If you are hiring an employer in British Columbia, whether for your home or in your business, you should be getting a clearance letter. If you don’t, or you make a mistake in getting the clearance letter, you may end up paying.
A WorkSafe BC clearance letter is a document you obtain from the Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia (or “WCB” which does business under the name WorkSafeBC). These letters are sometimes called a WCB clearance letter or a WorkSafeBC clearance letter. The clearance letter confirms whether a contractor you are planning on hiring is registered with WorkSafeBC and has paid assessments.
Because it could cost you if it turns out the firm you hire has not paid assessments. Under the Workers Compensation Act, WorkSafeBC can require any firm that hires a firm that has not paid required assessments to pay those assessments instead. Depending on the industry the firm you hire works in, this can be a substantial amount of money.
Having a clearance letter for each firm you hire serves two purposes:
To achieve the second purpose – ensuring you cannot be liable for unpaid assessments – the clearance letter must be addressed to the person or company that intends to rely on it. Accordingly, you should be getting the clearance letter yourself, directly from WorkSafeBC. Sometimes, a firm will provide a generic clearance letter to its clients. To do this, the firm will simply request a clearance letter from WorkSafeBC, but it will be addressed to the firm, rather than the client. The firm will then provide copies of this letter to its clients. If you receive such a clearance letter, do not rely on it. Get a clearance letter that is addressed specifically to you or your business.
WorkSafeBC allows you to obtain a clearance letter online. You need to know the name of firm, which you can use to search for the firm’s WorkSafeBC account number. You can also specify who you want the clearance letter addressed to.
Anyone hiring someone in British Columbia to do work for them should consider getting a clearance letter on that firm. Hiring a roofing company to redo your home’s roof? Get a clearance letter. Hiring a subtrade to complete part of your general contract? Get a clearance letter. Hiring painters for your office? Get a clearance letter. Simply put, if you are hiring an employer in British Columbia, that employer almost certainly has an obligation to pay WorkSafeBC. If they are not meeting that obligation, you may end up having to pay for them. A clearance letter saves you that risk.
A clearance letter serves as proof for your clients that your account with WorkSafeBC is paid up. Some employers are surprised to learn that this does not just mean that you have to pay WorkSafeBC your assessments to access a clearance letter. For example, if you received an administrative penalty for a health and safety violation and have not paid it, that will result in a delinquent status on your clearance letters.
Find out more about appealing a WorkSafeBC penalty.
If WorkSafeBC has required you to pay any amount, whether as a penalty or other amount, you must pay that amount before your clients can obtain a full clearance letter. This is the case even if you are appealing the amount that is owing. While it is possible to obtain a “stay” from Review Division, which means you do not have to pay the amount until the appeal is decided, that will not result in your account being moved out of delinquent status. In short, your clients will not be able to obtain full clearance letters.
Similarly, you may be able to enter a payment plan with WorkSafeBC for the outstanding amount, but even if so your clients will not be able to have access to the full clearance letter process until the amount is paid in full.
The only way to ensure access to a full clearance letter is to pay WorkSafeBC the outstanding amount. If successful in your appeal, WorkSafeBC will then pay that amount back.
