Most employers in Alberta are required by law to have workers’
compensation insurance for their workers, both paid and unpaid.
Workers’ compensation is disability insurance that provides
your workers with compensation benefits if they are injured on
the job. It also protects you from lawsuit by your injured workers.
There may be individuals who you do not consider your “workers”,
but they are providing a service for your benefit. As a result,
you may be required to provide workers’ compensation insurance
for them if they are not already covered. This means you must
include them when reporting your workers’ insurable earnings
to the WCB.
Workers
You are required to cover all your workers. A worker for WCB purposes
is any person who enters into or works under a contract of service
or apprenticeship, written or oral, expressed or implied, whether
by way of manual labour or otherwise. A worker is anyone who works:
• full-time
• part-time
• temporary or casual
• contract/subcontract, unless they are operating through
a corporation or they maintain their own WCB account (see Contractor/subcontractor
section).
If any of your workers are not paid, you must still report a value
for their services with the insurable earnings information you
submit for your workers. This value of service should represent
a fair market value for the services provided.
PLEASE NOTE: Deductions made by an employer from a worker's earnings
expressly to pay for any portion of a premium owed to the WCB
are illegal under Section 139 of the Act. Section 139 prohibits
employers from deducting a fee from their workers’ wages
to cover the cost of workers’ compensation insurance. This
is part of an employer's cost of doing business.
Family members
The definition of a worker also applies to family members. With
the exception of proprietors, partners in a partnership or directors
of a corporation, all individuals actively providing a service
to the business are workers.
Directors/shareholders
If you are operating as a corporation, you do not have to cover
the directors of your corporation. Directors are persons elected
by shareholders to manage the business and financial affairs of
a corporation. The Alberta Corporate Registry officially records
the names of all directors. In order to be covered by workers’
compensation, directors need to purchase optional personal coverage.
Directors who do not have personal coverage are not protected
from legal action resulting from workers’ injuries and may
be personally sued.
You
are required to cover your shareholders who work for the corporation.
When shareholders are also elected directors of the corporation,
they are not covered by workers’ compensation unless they
obtain personal coverage.
Contractors/subcontractors
If you hire contractors or subcontractors you must cover them,
except when these individuals:
1. have their own WCB account
2. are operating as a corporation, or
3. are performing the work as:
• an employer in that industry
• a worker of another employer
• a director of a corporation (see Corporations section)
• a proprietor with personal coverage (see Proprietors section)
• a partner in a partnership with personal coverage (see
Partnerships section).
For
contractors/subcontractors earnings, you report 100% of the amount
paid if only labour is supplied. If equipment is involved, contact
the WCB for assistance in determining the amount to report.
Corporations
If you hire a corporation, you do not cover their workers or directors.
Partnerships If you hire a partnership that has no workers, you
must cover the partners if none of them have personal coverage.
If, however, any partner has personal coverage, you do not cover
any of the partners. The partner(s) without personal coverage
will not receive compensation benefits if injured.
Proprietors
If you hire proprietors who do not have personal coverage, you
must cover them as your workers. A proprietor for WCB purposes
is an individual who owns and operates a business and does not
employ any workers. Proprietors usually perform work for more
than one principal concurrently.
Volunteers
If you are a non-profit employer who engages volunteers who receive
nominal or no remuneration for their services, you may apply to
have them covered by workers’ compensation (e.g., the building
of a church or community hall).
If you are an employer who is for profit, you may also apply to
cover your volunteers if they are in an activity that arises from
patriotism, civic-mindedness, or religious or charitable purposes.
Otherwise, if the volunteers
are there to solely support your business activity/profitability,
they are considered your workers and are to be insured at a value
of service.
The difference between a volunteer and an unpaid worker may be
unclear to you. Please call your nearest WCB office to discuss
your situation.
Registration
for WSIB account is available from our office. Please contact
us for more details.
