WSIB coverage when you work in construction
Most contractors know they must cover employees. What catches people is that in construction, coverage is compulsory for the people who are not employees either — the one-person operator, the sole proprietor, the partner, the officer of a corporation. There is an exemption for home renovation, and it is narrower than the phrase suggests.
The rules, with sources
Every line below links to the authority it came from and the date we last read it.
| Who must be covered | Compulsory coverage extends to independent operators, sole proprietors, partners in a partnership, and executive officers of a corporation carrying on business in construction, subject to certain exemptions. |
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| Since when | The expanded compulsory coverage policy applies to all decisions made on or after January 1, 2013. |
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| The home renovation exemption | Independent operators, sole proprietors, partners and executive officers are exempt from compulsory coverage where the deemed employer is engaged exclusively in exempt home renovation work. |
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| What that exemption requires | The work must be on an existing private residence that is, or will be, occupied by the person who directly retains the contractor, or by a member of that person's family. |
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| Directly retained means directly | To qualify, the contractor must be hired by the occupant or a family member of the occupant, and provide estimates, contracts and invoices to that person in the contractor's own name. |
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| Employees are separate | Someone running a home renovation business with employees must still register with the WSIB to insure those employees, even where they are exempt from coverage for themselves. |
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“Exclusively” is doing a lot of work in that sentence
The exemption applies where the business is engaged exclusively in exempt home renovation work. One commercial job, one new build, one week subcontracting to a general contractor, and the exemption stops applying to the business — not just to that job.
That is the most common way a renovator discovers they should have been registered: not by doing the wrong kind of work all year, but by doing it once.
Subcontracting to a builder breaks the exemption
The test is who retained you. If a homeowner hires you directly and the invoice is in your name to them, the exemption can apply. If a general contractor hires you to work on that same house, it does not — you were not directly retained by the occupant, so compulsory coverage applies.
This is why the paperwork matters as much as the work. Estimates, contracts and invoices have to be in your name, to the occupant.
Covering your crew is not the same as covering yourself
Registering to insure employees and being personally covered are two different things. A renovator with employees must register for the employees regardless, and may still be exempt for themselves. Do not assume one settles the other.
Questions people actually ask
Is WSIB coverage mandatory for contractors in Ontario?
In construction, yes for most. Compulsory coverage extends to independent operators, sole proprietors, partners in a partnership, and executive officers of a corporation carrying on business in construction, subject to exemptions.
When did WSIB coverage become compulsory in construction?
The expanded compulsory coverage policy applies to all decisions made on or after January 1, 2013.
Is there an exemption for home renovators?
Yes, where the business is engaged exclusively in exempt home renovation work on an existing private residence occupied by the person who directly retained the contractor, or by a member of their family.
Does the home renovation exemption apply if a builder hires me?
No. The contractor must be directly retained by the occupant or their family member, with estimates, contracts and invoices in the contractor's name to that person.
Do I still need to register if I have employees?
Yes. A home renovation business with employees must register with the WSIB to insure them, even where the owner is personally exempt.
GoBuild keeps each sub's WSIB clearance on their record with its expiry date, marks it expiring or expired, and chases them for a fresh one automatically. The rule is simple; remembering whose certificate ran out in March is the part that actually goes wrong.
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This is a plain-English summary written for contractors, not legal or tax advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the source or talking to your accountant or lawyer. Rules change; each line above carries the date we last checked it. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.