hospital care, prescription drugs and medical supplies (Sask. Health does not cover these costs for work injury claims).

• Travel Expenses • Permanent Functional Impairment benefits • Independence Allowance • Loss of Pension Benefits • Death Benefits

The Basics: Who is Covered?

• All employers operating in an industry covered under the Act who hire workers are required to register. – All full time, part time, casual and contract employees are considered

workers and their wages must be reported. • Personal Coverage is available to:

– Proprietors/spouses, partners/spouses, directors not on payroll. – Elected officials of a city, town or village. – Governing body of a non-profit organization.

• The Workers’ Compensation Act Exclusion Regulations, 2014 – Excludes some industries (ex. Farming) and occupations (ex. Artists) – Volunteers are not considered workers under the scope of the Act

(except in mine rescue, members of an Emergency Measures Organization, volunteer fire fighters and first responders).

Who is a Contractor?

• The Act defines a worker as follows: – A person who has entered into or works under a contract of service or

apprenticeship, written or oral, expressed or implied, by way of manual labour or otherwise.

• A worker can include a person who receives a T4 as well as one who is paid in another way (invoice, work order, etc.) – A formal agreement (ie. a paper contract) does not have to be in place

• Contractors are present in all industries – Not limited to construction projects (ie. framing contractor), accounting

firms and medical offices also have contractors (ie. janitorial contractor) – May also be called a subcontractor

Who is a Principal?

• A Principal is a person/business who issues payment to a contractor

• Premiums may or may not be charged to a principal for contractors depending on a number of factors: – Is the contractor registered? Was a clearance obtained? – Does the contractor work in an excluded occupation/industry? – Is the contractor an outworker as defined by The Act?

• The Act and General Regulations outlines a principal’s responsibility to obtain clearances prior to issuing payment to a contractor – Where a clearance is not obtained prior to issuing payment, and a

contractor is in arrears, the principal will be held liable for those outstanding premiums with respect to the work

Contractors with Accounts

• Any contractor who employs workers (on payroll or other contractors) and operates in a mandatory industry, should have their own account

• Contractors who do not employ workers may be eligible for their own optional account

• Clearances should be obtained on all contractors to ensure their accounts are in good standing before payment is issued

• Workers of contractors will be covered under the contractor’s account – Sherri’s Donut Shop pays Robert’s Flooring to install new tile. Robert’s

Flooring is registered. A worker installing the tile is injured while working at Sherri’s Donut Shop. That worker is paid by Robert’s Flooring and so covered under his account.

Contractors without Accounts

• Contractors who are not employers are considered a worker of their principal unless they are eligible for and have purchased personal coverage. – Not all contractors are eligible for their own accounts.

• These workers will be covered under their principal’s account who will pay premiums on the labour portion of the contract amount. – Labour portion is the total contract less deductions for non-labour items

(materials, supplies, heavy equipment) – If unknown, the WCB will determine the labour portion for you based on

the description of work and POL 07/2004 Assessable Labour Portion of Contracts

Deductions and Contractors

• WCB premiums are payable by employers/principals and are not to be deducted from workers/contractors wages

• Section 8 outlines one exception: – When a principal contracts with an owner of equipment (contractor) who

is not registered, the principal may deduct from the contractor the premiums that will be assessed to the principal for the labour portion of the contract.

– Equipment, in this case, means major, industrial grade equipment used to fulfill the contract

– Light, or home-use grade items (hand tools, personal vehicles) are not considered equipment under this section

– Contract x Labour x Premium Rate = Premiums Charged

Unregistered Contractors

• Examples: – Sherri’s Donut Shop calls Bob’s Lawn Service to cut the grass in front of

her café. She will pay him $10,000 for the entire summer. Bob’s Lawn Service does not employ workers, and has not purchased Personal Coverage.

• Clearance Result: Deemed • Contract Amount: $10,000 • Labour Portion: $10,000 x 75% (labour portion for lawn maint.) =

$7,500 • Premiums Due: $7,500 x Sherri’s premium rate • Deduction from Contractor: $0

Unregistered Contractors

• Examples: – Sherri’s Donut Shop hires Larry’s Bobcat Services to clear the snow in

her parking lot. He will be paid $40,000 for the winter. Larry does not have an account.

• Clearance Result: Deemed • Contract Amount: $30,000 • Labour Portion: $40,000 x 25% (labour portion for snow removal) =

$10,000 • Premiums Due: $10,000 x Sherri’s premium rate • Deduction from Contractor: equal to premiums payable by Sherri’s

Donut Shop

Letter of Good Standing (LGS)

• A principal may request a letter of good standing prior to hiring a contractor to inquire about the contractor’s WCB status. – This letter does not replace the need for a clearance letter. – Only applicable for the date it is issued.

• Letter of Good Standing Statuses:

Status Definition

OK Contractor has an active account in good standing

Deemed Contractor is not registered

Denied Contractor has an active account NOT in good standing

Clearances

• A clearance is a letter that gives the principal permission to pay a contractor for completed work. – Protects the principal from having to pay any overdue premiums the

contractor owes to the WCB. – Only valid for the date shown on the letter and only applies to work done

in Saskatchewan. – Obtained after the work is done, before payment is made (includes

advances, progress or final payments) – Not required when a business is only supplying goods. – Should be obtained on every contractor, each time payment is made.

• Information required to obtain a clearance: – Name of principal – Name of contractor – Description of work – Total contract amount

Clearance Results

Status Definition Action

Cleared Contractor has an active account in good standing

Release payment to contractor

Deemed Contractor does not have an account

Release payment to contractor

Hold Contractor has an active account NOT in good standing

Withhold payment from contractor until updated status is received from WCB

Demand Clearance has been on hold for 30 days and contractor is still overdue

Pay the sum requested from the amount you owe the contractor to the WCB. The remainder of the amount is cleared and may be released to the contractor.

Pending Manual review necessary Status will generally be updated same business day

Contractor Accounts

• Contractors should contact the WCB to determine if they are required to register, or if registration is optional

• When an account is established, a contractor must submit the Employers Payroll Statement by February 28 of each year, and follow the payment schedule assigned

• Contractors may request clearances or LGS’s on their own accounts to submit with their invoices to a principal.

• Where a Hold status is received, a contractor should contact Employer Services by phone to resolve the issue.

Accessing Online Services

Administrator Access

• Register for an @WCB online Services account as an administrator. – Approvals are granted same business day.

• Administrators must be an authorized person for the business (owner, director, HR manager, payroll manager).

• Administrators have access to all online service options.

• Multiple accounts can be managed under the same login.

Agent Administration

• Agents are secondary users of an online account with access approved by the Administrator.

• Once an agent has been approved, the type of access they have may be adjusted at any time by the Administrator. – View Account Information – Clearances – Employer Payroll Statements – Injury Cost Information – Payroll Revisions – REA Reports – Update Account Information

Clearances Online

Clearances can be requested online anytime. Most will be process instantly regardless of time of day or day of the week.

Step 1: who is requesting the clearance: Principal - paying for work to be done Contractor - is doing the work

Clearances Online

A list of previously used contractors will appear: - Select from list and click

request clearance

Clearances Online

Clearances Online

Clearances History

Clearances History

Clearances: ACV Lists

• Automatic Clearance Verification (ACV) lists provide principals with the status of their contractors.

• Principals will be notified via email if the status of their contractor changes.

• Principals responsible for updating contract amount with each payment. This will be considered your clearance for the work done.

Clearances: AVC Lists

Publications: Clearance for Contract Work

Publications: Understanding the WCB