Employers

You can update your current year payroll estimate through connect in MyWorkplaceNL. Log into your connect account, click “Employer Account Changes” from menu and then select “Update Payroll Estimate”.

If your organization is not registered for connect, you can self-register by clicking here and following the self-registration process. You will need your Firm Number, Newfoundland Industrial Classification (NIC) Code and one of your last five assessment invoice numbers.

The minimum annual assessment payable to WorkplaceNL is $50.

Assessable earnings are your workers’ gross earnings less any deductions allowed by WorkplaceNL for a calendar year. Both the gross earnings and any deductions must be reported on your Employer Payroll Statement by February 28 each year.

See the Assessable Earnings Fact Sheet for the types of earnings that are assessable.

Assessable earnings are replaced by alternate measurements for employers in the Fishing and Logging industries.

Three deductions can be made from gross earnings to arrive at your assessable earnings amount.

While you do not have to provide supporting documentation for these deductions with your annual Employer Payroll Statement, you must retain a record of this information for six years so that it can be verified by WorkplaceNL. 

1. Deduction for excess earnings
WorkplaceNL insures payroll to a maximum annual amount per worker, referred to as the maximum assessable. If any of your workers exceed this maximum in any calendar year you can claim the amount above the maximum, per worker, as an Excess Earnings deduction.

WorkplaceNL adjusts the maximum assessable per worker each year by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Maximum Assessable Earnings 2018-2023

2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
$64,375	$65,600	$66,980	$67,985	$69,005	$72,870

2. Deduction for earnings reported to and assessed by other Canadian workers’ compensation boards
If you were required to report some of your workers’ gross earnings to another Canadian workers’ compensation board and you paid assessments on those wages you can claim a deduction. The deduction is equal to the workers’ total earnings in all Canadian jurisdictions less the amount that is assessable in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sample calculation: For a mining company with multiple sites with someone who made $150,000 that calendar year by working 3 months in the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) site and 9 months in the Manitoba (MB) site, and the maximum assessable earnings in NL is $72,870.

Step 1: calculate NL assessable earnings

$72,870 x 3/12 = $18,217.50

NL maximum assessable earnings x time worked in NL / time worked in the year = NL assessable earnings

Step 2: calculate NL deduction

$150,000 – $18,217.50 = $131,782.50

Total earnings – assessable NL earnings = deduction

3. Deduction for eligible government funding
Some government departments pay assessments directly to WorkplaceNL for wages under some wage-subsidy programs. On your annual Employer Payroll Statement, you can claim a deduction for funding received under the following programs:

• Job Creation Partnerships
• Labour Market Partnerships
• Employment Assisted Services

Wages paid under other federal or provincial wage-subsidy programs are not deductible and your firm is responsible for paying the assessment on these wages (e.g. Targeted Wage Subsidy, Canada Summer Jobs, etc.).

Employers in the construction industry pay an additional levy. The Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Safety Association (NLCSA), in partnership with WorkplaceNL, implemented this levy to fund the NLCSA’s work with the construction industry to promote a positive safety culture.

There are several reasons why WorkplaceNL may apply a penalty to your account.

1. Late registration: The late registration penalty ranges from $50 to $2,000 per year, depending on the assessment amount for each year. Employers are also required to pay assessments for prior years that the business operated but was not registered. 
2. Cost of injury: In the event of a work-related injury, an employer who is not registered may, in addition to owing unpaid assessments, be liable for the total cost (including, but not limited to, wage-loss benefits and health care costs) of the injury. Depending on the severity of the injury, this could be extremely costly for the employer. 
3. Delay in reporting: When an employer does not provide a certified statement of payroll where required to do so within 30 days after becoming an employer and on February 28 of each subsequent year. It ranges from $50 to $2,000 per year, depending on the assessment amount each year.
4. Underestimating: When an employer’s actual payroll report is 25 per cent more than the estimate they had provided. The penalty is 10 per cent of the difference between the actual payroll assessment and 125 per cent of the assessment on the payroll estimate.
5. Late payment: Employers pay a penalty as a percentage of the unpaid amount for each month where the default payment continues.
6. Failure to report an injury: Employers pay penalties between $100 and $1,000 for failure to comply with injury reporting requirements under section 56 of the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act.

This list of penalties is not exhaustive, see the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Regulations for further detail.

Employers are notified of their assessment rate online via connect. You can view your assessment rate and annual rate letter under “Reports and Statistics”.

Your Firm Administrator automatically has access to this service, but will need to add the “View Account Information” service for other users who need access to rate information.

Employers who do not have a connect account receive notice of their assessment rate in the mail.

You will also find your assessment rate on your assessment invoices and statements. The full listing of Classification of Industries and Assessment Rates is in the Resources section.