WorkSafeBC’s ER Plan was introduced in 2000. Under the ER Plan, employers whose claim costs are lower than their peers receive a discount on their premiums, and employers whose claim costs are higher pay a surcharge. The goal of the ER Plan is to encourage employers with high injury costs to reduce them, and to encourage employers with low injury costs to keep them low.

At issue is whether to stop using the projected total cost of permanent disability awards when calculating an employer’s ER. Instead, WorkSafeBC would include the amounts of these awards as they are paid out to workers over time.

At their meeting on May 25, 2017, the Board of Directors approved the release of a discussion paper with options and proposed policy amendments to stakeholders for comment. Proposed deletions of policy wording are identified with a strikethrough and additions are identified in bold.

Discussion paper

There are a number of ways for stakeholders to provide feedback on the options and draft policy amendments.

Submissions can be submitted as follows:

The consultation period will end on Friday, September 15, 2017. The Board of Directors will consider stakeholder feedback before making a decision on policy amendments.

**NOTE** July 31, 2017: The discussion section of the paper was changed to clarify the proposed policy’s anticipated impact on employers’ overall premiums.

Please note that all comments become part of the Policy and Regulation 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.