Health and Safety Excellence program: Frequently asked questions

You’re eligible to join the Health and Safety Excellence program if you:

• have an active WSIB account 
• have at least one full-time employee 
• have not applied for or been recognized through the Supporting Ontario's Safe Employers Program

You can start the enrolment process by choosing a WSIB-approved program provider or speaking with one of our program consultants about your unique business needs.

You can join the program at any time throughout the year, but some providers may offer services that run on an annual basis with a specific entry period.

Providers are health and safety professionals approved by the WSIB to deliver the Health and Safety Excellence program. In order to participate in the program and qualify for financial and/or non-financial incentives, you are required to select and register with a WSIB-approved provider.

Your provider will help you develop and implement a health and safety action plan based on different focus areas, known as program topics, such as controlling hazards and emergency preparation. Your provider will help you select topics that are a priority for your business.

Each provider offers services based on the industries and regions they serve and sets their fees based on the types of services they offer.

Choose a WSIB-approved provider today.

In order to qualify for rebates and recognition, the following criteria must be met:

• Schedule 1 businesses can receive rebates on their WSIB premiums
• Schedule 2 businesses cannot receive rebates because they do not pay WSIB premiums
• Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 businesses:
  • Are eligible to receive digital member and level badges that can be used on their website, in email signatures and in other marketing materials to show people their commitment to workplace health and safety
  • Must submit evidence to show they successfully implemented their health and safety action plan topics and have their evidence verified by a WSIB validator to receive rebates and/or digital level badges
  • Cannot have any allowed traumatic fatalities from the date their health and safety action plan is approved to the date the rebate and/or digital level badge is issued. If a business is waiting for a decision about a traumatic fatality claim, they’re not eligible for a rebate or digital member or level badges until the decision has been made
  • Must comply with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA)

The amount you receive in rebates from the program depends on how many health and safety topics you complete, the size of your business, your WSIB premiums from the previous year and your business’s predictability, which is a measure of how much we can rely on your past claims experience and insurable earnings to predict future outcomes.

Businesses can choose to complete up to five topics in their health and safety action plan and will typically receive a minimum rebate of $1,000 up to a maximum of $50,000 per completed topic. Please note though, that the most you'll receive in rebates, regardless of how many topics you complete, is equal to the amount of your WSIB premiums the previous year. For example, if a business completes five topics but their premiums were $4,000 last year, they would earn a rebate of $4,000.

However, smaller businesses (1-99 full-time employees) can earn double the health and safety rebates, plus $1,000 for their health and safety plan, this year. So, that small business that would normally only be eligible for up to $4,000 is now able to earn up to $9,000 - up to $8,000 in rebates, plus the additional $1,000 for their health and safety plan.

Understanding your business’s predictability

The amount you receive in rebates from the program depends on how many health and safety topics you complete, the size of your business, your WSIB premiums from the previous year and your business’s predictability, which is a measure of how much we can rely on your past claims experience and insurable earnings to predict future outcomes. Some businesses have a low predictability, while others have a high predictability.

Businesses fall into one of two categories of predictability based on their ability to influence their premium rate through their health and safety experience:

• Businesses with 20 per cent or less predictability can receive 2 per cent of their total annual WSIB premiums (based on previous calendar year premiums at the time of rebate calculation and subject to the program’s minimum and maximum rebate amounts) per health and safety topic successfully completed and verified by a WSIB validator.
• Businesses with greater than 20 per cent predictability can receive 1.4 per cent of their total annual WSIB premiums (based on previous calendar year premiums at the time of rebate calculation and subject to the program’s minimum and maximum rebate amounts) per health and safety topic completed and verified by a WSIB validator.

Determining your business’s predictability

To find your business’s predictability per cent, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your online services account.
2. Select “Analyze Rates and Past Claims Costs with Compass.” This will bring you to your business’s main dashboard.
3. Double click on the “Premiums” box on your main dashboard.
4. Click on “2023 rates now available.”
5. Click on the + sign to expand the section.
6. Your predictability will appear below “Predominant Class.”

Once you know your business’s predictability, you can

If you require this document in alternative format, contact Accessibility@wsib.on.ca.

You are eligible for rebates when you complete all of the topics in your health and safety action plan and have your evidence verified by a WSIB validator. Rebates are paid throughout the year on a quarterly schedule.

Any smaller business registered with the WSIB that meets the following criteria is eligible:

• Is a Schedule 1 business
• Has 1-99 full-time employees
• Is enrolled in the Health and Safety Excellence program
• Has an approved health and safety action plan in 2023 or 2024