How should an Ontario manufacturer build a group benefits plan?
Direct answer
A group benefits plan for an Ontario manufacturer usually works best in two classes, one for the plant floor and one for the office, because the two groups earn differently and use the plan differently. It should cover what WSIB does not (illness and injuries away from work), use a long-term disability definition that fits physical work, and set waiting periods and layoff rules that match how the plant hires. AEC Benefits, a Burlington brokerage, builds plans for Ontario manufacturers with 5 to 100 employees; to get a quote for your team: aecbenefits.ca/get-quote or (905) 320-4123.
12 months
Benefit contributions after a work injury
The employer keeps paying its share for up to a year from the injury, or until the worker returns (WSIB).
Under 35 weeks
Temporary layoff limit while benefit payments continue
In any 52 weeks, instead of 13 weeks in any 20 (Employment Standards Act).
26 weeks
EI sickness benefits
Since December 2022. Many small plans lean on EI instead of buying short-term disability.
Key Takeaways
- •Two classes, plant and office, usually fit a manufacturer better than one average plan. A class follows the job, not the person.
- •WSIB covers the injury on the shift. Illness, the drive home and the weekend are the group plan's job.
- •For physical work, read the long-term disability definition before the rate. How long it pays on your own occupation decides the claim.
- •After a work injury, the employer keeps paying its benefit contributions for up to 12 months. Budget for it.
- •In a slow stretch, keeping benefit payments going lets a layoff stay temporary for longer under the Employment Standards Act. Read the contract's layoff rule first.
Group benefits for Ontario manufacturers with 5 to 100 staff: plant and office classes, disability for physical work, WSIB gaps, waiting periods and layoffs.
WSIB or the group plan: what each one pays for
WSIB is Ontario's workplace insurance. The group plan is the coverage you choose to sponsor. Most plants need both, and the two are written so they do not pay twice.
| WSIB | Your group plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Hurt on the shift | Yes: health care and loss-of-earnings benefits for the injury | Long-term disability is usually reduced by what WSIB pays |
| Hurt at home, on the drive or on the weekend | No | Yes, through disability and health coverage |
| Illness, such as cancer or a heart condition | Only if it is an occupational disease | Yes, through disability, drugs and health coverage |
| Prescriptions, dental and paramedical care | Only for the work injury or disease | Yes, for the employee and their family |
| Who pays | The employer, through WSIB premiums | The employer, often with an employee share |
WSIB covers the shift. The plan covers the rest.
Most Ontario manufacturers have to register with the WSIB, and it is strong when someone is hurt on the job. It does not follow the worker on the drive home, on the drive in, or Saturday afternoon cutting the grass. Illness, off-the-job injuries, prescriptions, dental and the family's coverage are the group plan's job.
The two are written so they do not pay twice. Most group long-term disability contracts reduce their payment by anything WSIB pays for the same disability. That is normal, and it is worth explaining to your people before someone files a claim.
One rule catches employers off guard. After a work injury, the employer has to keep making its contributions to the worker's health care, life insurance and pension benefits for up to 12 months from the date of injury, or until the worker returns, whichever comes first, and the worker keeps paying their own share, if they have one. Budget for it, and check that your contract keeps an injured worker on the plan while they are off.
Two classes: the plant floor and the office
Most manufacturers run two groups on one payroll: hourly people on the floor, often on shifts, and salaried people in the office, sales and management. They earn differently, they claim differently, and one average plan rarely fits either group well.
A class is a group of employees defined by the job, such as hourly plant staff or salaried office staff, never by who is healthy. Each class can have its own life and disability amounts, its own health and dental design and its own waiting period, as long as each class has enough people for the insurer.
This is not a status split. It is matching the plan to how each group uses it. A younger plant floor generally gets more use out of massage and mental health support than out of dental and glasses, so its class can lean that way. Ask your people before you build it.
Watch how earnings are defined. Life and long-term disability are usually insured on regular earnings, and most contracts leave overtime out unless they say otherwise. In a plant that runs a lot of overtime, a worker can be insured on less than they take home. Ask how each quote defines earnings before you compare them.
Disability coverage for physical work
On a plant floor, the disability question is rarely whether someone can work at all. It is whether they can do their job: stand at a line, lift, run a machine. That is why the definition matters more than the rate.
Ask how long the contract pays on "own occupation" before it switches to "any occupation". Two years is common. After that, a machine operator who can no longer run a machine, but could in theory do some other job, may lose the benefit. Ask too how long the elimination period is, and whether it lines up with short-term disability or with EI sickness benefits, which now run up to 26 weeks.
If the employer pays any part of the long-term disability premium, the benefit is taxable when someone claims. A lot of the industry moves the premium to the employee for that reason. We usually do not recommend it for hourly wage earners: the employee gives up real money every pay period to avoid tax on a benefit most will never collect. The contract wording is the thing to get right.
One lever on the short-term side: a short-term disability plan that meets Service Canada's rules can lower the employer's EI premium rate through the EI Premium Reduction Program. Five-twelfths of the saving has to go back to the employees on the plan.
Benefits a shift worker can use
A plan only works if people can reach it. Someone on nights cannot call a nine-to-five line on their break. Four things make the difference:
- An employee assistance program that answers around the clock, for the worker and their family.
