I need some Canada peeps for information...

[miraclesrule]

Hello Ladies,

I was wondering if Litigator Chick or some other Canadians can help me with a not so easily answerable question. I am trying to get a better grasp of the workers compensation system in Canada.

My basic research thus far would indicate that it is similiar to the US except that there is an additional tax on the employer which I presume may augment medical costs.

If anyone has any experience in that area....I'd love to pick your brain.

 

[setell]

Date: 11/30/2009 4:00:53 PM
Author:miraclesrule
Hello Ladies,

I was wondering if Litigator Chick or some other Canadians can help me with a not so easily answerable question. I am trying to get a better grasp of the workers compensation system in Canada.

My basic research thus far would indicate that it is similiar to the US except that there is an additional tax on the employer which I presume may augment medical costs.

If anyone has any experience in that area....I'd love to pick your brain.

What do you mean workers compensation? We have workers compensation benefit AND Employment Insurance (if you get laid off). For EI both the employee and the employer pay a portion to the federal gov't. If you're talking about workers compensation it's not funded by employee contributions as it's 100% funded by employers.

 

[HopeDream]

Hi, As far as I know, worker's compensation varies by province and territory. In my area employers legaly must pay into it on behalf of each employee, and if you're self employed you should pay into it to protect yourself. I'm not sure if part of the money workers pay into EI goes towards it or not.

Here's a blurb from my province's website:

"Most employers are required by law to register their business/firm with WorkSafeBC and pay premiums. Registration of employers is legislated by the Workers Compensation Act. But obtaining coverage is more than just a legislated requirement. When you're covered by WorkSafeBC insurance, you're protected against lawsuits from injured workers. If a worker is injured or contracts an occupational disease while on the job during the course of employment, WorkSafeBC covers the worker's medical and wage-loss costs. Workers are automatically protected under the Act and cannot register for WorkSafeBC insurance coverage."

If you have an accident, injury or illness due to the job , you must adequately document, have a doctor check it out, and then file a claim and worker's comp will take care of medical expenses and lost wages.

My friend was biking home from work and was hit by a car, and because in my area it's the employer's responsibility to ensure a worker gets home safe, her rehabilitation and lost wages were covered.

I feel blessed that we have such good coverage (even though the paperwork can be a nightmare).

I think you may have to look it up for each area to fully understand how it works.

there's the best link I could find :worker's compensation in Canada

 

[October2008bride]

Are you looking for info from a particular province?

 

[miraclesrule]

Thank you HopeDream and setell....

I was more specifically wondering what some of the taxes are for that employers must pay in Canada to offset the medical expenses. Inasmuch as the country has medical care, I assume that you can still treat with the same providers. In every country where workers'' compensation exists, it is compulsory for the employer to carry and they cannot charge the employee for the premiums.

This is my area of expertise. I just have to figure out Canada for a new business venture and was hoping to reduce the amount of time I had to research and converse with people from the different provinces. I know it''s quite complicated and an administrative quagmire. I am very used to that...it''s my job. Yeah me....

I am surprised that the employer is responsible for the safety of the employee either to or from work. That is a law that is crazy liberal. I am sure it does account for a great deal of third party recovery litigation. Oh well, one more country to add to my weight belt....UGH....

 

[Scorpioanne]

From my experience it depends on the particular employer, not the particular province. Where I live (Saskatchewan) everyone has health coverage that our taxes pay for but there are extra things that a work benefits plan covers like prescription drugs, massage, chirpractic treatment and the like as well as vision care and dental care. Where I used to work I had to pay the same amount as my employer was charged per month (roughly $ 60) as it was a small employer. I now work at a univeristy and as you might imagine there are many employees, I don''t pay anything for my extended health benefits but have no idea how much the university pays for me.

Not all employers offer extended health benifits but some end up going with an insurance company like Blue Cross for those benefits.

Where I live the provincial income tax I pay contributes to the cost of health care and we also have a provincial sales tax that puts money into the health and education systems. We also pay federal taxes and the federal government gives money to the provinces to allocate towards the health care system. Other provinces like BC charge residents a fee for health care but here we don''t pay for our health cards.

I hope this helps.

 

[anchor31]

Date: 11/30/2009 8:41:14 PM
Author: Scorpioanne
From my experience it depends on the particular employer, not the particular province. Where I live (Saskatchewan) everyone has health coverage that our taxes pay for but there are extra things that a work benefits plan covers like prescription drugs, massage, chirpractic treatment and the like as well as vision care and dental care. Where I used to work I had to pay the same amount as my employer was charged per month (roughly $ 60) as it was a small employer. I now work at a univeristy and as you might imagine there are many employees, I don''t pay anything for my extended health benefits but have no idea how much the university pays for me.

Not all employers offer extended health benifits but some end up going with an insurance company like Blue Cross for those benefits.

Where I live the provincial income tax I pay contributes to the cost of health care and we also have a provincial sales tax that puts money into the health and education systems. We also pay federal taxes and the federal government gives money to the provinces to allocate towards the health care system. Other provinces like BC charge residents a fee for health care but here we don''t pay for our health cards.

I hope this helps.

As far as I know, it''s pretty much the same in Québec. For example, the provincial health care program (paid through provincial and federal taxes) covers for my basic health care (doctor''s appointments, non-elective surgery, hospital stays, non-elective medical tests, that sort of thing), and through my employer I have extended health benefits (prescription drugs, dentist, optometrist, physiotherapist, private room for hospital stay, etc.), which I pay a contribution out of my paycheck to get. The employer and all employees who receive these benefits pay this compensation. I''m not sure about the employer''s responsibility for the safety of the employee either to or from work.

