WorkplaceNL lowers workers compensation costs for employers

Employers in Newfoundland and Labrador will pay a little less for workers’ compensation coverage in 2018 after Workplacenl decreased its average assessment rate last week by 7.8 per cent. Effective Jan. 1, the rate will be lowered from $2.06 to $1.90 per $100 of payroll. The rates determine the premiums paid by the employer to cover expected costs of workplace injuries, return-to-work and prevention programs, and administering the system.

In addition, the maximum compensable and assessable earnings (MCAE) will increase to $64,375, an increase of nearly $1,000.

Workplacenl says while the average rates in all 18 sectors will fall, the largest decreases are in agriculture (11 per cent), manufacturing (10 per cent), and transportation and storage (10 per cent).

In a news release from Workplacenl, CEO Dennis Hogan stated the lower assessment rates are due the injury fund sitting comfortable at 126.1 per cent and lower claims costs stemming from an all-time low lost-time injury rate of 1.5 per 100 workers.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL), meanwhile, is “outraged” at Workplacenl’s decision and suggests injured workers are being victimized by the system.

“For five straight years now we have seen employers’ fees reduced substantially. Meanwhile, injured workers continue to suffer with reduced benefits despite the fact that they have been shouldering a greater portion of that deficit since then,” NLFL president Mary Shortall stated in a news release.