At the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Safety Association conference last week, the Workplace Health & Safety Compensation Commission (WHSCC) revealed that $5.5 million in PRIME refunds were left on the table at the WHSCC by employers of Newfoundland and Labrador. They further stated that employers had earned the refunds, but didn’t collect them.
How can this be possible?
DMC works with approximately 150 employers in Newfoundland and Labrador and I can assure you, none of our clients left any money on the table at the WHSCC.
If you are one of those companies, you need to be pay closer attention to your assessment notices. You are already paying the WHSCC a lot of money as Newfoundland and Labrador’s average assessment rates are 21% higher than the average rate in Atlantic Canada.
To find out if your company left any refunds unclaimed, you need to review your assessment invoice as there is a little box about ¾ ways down the page that will advise you if you forfeited the refund and how much it is.
By simply calling the phone number listed on the assessment notice and asking “why”, you could be pleasantly surprised. Reasons for forfeiting may be as simple as not completing a form correctly or missing a question. There is too much at stake not to give it a second glance. If you are uncertain, call me.
Before the new PRIME system came into play, refunds were applied to the base rate automatically. Unfortunately, to qualify for experience refunds under the new PRIME system, employers have to complete the necessary paperwork.
Evidently, employers lack an understanding of how the PRIME system works. Surely, they would not willingly leave their hard earned money at the WHSCC.
If during a review of your assessment, you notice that your company has forfeited your PRIME refund, you need to call and ensure the refund was forfeited and request the reason why in writing as you do have the option to appeal. It is alarming to me that the WHSCC would render a decision regarding an employers’ entitlement to a refund and not inform the employer of their legislative right to appeal the decision.
How does one get away with this?
Dallas Mercer
Employer Advocate & Owner of DMC
