Workers' Compensation Board

Eligibility Criteria

Summary

The Workers' Compensation Act was the result of an historic agreement between labour and business. Employers agreed to fund the program. In exchange, workers, including their dependents, gave up their right to sue their employer for the impact of work related accidents.

The function of the WCB is to:

• assist the injured worker to return to work and provide financial and health care benefits,
• protect individual employers from paying the full cost of the worker's injury,
• safeguard employers from legal action by their workers as a result of a workplace accident.

In the event an accident results in a worker's death, the Act also provides financial benefits to the worker's spouse and dependents.

The WCB also provides financial incentive programs and benefits to employers interested in employing workers who have been injured on the job:

• See the document, Employment Incentives Program
• See the document, On-the-Job Training

The funds needed to cover WCB benefits and services are collected from registered employers in the form of assessment premiums. Under the Workers' Compensation Act, employers may be fined if they reduce their workers' wages to help cover the costs of their premiums.

Employers report their payroll and pay premiums based on actual costs during the year.

At the end of each remittance period, employers complete a Remittance Voucher and send it with their payment to the Canada Revenue Agency (formerly Revenue Canada), payable to the Receiver General for Canada. Employers make their remittances (payroll report and payment) twice or four times a month, monthly or quarterly. The frequency and due dates are confirmed by the WCB upon registration. Payment methods have increased to include electronic remittances, in addition to the usual mail or in-person remittances made to Canada Revenue Agency offices or to the employer's financial institution.

How are assessment rates calculated?

To calculate rates, all registered employers are first grouped by the type of business they operate. For example, sawmills are grouped together, as are nursing homes.

Those industry groups with similar claims-cost experience patterns over the last five years are then put into the same rate groups.<

Each rate group is assigned an assessment rate based on the cost experience for the rate group (in theory, if the rate group is responsible for 3% of all WCB claims, it will then be responsible for paying 3% of total assessments). The rate will be adjusted each year based on the group's new five-year accident-cost experience. A copy of the Assessment Rate Book is available the on WCB web site at:Worker's Compensation Board

Experience Rating

The WCB has an experience rating program which adjusts the industry-level rates according to the individual employer's experience. Experience Rating considers the individual employer's claims costs over three years.

Like most insurance profiles, experience rating lowers rates for employers with below-average claims-cost experience, and charges higher rates to employers with above-average claims cost.

New firms will not fully participate in experience rating until they have built up sufficient claims-cost experience. Information on experience rating is available in the WCB Employer's Guide, which can be found on the website or by contacting the WCB directly.

The WCB produces brochures and fact sheets on its programs and services, many of which are available on the Internet at:Worker's Compensation Board

You may also contact the WCB at the addresses attached, as well as view the Workers' Compensation Act at the following web site address:Workers' Compensation Act

The foregoing information originates with an organization not subject to the Official Languages Act and is available on this site in the language in which it was written.

Le texte précédent provient d'un organisme qui n'est pas assujetti à la Loi sur les langues officielles et il est mis à la disposition du public dans la langue d`origine.

Nova Scotia Contact(s):
Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
5668 South Street
P.O. Box 1150
Halifax, Nova Scotia  B3J 2Y2
Telephone: (902) 491-8999(general inquiries) (902) 491-8324 (employer services)
Toll-free (information): In Nova Scotia: 1-800-870-3331 (general inquiries) In Canada: 1-877-211-9267 (employer services)
E-mail: info@wcb.gov.ns.ca