When a worker is injured on the job, two separate reporting duties can be triggered, and many contractors only know about one of them. The first is the safety-regulator notification: a serious injury or fatality must be reported to the OHS regulator or ministry, covered in Incident Reporting and Penalties. The second, the focus of this guide, is the duty to report the injury to your provincial Workers' Compensation Board so the worker's claim can be started and benefits can flow. They are different bodies, different forms and different deadlines, and missing the compensation report can delay your worker's benefits and expose you to a penalty.
Two reports, two purposes
Keep these straight, because they answer to different statutes:
- The OHS regulator notification is about safety enforcement. A fatality or critical injury must be reported to the ministry or board (the MLITSD in Ontario, WorkSafeBC in BC, and so on) so they can investigate how it happened and whether the law was broken. This is the duty in Incident Reporting and Penalties.
- The Workers' Compensation report is about getting the injured worker paid. Almost every Workers' Compensation Board in Canada (WSIB in Ontario, WorkSafeBC, WCB Alberta, CNESST in Quebec, and the rest) requires the employer to file a report of a work-related injury within a short deadline. This starts the worker's claim for wage-loss benefits and medical coverage.
A single injury can trigger both. A worker who falls and breaks an arm may be a critical injury to report to the OHS regulator immediately and a claim to report to the compensation board within days.
The employer's compensation report
Every board has its own form and its own clock. The pattern is the same even though the detail differs:
- British Columbia: the employer files the Employer's Report of Injury (Form 7) with WorkSafeBC within 3 days of an injury that requires medical attention or causes lost time, and conducts a preliminary investigation within 48 hours for a serious incident.
- Other provinces: the deadline to file the employer's injury report with the board is typically a few days from when you learn of a reportable injury. Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and the rest each set their own form and timeline. Confirm your board's exact deadline rather than assuming BC's 3 days applies everywhere.
A reportable injury to the compensation board is generally one that requires medical attention beyond first aid, causes the worker to lose time or earnings, or prevents them from doing their usual work. A minor cut that is handled with a plaster on site and no time lost usually does not need a board report, but record it anyway in your first-aid log.
What the worker does, and what you must not do
The worker also has a part: they should report the injury to you promptly, seek medical attention, and tell the treating clinician it is work-related so the medical report reaches the board. Your duties run alongside:
- Get them medical help first. Care comes before paperwork, always.
- Do not pressure a worker out of claiming. Discouraging, delaying or penalising a worker for reporting an injury or filing a compensation claim is a form of reprisal and is unlawful, the same principle that protects the right to refuse unsafe work (see The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work).
- Cooperate with return-to-work. Most boards expect the employer to support a safe, gradual return to suitable work, which also helps keep your experience rating and premiums down.
Keep the scene and the records
For any serious or fatal incident, do not disturb the scene beyond what is needed to help the injured person or prevent further harm, because the OHS regulator will want it preserved. Keep your incident-investigation records: most provinces expect them to be held for a minimum of 3 years, and federally regulated workplaces longer. Good records do double duty: they support the compensation claim and they are part of your due-diligence position if the safety regulator investigates (see Your OHS Duties as a Contractor).
A simple sequence to follow
When a worker is hurt:
- Make it safe and get medical help. First aid, then call for further care if needed.
- For a fatality or critical injury, notify the OHS regulator immediately. This is the safety duty and it is time-critical (see Incident Reporting and Penalties).
- File the employer's report with the Workers' Compensation Board within the deadline (3 days in BC; confirm your province's).
- Investigate, document and keep the records for at least 3 years.
- Support the worker's claim and return to work. Do not obstruct the claim.
Common mistakes
- Filing one report and thinking you are done. The safety notification and the compensation report are separate duties to separate bodies.
- Missing the board's deadline. A late employer's injury report can delay the worker's benefits and bring a penalty.
- Discouraging a claim. Pressuring a worker not to report or claim is reprisal and is unlawful.
- Not keeping records. The board and the regulator may both ask; keep incident records at least 3 years.
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