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Proposed Amendments to the Policies on Contractor Liability and Statutory Liens
The Workers Compensation Act (“Act”) provides that when a contractor employs a subcontractor, the contractor could be liable to WorkSafeBC (“WCB”) for insurance premiums owing in connection with the work or service being performed on the contractor’s behalf. The Act also provides that a buyer purchasing business assets of a seller could also be liable for insurance premiums in connection with the seller’s business.
To protect contractors and buyers from potential liability, the WCB has developed a clearance system which enables anyone to request a clearance letter from the Assessment Department prior to hiring subcontractors or purchasing assets. The clearance letter sets out whether a subcontractor is complying with the registration and payment requirements of the Act.
At issue is whether changes are required to the Contractor Liability and Statutory Lien policies to clarify the clearance system, specifically the function of clearance letters and the importance of the clearance date.
At their meeting on December 12, 2006, the Board of Directors approved the release of a discussion paper with options and draft policy amendments for stakeholder consultation. Proposed deletions of policy wording are identified with a strikethrough and additions are identified in bold.
Discussion paper (PDF 69kb)
There are a number of ways for stakeholders to provide feedback on the options and draft policy amendments:
(a) Comment link:
Through the Comment link below, you will be able to provide immediate feedback by completing an online submission form.
Please note: Once you click the “submit” button at the bottom of the form you cannot access it again to make additional comments. Therefore, if you wish to make detailed comments in the feedback section, you may want to draft your comments using a word processing format and then cut and paste them into the submission form.
Alternatively, submissions can also be submitted as follows:
| (b) | E-mail: | policy@worksafebc.com |
| (c) | Mail: | Policy and Research Division |
| (d) | Fax: | 604-279-7599; or toll-free in B.C. 1-877-279-7599 |
The consultation period will end on February 14, 2007. The Board of Directors will consider stakeholder feedback before making a decision on policy amendments.
Please note that all comments become part of the Policy and Research Division 's database and may be published, including the identity of organizations and those participating on behalf of organizations. The identity of those who have participated on their own behalf will be kept confidential according to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.