BCL Consulting Blog

On June 12th, 2015, the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) of Saskatchewan announced that they would be refunding $114 million to employers, this follows a May 11, 2015 press release by the Alberta WCB stating that they would be refunding over $500 million due to a declared surplus in their funding. Essentially, they are issuing a rebate on premiums previously paid, which begs the question - why? Have they been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar, lining their pockets at the expense of hard working businesses? Are they so poorly mismanaged that they were unaware how much money they had? If they are handing money back, why not just lower premiums? Are injured workers suffering because money that could provide benefits is being returned to their employer? There is no short answer and in order to understand the rationale, you first need to understand the WCB, why it exists and how it is funded.

Ok, so you’ve made sure that your business is classified in the correct industry, at the correct rate and you’ve made sure that an new and current claims are under control and being managed in a timely manner, is there anything else you can do to ensure that your WCB costs are as low as they can be? Perhaps there is, a review of a claim from a historical perspective can identify areas of cost relief or cost removal on older claims and even claims that have been closed. Any reduction in WCB claims costs can have a positive impact on WCB premiums, which in turn can result in lower premiums and even premium refunds for prior years.

Although your WCB Industry Classification is the foundation on which WCB premiums are established, the most effective way of keeping WCB costs down is to prevent workplace accidents and injuries. To be accident/claim free ensures that you will pay the lowest possible premiums based on your classification, however this is not always an achievable or realistic goal regardless of how many precautions you take. Accidents happen, that’s why they are called accidents but even a reduction in the number of claims, the length of a claim and/or the severity of an injury can have a positive impact on WCB premiums. That is why it is critical to be proactive with an injury or accident and manage a claim closely from the onset.

Falling and fluctuating oil prices have a far reaching effect not only within the oil industry but for Alberta businesses as a whole. It is not just profitability that takes a hit but the a changing work environment can lead to a greater risk of accident or injury, an increase in WCB claims and ultimately higher WCB premiums.

North America Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week is a time set aside for all employers and employees to review, renew and revamp the health and safety practices of their workplace and work environment, as well as reflect and remember those workers who have been hurt or killed on the job. Although NAOSH week this year was May 3^rd – 8^th, the importance of injury prevention and safety in the workplace should be a year-round process.

Preventing or reducing workplace accidents and injuries can result in fewer WCB claims, lower WCB claims costs and ultimately impact WCB premiums. Three key components of accident and injury prevention are education, experience and attention