December 17, 2008 - Nova Scotia employers pay among the highest rates for workplace injury insurance in Canada. This is a direct result of the high number of workplace injuries and the length of time injured employees are off work.

The Surcharge Program recognizes that the cost of workplace injury insurance in Nova Scotia is driven, in large part, by the claims cost experience of a relatively small number of workplaces. By applying a surcharge to the rate of these firms, the WCB is encouraging these employers to make necessary improvements in their safety performance.

A surcharge is applied to a firm that consistently has an experience ratio (claims cost to payroll) that is at least 200% greater than their rate group. Less than 1% of the 18,000 employers covered by the WCB are issued surcharges.

In 2009, 71 employers will be surcharged – down from 77 in 2008.

Encouragingly, more than half of employers who were surcharged in 2008 have improved their safety and return-to-work experience sufficiently to avoid a surcharge in 2009. Of the 71 that will be surcharged in 2009, 38 are being surcharged for a second consecutive year and 33 are being surcharged for the first time.

The names of the firms surcharged in 2008 and 2009 are below. We have not provided information for small firms on the surcharge list with five or fewer claims. It may be possible to personally identify an injured worker employed with one of these firms with this information. This is particularly true for small firms operating in rural areas. The WCB is required to keep personal information about workers confidential. There were nine firms on the 2008 surcharge list with five or fewer claims and four firms in 2009.

Firms surcharged in 2008

Firms surcharged in 2009

Learn more: How Rates and Surcharges Are Determined.