If your business or workers cross provincial or national boundaries, you may need coverage from WorkSafeBC or the workers' compensation board in the jurisdiction where your workers will be.

Out-of-province businesses coming to B.C. to work

If you are a business from outside of B.C. who is coming into our province to work, you may be required to register depending on the nature of the work and the length of time you intend to work in B.C.

You may need WorkSafeBC coverage if one of the following situations apply:

• You hire B.C. workers to work in B.C., or
• You do not have workers' compensation coverage in your home jurisdiction, or
• You have workers’ compensation coverage in your home jurisdiction and you either:
  • Intend to work a total of 15 or more days a year in B.C. using only out-of-province workers, or
  • Intend to work a total of 10 or more days in B.C. during three or more visits in the year

You can apply for coverage online. Please complete the registration application with information relating to your B.C. operations only.

If your business is neither in B.C. nor has workers in B.C., contact the workers’ compensation board in your jurisdiction.

There are special requirements for out-of-province businesses in trucking and transport.

Contact our Employer Service Centre to learn more.

B.C. businesses sending workers out of province

If you are a B.C. business that is sending workers outside of the province to work, you are responsible for ensuring you contact the jurisdiction where you intend to operate to make sure you are compliant.

If a B.C. worker is injured while working in another province or country, WorkSafeBC may cover the worker's medical and wage loss costs if:

• The worker's employer is located in B.C.,
• The worker's residence and usual place of employment are in B.C.,
• The employment is such that the worker is required to work both in and out of the province, and
• The worker is still working for the same B.C. employer and will return to B.C. in less than six months

Hiring out-of-province workers to work in B.C.

If your business is located in B.C. and you hire people from another province or country to work in B.C., you need WorkSafeBC coverage. If you don't have coverage and a worker is injured on the job, you may be required to pay both the costs of the worker's claim and any retroactive premiums.

Workers based out of province

If your business is located in B.C. and you have workers who work and reside outside of B.C., including those working from home outside of the province, those workers are not covered by WorkSafeBC coverage. This includes workers who may have previously been working in B.C. but now work and reside in another province due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You will need to contact the workers’ compensation board where those workers reside and work to determine whether you need to register for coverage in those jurisdictions.