Coverage for apprentices, contract and out-of-province workers

Under The Workers Compensation Act, the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) has the responsibility to provide compensation coverage for workers in most industries in Manitoba.

As an employer, it’s crucial to understand the various exceptions and clarifications regarding workers’ compensation coverage. 

WCB coverage for contract workers

If your business employs contract labour, you are responsible for ensuring your contractors have workers compensation coverage.

Your contractors may have their own WCB coverage. If so, you must ensure they are in good standing with the WCB using our online Clearances system.

If your contractors do not have their own WCB coverage, the WCB will decide 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, materials and equipment at a fixed price. View the Assessment Schedule for Contract Labour for standard percentages and to calculate the cost of labour in these types of contracts.

Independent business test

In industries that do not commonly use contract labour, only contractors that do not qualify as an independent business will be deemed your workers. The Assessment Services Department will apply our independent business test to your contractors to decide their status. If your contractor is an independent business and operates in an industry with mandatory WCB coverage, you should ensure they are in good standing with the WCB.

A contractor may be considered an independent business if they:

employ other workers and meet a minimum payroll threshold
work primarily within their own business establishment
have multiple customers
own or lease a major piece of equipment
control their work and payment schedule.

Any contractor that meets the independent business test may apply for coverage.

WCB coverage for apprentices

If your business is in a mandatory industry and you have an apprenticeship agreement, your apprentices are included in your workers compensation coverage. Apprentices are included in your coverage whether they participate in on-the-job or in-school technical training. In either case, you are considered the employer of record and all costs associated with a claim are applied to your firm’s experience.

Reporting apprentice injuries

As soon as you are informed of the injury, report it to the WCB. When you report the injury, you must tell us that your worker was working or training as an apprentice at the time of the injury. This is so we know to adjust their benefits according to increases they would have received as they work toward their journeyperson qualification.

We may adjust their wage loss benefits if the wages earned at the time of injury do not fairly represent their loss of earning capacity going forward. We may also periodically increase their benefits based on what their earnings would have been if they had continued their apprenticeship training. If we do adjust a worker’s earnings in this way, as an employer you are eligible for cost relief of the difference between the worker’s earnings at the time of injury and the adjusted earnings.

If you have questions about cost relief or would like to apply for cost relief, contact Compensation Services.

Phone: 204-954-4321
Toll-free: 1-855-954-4321

WCB coverage for out-of-province workers

If hiring out-of-province workers to complete a job in Manitoba, you need to ensure they have WCB coverage. You are responsible for ensuring coverage is in place for all your workers and contractors. Coverage becomes your responsibility if your contractors are not registered with the WCB.

If your business has contracted out-of-province work, you will need to contact the workers’ compensation agency where you are working to determine whether you need to provide coverage for your workers.

Contact information

For more information about optional WCB coverage, contact our Assessment Services Department.