- Board Directives and Guidelines (employer's premises)
- Class of employer (ancillary operation)
- Class of employer (security services)
- Schedule 1 employer (application industries)
- Class of employer (entertainment production)
The employer organized and promoted music festivals at various locations around the world. The worker was a security guard for the employer. He was killed in a shooting at a nightclub in Mexico in January 2017, at a festival organized by the employer. The worker's estate appealed a decision of the Appeals Resolution Officer denying entitlement.
The Board found that the employer's business activity came within Rate Group 962-14, for entertainment production companies and artists. This rate group did not have compulsory coverage, and the employer had not applied for coverage. The Board also found that the provision of security services was ancillary to the employer's business activity.The estate submitted that the employer should be classified in the compulsory rate groups of either Rate Group 911-01, for security services, or Rate Group 919-06, for taverns, bars and nightclubs.The Vice-Chair found that the best fit for this employer's business activity was Rate Group 962-14. The employer organized and promoted music festivals held at various locations throughout the world. The year the worker was killed, the employer had two more festivals planned for Brazil and Portugal. The employer was involved in the promoting and producing of "stage entertainment" as set out in Rate Group 962-14. As part of the production and promotion of these festivals, the employer also provided security services (as described in Rate Group 911-01), but the narrower and more specific business activity of entertainment production companies was more appropriate. Further, the employer did not operate a nightclub within Rate Group 919-06; rather, the nightclub was merely the location selected for this particular music festival.Under s. 6 of O. Reg. 175/98, and Board Operational Policy Manual, Document No. 14-01-02, an operation of the employer that is ancillary to a business activity of the employer is deemed to be part of that business activity. An operation is ancillary to a business activity if it supports or is incidental to the business activity, and it involves maintaining of security of an employer's own premises.The security services portion of the employer's operations clearly supported or was incidental to the employer's main business activity. The Vice-Chair then considered whether the activity involved maintaining security of the employer's "own premises." Considering the Board polices regarding the course of employment and travelling, the Vice-Chair found that the definition of an employer's premises refers to more than simply the head office of its operations. An employer's premises may extend to any location or work site to which its employees are required to travel. In this case, the worker was hired and paid by the employer to travel from Canada to perform security services at its music festival in Mexico. The location of the music festival was, for workplace insurance purposes, part of the employer's premises.The worker did not have coverage under the WSIA. The appeal was dismissed.