Incentive designed to help employers improve OHS standards
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has announced that Ontario businesses with fewer than 99 employees will be eligible for a pandemic bonus package.
In a statement, the WSIB said that this bonus will double the rebates eligible businesses can earn for each topic they complete in the WSIB’s Health and Safety Excellence program.
“We know Ontario businesses work to have the safest workplaces anywhere, but many smaller businesses are still recovering from the pandemic,” said Jeffery Lang, President and CEO of the WSIB, in the press release. “We are stepping up with added incentives to help get more businesses investing in health and safety right now.”
Read more: WSIB Ontario recognizing safety leadership efforts of small businesses
The WSIB will double the rebate for topics completed in 2022, pay an additional $1,000 toward the development of action plans in 2022, and retroactively double the rebate for topics completed since March 2020 for eligible businesses who enroll in new topics this year.
The WSIB’s Health and Safety Excellence program connects Ontario businesses with approved providers in their industry or community. These partners help design a plan based on 36 available health and safety topics. For each topic completed and validated, businesses can earn a rebate on their WSIB premiums. Since 2020, over $21 million in rebates have been issued to Ontario businesses.
When the program launched in November 2019, there was a cap on rebates with small businesses able to earn up to 75 per cent of their premium back. That cap is now being removed.
“We are firmly planting our stake in the ground to say we’re serious about helping small business to develop and implement strong health and safety programs in Ontario,” said Rod Cook, Vice President of Workplace Health and Safety Services at the WSIB, in the statement.
