Industry Type

Registration and assessment methods may differ depending on the type of industry your business operates in.

Fishing Industry

Fish Buying

Fish buyers pay assessments on the value of the fish purchased from commercial fishers. Fish buyers must report their purchases quarterly.

Fish purchase accounts must be registered by:

Fish plants that purchase fish either directly or indirectly from commercial fishers unless the fish is acquired from another processing establishment.
Commercial buyers who purchase fish directly from commercial fishers and who do not resell the fish to a fish processing plant.
Managing owners or persons employing crew members on a boat, vessel or ship engaged in the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, who land part of the boat’s catch outside the province.

Fish Harvesting

Commercial fishers do not have to register with WorkplaceNL as they are generally covered by assessments paid by fish buyers, vessel owners or fishing enterprises.

A commercial fisher is automatically covered by WorkplaceNL if they are:

A master or member of a crew of a licensed commercial fishing vessel.
A master or member of a crew of a vessel which is engaged in fish packing, fish collecting, or fish buying for commercial sale or use.
Any person who, in the opinion of WorkplaceNL, contributes to the catching or landing of fish for commercial sale or use in Newfoundland and Labrador.

A commercial fisher who is engaged in the maintenance or minor repair of the fishing vessel or equipment during the fishing season or gearing up for/winding down from the fishing season is covered as these activities are considered incidental to the fishing operations.

A commercial fisher or fishing enterprise is required to register if:

They hire a person who is not a commercial fisher to engage in onshore activities such as maintenance or minor repairs.
They are involved in the construction or major repair of their fishing vessel.
The vessel catch isn’t sold to a fish buyer registered with WorkplaceNL (e.g., the fish is sold outside the province).

Fish Processing

Employers who operate a fish processing plant or a factory freezer vessel must register with WorkplaceNL and pay assessments based on the payroll of their plant workers. Fish processing plants will have two accounts – one for their plant operations and one for their fish purchases.

Forestry Industry

Harvesting

Wood harvesters (cutters or loggers) pay assessments based on the volume (cubic meters) of wood cut. The person or entity who owns the cutting permit or cutting rights to the land on the on which wood is cut must register and pay the assessment. Wood harvesters must report the volume of wood cut and their purchases quarterly.

Processing

Employers engaged in other aspects of the forestry industry such as saw log and pulpwood handling and processing must register and pay assessments based on the payroll of their workers. These employers will have two accounts – one for their forestry operations and one for their wood harvesting.

Trucking and Transport Industries

Registration and reporting requirements for the trucking and transport industries differ from other industries. Please refer to Procedure 406.00 Trucking, Bussing and Courier Industries for more information.

In particular, there is an optional Alternative Assessment Procedure for employers who engage in the following interjurisdictional trucking and transport industries:

Truck transport
Trucking industry (general freight)
Used goods moving and storage industry
Charter and sightseeing bus services
Interurban and rural transit systems industry

Trucking and bussing employers who operate solely in Newfoundland and Labrador must report all assessable earnings to WorkplaceNL. However, trucking and bussing employers who have workers that travel between provinces/territories have the option to either:

Participate in the Alternative Assessment Procedure for Interjurisdictional Trucking and Transport and only pay premiums to the workers’ compensation board in the provinces/territories where the driver(s) reside; or
Use the prorating method and pay the assessing board assessments, based on kilometres driven in each jurisdiction.