WCB legislation change effective Jan. 1, 2025 adjusts the way directors of corporations report worker wages
The definition of a worker has changed under The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013. Directors receiving wages reported on a T4 are no longer be included in the definition of a worker. As a result, directors of a corporation are no longer be considered workers and no longer have automatic WCB coverage.
Find out how this change affects the way you report worker wages on your EPS.
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Reporting assessable earnings for injury claims
If you have an active WCB claim, the WCB needs to gather wage information for your worker in order to provide earnings loss benefits. The WCB uses a worker’s wage base to calculate all earnings loss payments.
When the WCB requests wage information from you, it is important for you to include all T4 assessable earnings.
When do you need to report assessable earnings to the WCB?
You need to report all assessable earnings to the WCB if:
- You have a time-loss injury. In this case, the WCB needs to establish a wage base for the time loss claim and will request the gross earnings for 52 weeks prior to the first earnings loss date.
- You have a return-to-work plan that gradually returns a worker back to work. In this case, you will need to report two weeks at a time for what they worked for the duration of the return-to-work plan.
What are assessable earnings?
Assessable earnings are gross earnings before income tax, employment insurance, pension and other deductions. Box 14 of a worker’s T4 slip usually captures the correct assessable amounts.
Assessable earnings include, but are not limited to:
- salaries and hourly wages
- overtime pay
- commissions
- bonuses
- vacation pay
- paid leave (such as a sabbatical, maternity and paternity)
- taxable benefits (such as housing, board and room, lodging, personal or living allowances, car allowance, loans, employer-paid premiums on group life insurance, medical services and disability plans, stock options and travel allowances)
- profit-sharing plan (distribution of profits reporting on T4 or T4A)
The WCB's policy Assessable Earnings (POL 24/2010) provides more information on what amounts are considered assessable and which are not.
If any type of assessable earnings is reported on a T4, it should also be reported to the WCB.
Reporting directors
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, the definition of a worker has changed under The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013 (the Act) and no longer includes directors receiving wages reported on a T4. As a result, directors of a corporation are no longer be considered workers and no longer have automatic WCB coverage.
You may be able to purchase optional personal coverage with the WCB. This means you may be eligible for benefits if you are injured at work. Learn more at wcbsask.com/optional-personal-coverage.
Because of this legislative change, the way you report worker wages on your Employer's Payroll Statement (EPS) has changed. Any earnings for directors of a corporation should not be included as worker wages on your 2025 estimates of your EPS.
If you are unsure what assessable earnings to report, please contact the WCB for advice.
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