ghostice
Been here a while
Usually in most jurisditions I'd say, requirement for WCB coverage depends on the type of company you operate. If it is a sole proprietorship the owner may not need comp coverage but in a lot of jurisdictions owner can opt in so the owner is covered if there's a boo boo. If you have any employeees or sub's or anyone you pay of any kind, you're usually required to have comp coverage in any jurisdiction I've worked in.
If you are operating as a limited company/ corporation, everyone is a "worker" - owners, shareholders, and Fred on the shop floor, and the legal entity will be required to have comp coverage for everybody, no exceptions. You may be able to lower your premium by deeming some emlpoyees as part of a lower rate group (say office folk vs offshore crab fishermen) but everybody still needs coverage.
As for whether a "sole proprietor" has to obey safe work rules, in early working days I was involved in a HSE case where an owner had bought a building and was removing asbestos without following the OH&S regs in place at the time. He was charged under the OH&S Act and tried to argue he was one man show, no one else was involved in the work and anyway he wouldn't die of asbestos because he was 70 and the latent period fo asbestosis was ~25 years. His Honour didn't buy the argeument, the gavel came down and he was in receipt of a stiff fine, albeit in highly devalued Canadian dollars. Plus there's the issue of potential HO lawsuit for any cowboys doing work that maybe doesn't comply with ANSI Z etc.
Just my take on the matter tho.
If you are operating as a limited company/ corporation, everyone is a "worker" - owners, shareholders, and Fred on the shop floor, and the legal entity will be required to have comp coverage for everybody, no exceptions. You may be able to lower your premium by deeming some emlpoyees as part of a lower rate group (say office folk vs offshore crab fishermen) but everybody still needs coverage.
As for whether a "sole proprietor" has to obey safe work rules, in early working days I was involved in a HSE case where an owner had bought a building and was removing asbestos without following the OH&S regs in place at the time. He was charged under the OH&S Act and tried to argue he was one man show, no one else was involved in the work and anyway he wouldn't die of asbestos because he was 70 and the latent period fo asbestosis was ~25 years. His Honour didn't buy the argeument, the gavel came down and he was in receipt of a stiff fine, albeit in highly devalued Canadian dollars. Plus there's the issue of potential HO lawsuit for any cowboys doing work that maybe doesn't comply with ANSI Z etc.
Just my take on the matter tho.
