Compensation Rate – Apprentices and On the Job Training
PRO 25/2014

Effective date: January 1, 2015

Application: All workers injured while participating in an Apprenticeship or On-the-Job Training program.

Policy subject: Benefits for Workers - Initial benefits

Purpose:

To establish guidelines for compensating workers who are injured while undergoing training or instruction.

BACKGROUND

  1. The Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) has approved POL 25/2014, Compensation Rate – Apprentices and On-The-Job Training.
  2. The following procedure provides guidelines on calculating and adjusting the earnings base for a worker who was injured while participating in an apprenticeship or on-the-job training program.

PROCEDURE

  1. A signed contract of agreement from the employer or the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC) will be acquired by Operations staff to determine:
    1. The length of the worker’s program.
    2. The effective dates for wage increases.
    3. The anticipated end date, and
    4. The probable earnings the worker would have earned had the worker continued with, and successfully completed, the program.
  2. In order to qualify for compensation, the effects of the injury must permanently prevent the worker from completing the apprenticeship or on-the-job training program. Workers who are able to resume their pre-injury apprenticeship or on-the-job training program will not qualify.
  3. The worker’s earnings at the time of the injury will be used to establish the initial compensation benefits. The worker’s pre-injury earnings pattern may also be used to help predict the effective dates for wage increases and the anticipated end date for the apprenticeship or on-the-job training program.
  4. Workers are to be advised in writing of their eligibility under Section 50 of The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013 (the “Act”) and provided with an outline of their probable earnings and the dates in which their earnings will be adjusted.
  5. Once eligibility is confirmed, the increases under Section 50 will reflect the increases and intervals found in the apprenticeship or on-the-job training agreement. On the anniversary of the commencement of loss of earnings, Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustments will be applied to the increases under Section 50. A prorated CPI adjustment will apply if the adjusted amount has been in effect less than 12 months at the time of the CPI review.
  6. Throughout the apprenticeship or on-the-job training program, Operations staff will perform a required comparison between the Section 50 increases (including any applicable CPI adjustments) and the original CPI-adjusted earnings. The worker’s benefits will be based on the greater of these two amounts.
  7. On the first anniversary of the commencement of loss of earnings following the final Section 50 increase, a prorated adjustment based on the number of months between the final increase and the CPI review date will be required. Subsequent CPI adjustments will be based on the full CPI amount.
  8. In addition to the comparison outlined in point 6, Operations staff will perform a comparison between the original CPI-adjusted earnings and the prorated adjustment stated in point 7. The greater of these two amounts will be the basis for the worker’s benefits.

Policy references

Legislative Authority

The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013

50, 69
 

Document History

PRO 21/2001 Compensation Rate – Apprentices and On-the-Job Training

Complements

POL 25/2014    Compensation Rate – Apprentices and On-the-Job Training
POL 07/2013    Consumer Price Index (CPI) – Annual Indexing
PRO 15/2020    Consumer Price Index (CPI) – Annual Increase

Two people signing documents
Two people signing documents

Looking for the full policy manual?

Click here to download the WCB’s current Policy and Procedure Manual.

Download full manual