REGINA, SK – The Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) has approved the 2018 average employer premium rate of $1.19, a decrease of four per cent from the 2017 rate of $1.24. This is the lowest rate in more than 30 years and it is the third lowest in Canada. The 2018 average rate is 42 per cent below the 15-year high of $2.05 in 2004.
“Thanks to the safety focus of employers and workers, the number of workplace injuries we’re seeing in Saskatchewan continues to drop,” said WCB Chairperson Gord Dobrowolsky. “This contributes to our overall drop in premium rates.”
For 2018, 94.1 per cent of Saskatchewan employers covered by the WCB will see a decrease or no change to their industry premium rate. These decreases range from 0.8 per cent to 32.8 per cent. The premium rates for 5.9 per cent of employers will increase in 2018, with increases ranging from 0.9 per cent to 2.0 per cent.
The 2018 industry premium rates reflect the WCB’s implementation of the enhanced rate model approved by the WCB in 2017 considering the independent actuarial rate model review in 2016. To mitigate the impact of the move to the enhanced rate model in 2018, the 14 industry rate codes whose premium rates are increasing with the transition to the enhanced model will have the increases covered by the Injury Fund. In 2019, all industry premium rates will be determined using the enhanced model. More information is available at www.wcbsask.com.
Employers can influence the premium rate they pay through effective injury prevention and return-to-work programs. For more information, visit www.worksafesask.ca.
“Last year, 88 per cent of employers achieved Mission: Zero. We want that percentage to increase to 100 per cent. Even one person getting hurt at work is too many,” said WCB CEO Peter Federko. “Our goal is to make every workplace in Saskatchewan a safe place to work and we’re only going to achieve that if we work together.”
View the 2018 premium rates and rate classification of industries.