WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program (HSEp)
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About The WSIB HSEp Program
This program is designed to accomplish two primary objectives:
- Increase safety in your workplace through the creation, training, implementation, and monitoring of various health and safety policies and procedures – based on the topics chosen.
- Provide employers with a rebate on their WSIB premiums as a result of the successful implementation of the chosen topics.
Effective January 1, 2025
The WSIB has changed the rebate structure for all businesses regardless of their size. All rebates will be a set amount per topic based on your premiums paid in the previous calendar year. In addition to this, all businesses that register into the program and have their action plan approved, will receive a $1,000.00 payment from the WSIB to assist in covering the provider costs.
If you are interested in learning more about the Health and Safety Excellence Program, please contact us.
In Ontario, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) operates the Health and Safety Excellence Program (HSEp). This is an incentive-based program that workplaces can register for and earn rebates and recognition as they complete a sequence of program-prescribed health and safety initiatives.
We offer the Health and Safety Excellence program in English only. To find a provider that offers the full program in French, please tell the WSIB a bit about your business and they’ll recommend the provider(s) that best matches your needs.
Nous offrons le programme Excellence en santé et sécurité en anglais seulement. Pour trouver un prestataire qui offre tout le programme en français, veuillez décrire un peu votre entreprise à la WSIB et elle vous recommandera le ou les prestataires qui correspondent le plus à vos besoins.
Join The WSIB HSEp Program
Our experience, not only as a provider but also as an independently owned business is that this program is worth the effort.
This program allows each employer to complete up to five health and safety topics each year, with a rebate based on the previous years paid WSIB premiums.
No matter how large or small your business is, WSIB’s Health and Safety Excellence program can help. Keeping your team safe and healthy at work is good for business. The WSIB program provides a clear road map to improve workplace safety. There are opportunities and benefits whether you are just getting started or want to improve existing systems and processes that are already in place.
WSIB HSEp Benefits Include:
- Rebates on your WSIB premiums
- Saving money by improving your safety experience
- Reduced risk of injuries and illnesses in your workplace and a stronger health and safety culture
- Support and guidance from an experienced provider
- Additional financial support to help smaller businesses enhance their health and safety planning and boost their bottom line
- Recognition to show your employees, community, and clients that your company is committed to health and safety
The WSIB’s Health and Safety Excellence Program involves the following key steps:
- Join
- Registering with an approved provider of the program and completing a health and safety assessment through your WSIB portal.
- Selecting up to five health and safety topics to develop throughout the calendar year.
- Develop
- Develop your topic, training workers, and implement the topics requirements.
- Follow the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check, and Act) through its process working with the provider where guidance may be needed.
- Achieve
- Once development and training are completed, and you have verified and uploaded evidence to show each topic was successfully implemented in the workplace, you will now have the evidence reviewed by a WSIB validator and if successful, will receive a rebate and validation.
An Approved Provider Since 2020
How WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program Rebates Work in 2026
The WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program is the only rebate program offered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Ontario. The rebate structure of this program was then further simplified in 2025 to make it easier for businesses to estimate what they’ll earn. Here’s how it works now.
The Three Components of Your Rebate
Your total rebate is built from three pieces:
1. Per-topic rebate. Every topic you successfully complete and validate earns a rebate based on your WSIB premiums from the previous calendar year. The minimum is $2,000 per completed topic, and the maximum is $50,000 per completed topic.
2. Action plan cap. The total rebate across all topics in a single action plan will not exceed 200% of your previous year’s WSIB premiums.
3. The $1,000 enrollment incentive. When your action plan is approved, you receive a one-time $1,000 payment from the WSIB to help cover the cost of working with an approved provider like STC. This is in addition to any rebates you earn from completing topics.
A note on the 2025 transition. The simplified rebate structure was introduced in 2025. To make sure no business lost money during the transition, the WSIB has been automatically applying whichever rebate is higher (the old structure or the new) through July 2026. From July 2026 onward, the new per-topic structure described above is the standing rebate model.
A Concrete Example
A small business with 50 employees that paid $30,000 in WSIB premiums in the previous calendar year completes five topics in their first action plan. Their premium amount paid means they will receive a rebate of up to $2,000 per topic. Their total looks like this:
| Component | Amount |
| 5 topics × $2,000 minimum per topic | $10,000 |
| Action plan approval incentive | $1,000 |
| Total earned in year one | $11,000 |
A larger business with $200,000 in annual premiums would earn $5,500 per topic, or $27,500 across five topics, plus the $1,000 enrollment incentive.
When Rebates Are Paid
The WSIB pays out rebates once your topics have been submitted for validation and successfully validated. Payouts are completed by the WSIB on a quarterly basis.
