Employer Registration Policy 23-100 | Effective Date: August 9, 2021

WorkSafeNB requires employer registration for the time periods during which the employer is required to have mandatory coverage.

WorkSafeNB provides options for voluntary or personal coverage for those employers and individuals who are not required to register for mandatory coverage.

WorkSafeNB has established specific criteria for registering with WorkSafeNB in the following employment situations:

• Working outside of New Brunswick;
• Interjurisdictional Trucking and transport industry;
• Certain types of volunteers; and
• Learners

Workers of the employer may be full-time, part-time, casual, or non-registered contractors, subcontractors or brokers.

INTERPRETATION

Mandatory Coverage

1. When determining the number of workers of the employer, “usually employed” is considered a predictable pattern of employment, including seasonal or repeated hiring trends. The length of time the person is employed is not a consideration for exclusion under the Workers’ Compensation Act (WC Act).

2. The fishing industry includes employers whose primary business activities are vessel preparation and catching and landing fish. The fishing industry does not include employers whose primary business activities are in the areas such as non-commercial fishing, selling and marketing, delivery and transportation, fish processing or aquaculture.

3. Employers who are required to have mandatory coverage must register with WorkSafeNB within 15 days of workers beginning their employment. Similarly, employers must notify WorkSafeNB within 15 days of ceasing or suspending the business.

4. Employers who do not register within the   established timeframe will be assessed by WorkSafeNB and retroactive assessments will apply for the time period when registration was required. If a compensable workplace accident occurs before registration is complete, WorkSafeNB will charge the total cost or capitalized value of the claim to the employer in addition to the retroactive assessments. Charges must be administered in accordance with the Limitation of Actions Act.

   WorkSafeNB, if satisfied that such default was excusable, may relieve the employer of Charges, in whole or in part, when they do not register within the established timeframe.

5. WorkSafeNB may cover workers who temporarily work outside of the province and whose usual place of employment is within New Brunswick. In those situations, employers must also determine if registration for coverage in the destination province is required. If coverage is not required in that jurisdiction, WorkSafeNB may extend coverage outside the province.

6. Employers in the interjurisdictional trucking and transport industry will be assessed based on the insurable earnings of their workers, prorated by the kilometers driven in each jurisdiction. The premiums are paid directly to the jurisdictions within which the trucking company travels. Alternatively, employers may apply for the Alternative Assessment Procedure under the Interjurisdictional Agreement. It permits an employer who operates in more than one jurisdiction to pay full assessments in the jurisdiction in which the workers live, and register in the other jurisdictions where the workers travel.

7. Workers’ compensation coverage is provided to certain volunteers who are considered to be workers. For more information see Policy 21-010 Who is a Worker? and Policy 23-200 Assessable Earnings.

8. Some learners may meet the definition of a worker as defined in Policy 21-010 Who is a Worker?.

9. When a registered employer wishes to cancel their registration because they are no longer required to have mandatory coverage under the WC Act, they must notify WorkSafeNB in writing. Upon receipt of final payroll information for the period of mandatory coverage, WorkSafeNB will make an appropriate adjustment to the employer’s account by way of billing the employer for the balance owing, or providing a credit to the employer’s account. 

Optional Coverage

10. Employers and individuals who are not required to register for mandatory coverage have the option of voluntary coverage and personal coverage. Coverage under these circumstances is effective when WorkSafeNB receives full payment and approves the application.

11. An employer or self-employed individual who elects to register for voluntary or personal coverage may request cancellation of that coverage after a minimum coverage period of three months or on December 31 of the current year, whichever occurs first.

12. Personal coverage may also be cancelled when:

• The individual with personal coverage requests cancellation within 30 days of the notice of assessment and no claim expenses have been incurred;
• The individual with personal coverage becomes a worker under the WC Act; or
• The individual with personal coverage dies (coverage is ended on the date of death).

13. If an employer or individual has cancelled their voluntary or personal coverage and wishes to register with WorkSafeNB again in the same calendar year, the request will be reviewed by WorkSafeNB for a determination on whether a subsequent cancellation request will be allowed.