Opinion: WorkSafeBC’s surplus is depleted and small business will pay the price - Business in Vancouver

The following Q&A is intended to provide a clearer understanding of WorkSafeBC’s Draft Psychological Health and Safety Regulation, including what is being proposed and what it could mean for B. C. workplaces. The proposed regulation: what it would doQ: What is being proposed? A: WorkSafeBC has released for consultation a draft regulation, Part 4.1 — Psychological Health and Safety, that would create an enforceable duty on every B. C. employer to eliminate or minimize the risk of psychological injury at work. It applies the same prevention approach used for physical hazards to a new category called "psychosocial hazard. " Due to the provincial election, consultations have been paused until further notice. Q: Why is WorkSafeBC doing this? A: WorkSafeBC points to a sharp rise in accepted psychological-injury claims, from roughly 419 a year before 2015 to about 2,613 in 2025. It notes these claims tend to last longer and cost more, and states its goal is to prevent them at the source rather than only compensating them after the fact. The regulation's approach assumes these claims may be driven by workplace conditions that employers can identify and control.

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