In the fall, the WCB provides you with an annual rate notification that explains what your rate will be in the upcoming year. Your annual rate notification will also have information about your industry classification and the rate range for your business size.

Your annual rate notification is not an invoice or an account statement and you do not need to make any payment at this time – it is simply information we provide to help you plan for the year ahead.

Learn more about how to read your annual rate notification

Many employers are curious about how their rate compares to the rates of similar businesses. The annual rate notification tells you exactly how your business compares to other similar employers.

In order to determine how businesses are ranked, we look at employers who are classified similarly and have a similar payroll size.

Your rate is generally affected by two things:

  • the overall performance of your industry
  • total claims costs your business experienced

If your rate has gone up, it means that either your claims costs are higher than the average, or your industry classification’s performance has declined. When we set rates, we use the claims costs from the last three calendar years of claims.

2024 Rate Calculation Graphic

The rate system allows for movement among risk categories at the industry classification level. Employers received notifications regarding possible movement of their risk categories on their previous year's rate notifications.

Employers who received a change to their risk category may see an increase or decrease to their rate, depending on the trend of their industry classification's claims cost experience which was used to establish the appropriate risk category for the coming year.
 

Learn more about claims costs and how they affect rate setting.

The best way to reduce your WCB rate is to:

  • improve safety and health at your workplace
  • strengthen your Return to Work efforts 

These two factors not only contribute to your individual claims costs, but also the overall performance of your industry classification.

Learn more about how you can improve your WCB costs

Industry-Based Safety Programs

Industry-Based Safety Programs (IBSPs) will work closely with your business to guide and support you in developing your safety and health efforts. 

Your rate notification will tell you which IBSP your business is aligned to. If you are not aligned with an IBSP, you can access training and services from SAFE Work Manitoba.

Current IBSPs include:

Construction

Manufacturing

Transportation

Sales and Service

Healthcare

Agriculture

Go to the SAFE Work Manitoba website.

Role

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Resources for Small Businesses

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