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WorkSafeBC

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Firms with multiple classifications

When a firm engages in two or more separate industrial activities, such as sawmilling and plywood manufacturing, separate classifications may be assigned to the firm if:
  • Each activity is separate and distinct
  • The workers are engaged in one activity at one time, not two activities simultaneously
  • The activities are carried out in a separate location or at the same location, but at a different time
  • The activity is not intended to support the employer's main industry

50 percent threshold

To be considered for separate classification, at least 50 percent of the product or service generated from the activity must be sold to unaffiliated customers. This means that the activity must not exist solely for the purpose of supporting the firm's prime industry – regardless of whether its location or payroll is separate.

The activity must:

  • Generate annual assessable payroll of at least four times the annual maximum wage rate. For example, the maximum wage rate for 2006 is $62,400 so this figure would be $249,600 this year or
  • Generate annual assessable payroll of at least 25 percent of the gross annual payroll of all the employer's industrial activities or
  • Generate an annual revenue of at least 25 percent of the gross annual revenue of all the employer's industrial activities.

Example

Firm X is assigned to the Hotel classification unit at a rate of $1.69 per $100 of assessable payroll. The firm also has a restaurant and pub, and would like to be considered for multiple classifications. The total annual assessable payroll for the firm's entire industrial activities is $3,188,262.

Activity
Base Rate
Assessable Payroll
% of Total
Pub
$0.91
$435,030
14%
Hotel
$1.69
$1,932,367
61%
Restaurant
$0.91
$820,865
25%

All three activities have specific personnel and provide more than 50 percent of their product to the public. Since the restaurant generates 25 percent of the assessable payroll for the employer's entire industrial activities, it can be assigned to the restaurant classification at a base rate of $0.91 (per $100 of assessable payroll). Although the pub does not generate 25 percent or more of the annual assessable payroll, it does generate payroll of at least four times the maximum wage rate. Therefore, the pub classification unit can also be added to the employer's registration, at a rate of $0.91. The firm would also maintain its hotel classification at a rate of $1.69 per $100 of assessable payroll.