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Home Sharing Provider Questions – WorkSafe
The Home Sharing Support Society BC (HSSSBC) regularly receives inquiries from the home sharing community. Many of these questions are valuable to the broader community. To support informed decision-making, HSSSBC shares relevant inquiries and ensures responses come from credible, reliable sources.
Contract Coverage: If you hold a contract worth over $5,000, it is difficult to get provide tax returns. Home sharing services are not typically income included on a person’s tax return. What else can be used a Proof of Income?
Answer
The only proof of income that we can accept is the tax statements or a sign-off from a Chartered Professional Accountant. Both are listed as options on the application and either will work. If the tax statements are not available for the reasons mentioned, the applicant will need to get a CPA to review and sign for proof of income.
Claims and Benefits: In the past, individuals who have made claims found that PWD/OAS is not included. Their understanding is that WorkSafe considers this the person’s ‘cost of living’ vs wages.
Answer
From an Assessments perspective, it has no bearing on WorkSafe’s decision on eligibility for coverage. PWD/OAS should not be considered when selecting the dollar value for POP coverage.
From a Claims perspective, PWD/OAS are not considered income for the purposes of determining wage benefits. They should not be included in the wage being insured under POP.
Age-Related Coverage: If you are over the age of 65, you may not be covered, as you need to prove that you are capable due to your age. If you’re injured and have reached the usual retirement age of 65, your wage-loss benefits will be reduced, unless you can provide evidence that you would have continued working beyond that age.
Answer
From an Assessments perspective, we do not ask the applicants age or make any decisions about eligibility for coverage based on age.
From a Claims perspective, when determining whether a worker would retire after age 65, the weight the Board gives to the types of evidence will vary with the circumstances of each claim. The following are examples of the kinds of evidence the Board may consider:
Names of the employer or employers, a description of the type of employment, the expected duration of employment, and information from the identified employer or employers to confirm their intention to employ the worker after the worker reached age 65 and that employment would be available;
- a statement from a bank or financial institution outlining a financial plan and post-age 65 retirement date;
- an accountant’s statement verifying a long-term business plan (for self-employed workers), indicating continuation of work beyond age 65;
- information provided from the worker’s employer, union or professional association regarding the normal retirement age for workers in the same occupation and whether there are incentive plans for workers working beyond age 65;
- information from the employer about whether the worker would be covered under a pension plan provided by the employer, and the terms of that plan;
- information from the employer or union on whether there was or is a collective agreement in place setting out the normal retirement age;
- information regarding whether the worker would have the capacity to perform the work;
- financial obligations of the worker, such as a mortgage or other debts;
- family commitments and/or circumstances of the worker; and
- an outstanding lease on a commercial vehicle (for self-employed workers)
This is not a conclusive list of the types of evidence that may be considered. The Board will consider any other relevant information in determining whether a worker would work past age 65 and at what date the worker would retire.
If a worker is 63 years of age or older on the date of the injury, the established retirement date under the Act is two years after the date of injury. In these cases, the issue for the Board to determine is whether it is “at least as likely as not” that the worker would have retired later than two years after the date of injury if the injury had not occurred.
The Board applies the same evidentiary principles to this determination as for workers who are under age 63 at the date of injury, in particular, the Board may consider pre- and post-injury evidence to establish the date the worker would retire. For more information, please see WorkSafeBC.com REHABILITATION SERVICES & CLAIMS MANUAL, Duration of Permanent Disability Periodic Payments ITEM: C6-41.00 (page 33 of Chapter 6).