Who’s Eligible for Rebates
To earn rebates through the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program, your business must hold an active WSIB account in good standing, have at least one full-time employee, and be a Schedule 1 employer (Schedule 2 employers can participate in the program but cannot receive financial rebates). Your business must also have no allowed traumatic fatality claims between the date your action plan is approved and the date your rebate is issued, and must comply with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
If you’re not sure whether your business is Schedule 1 or Schedule 2, or what your predictability rating is, contact us and we’ll help you confirm before you commit to the program.
WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program Topics
The WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program is built around 41 health and safety topics, organized into three levels: Foundations (13 topics), Intermediate (19 topics), and Advanced (9 topics). Each topic represents a specific element of a strong occupational health and safety management system. You can choose up to five topics per 12-month action plan cycle, and your provider helps you select topics that fit your business size, sector, and current safety maturity.
Foundations Level
(13 Topics)
- Leadership and commitment
- Health and safety responsibilities
- Health and safety communication
- Health and safety participation
- Hazard identification
- Hazard reporting
- Workplace inspections
- Risk assessment
- Control of hazards (basics)
- Control of hazards
- Injury, illness and incident reporting
- Incident investigation and analysis
- First aid
Intermediate Level
(19 Topics)
- Competency
- Health and safety training
- Legal and other requirements
- Emergency prevention and preparedness
- Emergency response
- Psychological health and safety 1: assessing your risk
- Psychological health and safety 2: reducing your risk
- Return-to-work program requirements, forms and tools
- Health and safety accountabilities
- Return-to-work roles and responsibilities
- Accommodation and return to work
- Pre-use inspections
- Preventative maintenance
- Health and safety objectives
- Corrective action
- Control of documents
- Control of records
- Contractor management program
- Workplace health promotion
Advanced Level
(9 Topics)
- Monitoring, measurement and analysis
- Review health and safety trends
- Management review
- Health and safety continual improvement planning
- Internal audit
- External audit
- Change management and procurement
- Networking and peer learning
- Corporate social responsibility
How Topic Selection Actually Works
Topic selection isn’t just a matter of picking what sounds interesting. The WSIB sets prerequisites for some topics, and your provider will guide you toward topics that match your current safety maturity, identified hazards, and business priorities. For example, the Risk Assessment topic builds on Hazard Identification, so completing them in sequence makes more sense than tackling them in reverse.
For small businesses or businesses new to formal safety programs, the WSIB introduced a five-year recommended pathway in 2025 that pre-selects topics in a sensible order. You can still choose your own topics if you have a clear reason to prioritize differently, but the pathway removes the guesswork for businesses just getting started.
Choosing a WSIB HSEP Provider
Joining the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program requires registering through a WSIB-approved provider. The provider isn’t optional, and the choice you make has a real effect on how smoothly your action plan moves and how much you earn at the end. Not all providers are the same.
What an Approved Provider Actually Does
A provider helps you register with the WSIB and complete your initial health and safety assessment, then guides you through topic selection based on your business size, sector, and current safety maturity. From there, they submit your action plan to the WSIB for approval and support you through the development and implementation of each topic. Before anything goes to the WSIB validator, your provider reviews your evidence package and helps you respond to any validator questions or feedback. The provider also issues an invoice for their registration fee at the beginning of the program.
The WSIB doesn’t dictate how much support a provider gives, only that the provider is approved to deliver the program. Some providers offer the bare minimum. Others, like STC, provide hand-holding support as needed.
Questions Worth Asking Before You Choose
Before signing on with a provider, it’s worth finding out how many years they’ve been an approved HSEp provider and which sectors they typically work with. Ask what their support looks like beyond initial registration and whether they review evidence before it goes to WSIB validation. Their success rate on first-submission validation matters, as does a clear breakdown of what their fee includes and what’s billed separately.
One question that matters more than most people expect: whether the provider is also approved to deliver other Ontario safety programs, including CPO-approved training, COR™ 2020, and ISO 45001. A provider who only delivers HSEp will guide you through HSEp. A provider who also delivers COR™ 2020, JHSC certification, Working at Heights, and other Ontario safety training programs can help you build HSEp topics in ways that contribute to longer-term safety maturity, and can help you transition to higher-level programs once HSEp is complete.
WHY STC
STC has been a WSIB-approved Health and Safety Excellence Program provider since 2020. We’re also a CPO-approved training provider for Working at Heights, JHSC, and TSSA-approved for CH02 propane training, and we deliver COR™ 2020 and ISO 45001 consulting services. That means we don’t just walk you through the program. We connect HSEp work to the rest of your safety management system, so the policies and procedures you build during HSEp keep working for you long after the rebate cheque arrives.