Here''s a link to our Occupational Health and Safety Commission website: http://www.csst.qc.ca/portail/en/employeurs/employers.htm I apologize if some sections are not yet available in English, but maybe you''ll still be able to get some useful info in there.

I would understand if you wouldn''t want to pursue a business venture in Qc, though... The language laws are a PITA (not to mention unconstitutional

)...

 

[miraclesrule]

Thanks scorpio and anchor.

I already know how complicated jurisdictional laws are between states and provinces. It keeps me employed

Unfortunately, I need specific expert knowledge of business requirements and costs as an employer in Canada that pertain only to workers'' compensation and premium calculation. The industry itself overlaps with other benefits, but work accidents have a special place in the universe that most people are completely oblivious to, until they have a compensable work injury and discover the nightmare.

I will discover the information the old-fasioned way. A lot of reading and consulting. I just wish I had a bit more time to do that during our busiest time of year. Oh well, I often get paid to do the miraculous.

 

[setell]

Date: 11/30/2009 10:08:14 PM
Author: miraclesrule
Unfortunately, I need specific expert knowledge of business requirements and costs as an employer in Canada that pertain only to workers'' compensation and premium calculation. The industry itself overlaps with other benefits, but work accidents have a special place in the universe that most people are completely oblivious to, until they have a compensable work injury and discover the nightmare.

I will discover the information the old-fasioned way. A lot of reading and consulting. I just wish I had a bit more time to do that during our busiest time of year. Oh well, I often get paid to do the miraculous.

Sorry to be a pain but are you referring to regular workers compensation or employee benefits or EI? I work in the insurance industry so I can answer the employee benefits premium calculations and know a bit about EI. I don''t really pay much attention to workers compensation as most if not all work employee benefits program have a disability program built into it that will cover what you seem to be asking. A lot of professionals don''t really have to go through workers compensation for financial assistance when they cannot work. Since we''re in Canada health care is free as our taxes pay for it. If you can narrow down your questions I will try my best to answer them. Our system is very different than the US and it is probably a bit confusing (as confused as I am with the US system).

 

[miraclesrule]

Thank you setell.

Unfortunately, worker''s compensation is a distinct and separate compulsory coverage that is in no way connected to typical employer provided benefits. It is in a classification all it''s own. It is not well known unless it is the industry that one specializes in as I do.

I have been on the linked sites provided by the previous posters and it does confirm my suspicions that each province has it''s own requirements for registering and calculating premium which is then adjusted for actual payroll and claims experience. It is nothing like personal medical or disability beneftis resulting from a personal injury or health condiition that is not sustained while in the course and scope of employment.

It''s a highly complicated and legally administrative industry. Despite that fact, most countries are quite similiar in the manner in which the occupational classification is applied to one''s industry and that rate is calculated per $100 of payroll. Your experience modiification will cause the basic rate to adjust up or down depending on the claims experience.

For instance, if you are a construction company, your rates will be higher as the exposure to injury at work is increased due to the nature of the job duties. The rate will be lower if you are an office worker where exposure to significant injury is decreased. Worker''s compensation provides a slew of benefits, including but not limited to, medical care to cure or relieve the effects of the injury, wage replacement benefits if you are unable to return to work in a modified capacity based on the physical limitations during recover, permanent disaibility benefits if your inability to compete in the open labor market, otherwise known as diminished capacity, is rateable. None of these benefits are provided under traditional medical benefits for personal medical condiitions or a slip and fall at home. State disability benefits acting as wage replacement is indeed contributed by the employee as a deduction on their wages, but is used only in the event of a non-work related accident. For the latter, you qualify for worker''s compensaiton benefits. It''s a ridiculously complicated system, but I love the complicated stuff.

It''s difficult to explain if one is not familiar and/or specialzes in this area. It is my occupation, but I always have to familiarize myself when we enter into new countries. In fact, I just spent the last few months setting us up in Australia whose system is quite similiar to the states. I was hoping it was more of a system like Taiwan, Korea, or Japan...which is simple because it is a country run program that an employer simply pays for in the form of an added tax assessment. That is not the way it appears that it works in Canada. But hey, it just adds to my global knowledge once I figure this all out.....

Thanks for all the responses, I really appreciate the assistance.

 

[setell]

Actually disability insurance will pay out regardless if the injury/accident was incurred while on the job or during personal time. I guess in Canada things are a bit different here. Workers compensation claims are usually for employers that just don’t want to offer their employees a health benefit package that includes disability insurance (not a cheap product). Since our medicare is free it’s usually more the after care like physiotherapy, income replacement etc. workers compensation is useful for. Workers compensation in Canada is a fairly rotten deal but it’s truly just a bare bones type of thing.

Determining your premium for any disability insurance product in the Canadian market is similar to workers compensation. Your rate is determined by your claim rate, job classification (risk tolerance), age of employee pool etc. Worker’s compensation is just poor man’s disability insurance coverage.

I’ve never done a full analysis with the difference between the two products. I’ll have to do it when I got time this weekend as a pet project to see if my opinions of them hold true.

Btw…not sure if you want to disclose but what field of work are you in? I’m going to assume law as there will always be room for lawyers fighting for employees that get ripped off by workers compensation. I’ve read many articles recently how workers Comp have been sliding in their importance in the Canadian market as more and more employers offer disability coverage that there is no need for workers compensation. Even a construction firm (high risk level job class, most likely a class 1 here) can have a hefty benefits package with top of the line disability coverage built into it.

Anyhow happy info findings!