Circumstances for compensation

If a worker is injured or becomes ill “in the course of employment,” that worker will normally receive compensation. The phrase “in the course of employment” does not mean the person has to be at work: it means the worker must be doing something that is connected with the employment.

In deciding if an injured worker is eligible to receive compensation for injury or illness, WorkSafeBC considers the following questions:

• Did it occur on the employer’s premises?
• Did it occur in the process of the worker doing something for the employer?
• Did it occur during an activity done in response to instructions from the employer?
• Did it occur while using equipment or materials supplied by the employer?
• Did it occur while receiving payment or other consideration from the employer?
• Was the risk that the worker was exposed to the same as the risk a worker is normally exposed to?
• Did it occur during a time period for which the worker was being paid?
• Was it caused by some activity of the employer or a co-worker?

After considering the questions listed above, the Board allows claims that are not directly related to “work” but are related to “employment.”

The examples below describe the types of decisions WorkSafeBC has made:

• A truck driver was hit by a car while crossing the street to return to their truck. They had been cashing a paycheque on company time. They were compensated for their injury.
• A mine worker in a remote mining camp fell down the bunkhouse steps in their leisure hours after their shift. They received compensation.
• A carpenter hired in Vernon was travelling to Vancouver to a new job. That person was killed in an automobile accident. Their spouse received compensation.
• A worker was staying in a hotel while on company business. That person fell in the bathroom and fractured an ankle. They received compensation.
• A worker contracted a lung disease many years after working with asbestos fibres. They were compensated.