We also do the unglamorous part of provider work properly: we review your evidence before you submit it, we follow up on validator feedback, and we don’t disappear between topics. If you’re comparing providers, those are the things that separate finishing your action plan from giving up halfway through.
Is the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program Right for Your Business?
The WSIB HSEp isn’t the right program for every business at every stage. Here’s how to figure out if it fits where you are.
When the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program Makes Sense
HSEp is a strong fit for your business if you hold an active WSIB Schedule 1 account in good standing and have at least one full-time employee. It works well for businesses that want a structured framework for building or improving their safety program and are willing to commit time to topic implementation, not just paperwork. The program is especially worthwhile if you’re looking for both financial recognition through rebates and reputational recognition through badges, if you’re interested in building toward COR™ 2020, ISO 45001, or SOSE accreditation in the future, or if you want a third-party validation that your safety program meets recognized standards.
When is it Not the Right Fit
HSEp may not be the best starting point if you don’t have an active WSIB account or your account isn’t in good standing, if you don’t have at least one full-time employee, or if you’re a Schedule 2 employer (you can participate, but you can’t earn financial rebates). It’s also not the right time if you’re already pursuing SOSE recognition, since the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program and SOSE cannot run in parallel. Businesses without internal capacity to commit to topic implementation across a 12-month cycle, or with an active traumatic fatality claim under review (you’ll be ineligible for rebates until a decision is made), should also wait until circumstances change.
If you’re not sure where you sit, that’s exactly the kind of conversation we have during a free initial consultation. We’d rather tell you HSEp isn’t right for you today and point you toward what is than enroll you in a program you can’t finish.
Time Commitment
A realistic estimate for most small to mid-sized businesses is 4 to 8 hours per topic, spread across the 12-month action plan cycle. Topics that require new policy development take longer than topics that build on existing practices. Some of that time is yours, some is your safety lead’s, and some is the time of staff being trained or interviewed during the implementation.
Your provider does a meaningful share of the work in document review, evidence preparation guidance, and validator coordination, but HSEp is not a turn-key program. The work has to happen in your business, and the evidence has to come from your operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program take?
Each action plan cycle is 12 months from the date of approval. You complete up to five topics within that window, then either renew with a new action plan or transition to another program.
Can I do the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program without a provider?
No. Registration through a WSIB-approved provider is mandatory. The provider is responsible for facilitating your participation and submitting your action plan to the WSIB.
What does it cost?
Provider fees vary based on the size of your business and the level of support included. STC’s fee structure is shared during the initial consultation, along with a clear estimate of your potential rebate so you can compare cost against return.
What happens if I don't complete a topic in 12 months?
If you can’t complete a topic within the action plan cycle, talk to your provider before the deadline. Topics can sometimes be deferred or carried over with provider approval, depending on circumstances. Topics that aren’t completed and aren’t deferred won’t earn a rebate.
Can I repeat a topic?
Yes, with provider approval. If a significant change in your workplace has introduced new hazards, or if a previous implementation has gaps, you can repeat a topic. The Control of Hazards topic in particular can be repeated for different hazards that have not been previously controlled. You’ll need to explain why the repeat is necessary.
How does the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program relate to COR™ 2020 and ISO 45001?
The WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program builds the building blocks of an occupational health and safety management system. COR™ 2020 and ISO 45001 are full management system accreditations. The WSIB recommends completing all relevant HSEp topics before pursuing COR™ 2020 or applying for SOSE recognition. STC delivers all three programs and can help you build a phased approach across them.
Can I switch providers mid-program?
Yes, you can change providers between action plan cycles. Switching mid-cycle is more complicated and isn’t usually recommended unless there’s a serious reason.
What if my business has multiple WSIB accounts?
Each WSIB account participates in HSEp independently. If you operate under more than one account, you can enroll each account separately and each can earn its own rebates.
How quickly are rebates paid?
Rebates are paid by the WSIB quarterly, after the action plan topics are validated. The WSIB aims to issue online validation decisions within 14 business days of receiving your evidence package.
Is the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program the same as the Supporting Ontario's Safe Employers (SOSE) program?
No. The WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program is a WSIB program. SOSE is a separate Ministry program led by the Chief Prevention Office in Ontario, with its own accreditation standard. SOSE recognition can make your business eligible for the Ontario Safe Employers Rebate Program, which is a different rebate stream from HSEp.
One important rule to know: businesses that apply for SOSE are automatically disenrolled from the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program. The two programs cannot run in parallel. The WSIB recommends completing all relevant HSEp topics first to build your safety management system, then transitioning to SOSE for ongoing recognition.
Ready to Get Started?
Connect with us for further information including the enrollment fee.