Workplace safety and insurance board (WSIB) – Ontario chapter

WSIB plays a crucial role in managing health occupation and safety system at the provincial level. It’s funded by employers and is helpful in following aspects.

  1. Providing health and safety insurance.
  2. Providing benefits for the earning lost.
  3. Providing support for joining work after injury/illness covered under the workplace safety and insurance Act.

Who needs to get registered with the WSIB?

The business in Ontario that appoints employees needs to register with the WSIB. The term employee in the context includes family members and sub-contractors. WSIB provides workplace safety insurance to 324,000 businesses across 16 diverse industries.

It’s important to note that registration with WSIB needs to be made within ten calendar days of appointing the first employee. Further, not getting registered can lead to investigations, penalties, charges, and offenses from the provincial Government. Even, you may be required to pay the premium retrospectively. Hence, it’s advisable to voluntarily get registered with the WSIB. So, there are no such financial repercussions.

If you are unsure about getting registered or have some grey area, it can be a good idea to either contact us or directly contact the WSIB office to get a clear understanding of different aspects. Certain rules need to be considered before determining registration requirements; for instance, in the case of a private residence, you want to hire a domestic employee.

The domestic employees may be cooks, nannies, gardeners, housekeepers, cooks, maids, etc. They are hired to work more than 24 hours per week. In such a case, you’ll be required to get registered with the WSIB within ten days of their appointment.

 However, if you are in one of the following businesses, you are not required to register with the WSIB. But, you can ensure your employees with the insurance services provided through the WSIB.

  1. Private daycare center
  2. Insurance company, bank, and trust.
  3. Photography business.
  4. Funeral establishment.
  5. Hair salons or barbershops.
  6. Travel agency.
  7. Trade unions

Further, there are different obligations in the case of a construction business. Generally, if you are not required to register under regulations, you can still choose to have WSIB insurance.

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How to get registered with the WSIB?

As we have discussed, you have ten days to get registered with WSIB. We can help you to get registered, or you can contact WSIB directly. However, once registration is complete, you need to follow the following.

  1. You need to report premium with the frequency mentioned in the letter received upon registration. However, if you register through us, we shall help comply with it.
  2. You need to make sure health and safety obligations at work are appropriate.
  3. You need to understand regulations related to injury/workplace. In addition to this, there is a need to understand how to support employees for re-joining the work after an injury.
  4. Obtain clearance – it’s a unique number issued by the WSIB. It shows the business, sub-contractor, and contractor registered and up to date with WSIB.

Workplace injury/illness reporting

In Ontario, employees are expected to work safely at different factories, construction sites, offices, and other places of work. However, if there is some incident, WSIB is there to help.

As a registered business in Ontario, you are required to pay for a full day on the day of the incident. Further, you are required to report the Employer’s report of injury within three days of being notified of an incident. However, you need to report if your employee,

  1. It needs to have something more than first aid.
  2. Is not currently at work.
  3. Income is less than regular.
  4. Requires a change in the work for more than seven days.

Further, if there is some serious incident at the workplace, call 1-800-387-0750.

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