If your business employs contract labour, you are responsible to make sure your contractors have workers compensation coverage, if needed.
Your contractors may have their own WCB coverage. If so, you must make sure they are in good standing with the WCB. Our online Clearances system allows you to look up contractors and request official confirmation of their WCB status. You can access Clearances on our website to look up a contractor.
If your contractors do not have their own WCB coverage, the WCB will determine if you are required to provide workers compensation coverage for them. A contractor for whom you must provide coverage is called your “deemed worker.”
In industries where contract labour is common, such as construction, trucking, logging, janitorial services, oil and gas wells and towing, you should expect that most of your contract labour will be deemed workers. If your contractors do not have personal coverage, you must provide WCB coverage for them and include their labour costs in your annual payroll reporting. We understand that contracts often include labour costs as well as materials and/or equipment in a fixed price. See our Assessment Schedule for Contract Labour FAQ for standard percentages to calculate the cost of labour in these types of contracts.