Allows employers to request new clearance letters from WorkSafeBC, review existing clearance letters from smartphones
WorkSafeBC is releasing a new mobile app that gives employers, contractors and homeowners the ability to access clearance letters from a smartphone or tablet.
Clearance letters are notices that tell employers or homeowners whether a firm, contractor or sub-contractor is complying with WorkSafeBC’s registration and payment requirements.
Employers or homeowners that hire a contractor who is not in compliance could be liable for outstanding premiums, according to WorkSafeBC.
The app allows employers to request new clearance letters from WorkSafeBC, and to review existing clearance letters, requests and contractor profiles from their smartphones or tablets.
Sub-contractors can use the app to show on-the-spot proof their WorkSafeBC registrations and premiums are up-to-date. It will automatically email updated clearance information back to the offices of the employers and contractors after they review it in the field. Additionally, it can help homeowners check on contractors before hiring them.
The app will make the clearance process more convenient for employers, said Joan Taylor-Smith, WorkSafeBC manager of finance systems products.
“Previously, employers who wanted to check a contractor’s clearance letter status had to wait until they were back at the office,” she said. “Now, they can use their mobile devices to check right there at the jobsite — wherever that jobsite is — at any time of day. They’ll have the information they need, right away.”
The clearance letter mobile app is available on the WorkSafeBC website — people using smartphones will be automatically directed to the mobile app:
www.worksafebc.com/insurance/managing_your_account/clearance_letters/default.asp
This app is not the first created by WorkSafeBC. In 2011, WorkSafeBC unveiled the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation app, allowing users to search and download portions of the regulation on their smartphones.