- Virtual care through Teladoc, so a worker can talk to a doctor by phone or video without missing a shift.
- Claims on a phone app with direct deposit, instead of paper forms left in the office.
- Paramedical limits set per practitioner, not one combined pot, so physiotherapy after a strain is not cut short because massage claims used up the limit.
Waiting periods and turnover
Plant roles can turn over faster than office roles. A waiting period, the time a new hire works before coverage starts, keeps the plan from enrolling someone who leaves in the first few weeks. Three months is the common default, and it can be set by class, so a high-turnover plant class can wait longer than the office if the insurer allows it.
Two rules to get right from day one. New hires usually have to enrol within 31 days of becoming eligible; after that they are late applicants, and the insurer can ask for medical evidence or limit coverage at first. And most contracts have an actively-at-work rule: if a new hire is off sick on the day coverage would start, it starts when they are back at work.
Layoffs and slow stretches
Order books move, and plants lay people off for a few weeks. Under Ontario's Employment Standards Act, a temporary layoff normally cannot run more than 13 weeks in any 20 consecutive weeks. It can run longer, to under 35 weeks in any 52, if one of several conditions is met. One of them is that the employer keeps making payments for the employee under a legitimate group insurance plan.
The Ministry reads "keeps" strictly: the payments have to continue for the whole layoff, from the first week, under plan terms that were in place before the layoff began.
Your group contract has its own rule on how long a laid-off employee can stay covered, and it can be shorter than the layoff. Read it before you lay anyone off, not after, and check a specific layoff with the Ministry or an employment lawyer.
Union and non-union plants
If your plant floor is unionized, the collective agreement sets its benefits, whether that is a union-run plan or an employer plan the agreement describes. That stays with the agreement. Office, sales, supervisors and management outside the bargaining unit still need a plan, and we can build that one.
A non-union plant competes with union shops for the same people. Clear classes, a disability definition that holds up and an assistance program people use are a fair way to stand next to a union package without copying it.
What it costs
A new manufacturer is priced like any new group: on headcount, the mix of single, couple and family coverage, and how rich the design is. The industry shapes the design: the classes, the disability emphasis, the waiting periods. The cost guide has the planning ranges and a calculator.
A real number needs a census: dates of birth, salaries, job classes and who covers dependants. Send that, and the quotes come back from multiple insurers in one table.
What group benefits cost per employee in Ontario, with the calculator
Where AEC Benefits fits
AEC Benefits is a Burlington group benefits brokerage, licensed since 2003 and regulated by FSRA (licence #03080173). We work directly with insurers, with no managing general agency in between, and build plans for Ontario employers with 5 to 100 people, best fit 5 to 50.
Construction and the trades are where our experience runs deepest. We also build plans for manufacturers, and for office, shop and field teams, across Hamilton, Burlington, Halton and the rest of southern Ontario from our office at 769 Old York Rd.
Reviewed by Steffen deGraaf
Steffen brings 20+ years in insurance and group benefits, construction job-site roots, and architectural technology training at Mohawk College. FSRA-regulated insurance broker specializing in Ontario group benefits.
Ontario Insurance
Ontario construction benefits experience
Construction is in Steffen's blood: job sites as a teenager, architectural technology at Mohawk College, and 20+ years in insurance and group benefits for Ontario employers.
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Sources & References
Sources support the WSIB, employment standards, EI and tax rules on this page. Plan terms, eligibility and pricing depend on the insurer's contract and a current quote. For a specific WSIB claim or layoff, check with the WSIB, the Ministry or an employment lawyer.
Employer Contributions to Worker Benefits (policy 18-01-12) (2023)
WSIB Operational Policy Manual
View sourceYour guide to the Employment Standards Act: Termination of employment (temporary layoff) (2026)
Government of Ontario
View sourceEmployment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual, Part XV (2026)
Government of Ontario
View sourceFrequently Asked Questions
Can a manufacturer give plant workers and office staff different benefits?
Yes, through classes. A class is defined by the job, such as hourly plant staff and salaried office or management staff, not by anyone's health. Each class can have its own life and disability amounts, health and dental design and waiting period, as long as each class has enough people for the insurer.
Does WSIB replace group benefits for plant workers?
No. WSIB covers injuries and occupational disease from work. It does not cover illness or injuries away from work, everyday prescriptions and dental, or the worker's family. Most group long-term disability contracts reduce their payment by what WSIB pays for the same disability, so the two do not pay twice.
Do I keep paying benefit premiums while a worker is off on a WSIB claim?
Yes. Under WSIB policy, the employer keeps making its contributions for the worker's health care, life insurance and pension benefits for up to 12 months from the date of injury, or until the worker returns to work, whichever comes first. The worker keeps paying their own share, if they have one. Multi-employer plans follow a different rule.
Can benefits continue during a temporary layoff in Ontario?
They can, if the group contract allows it, and it matters under the Employment Standards Act. A temporary layoff can run past 13 weeks in a 20-week period, to under 35 weeks in any 52, when the employer keeps making payments for the employee under a legitimate group insurance plan for the whole layoff. Read the contract's layoff rule before the layoff starts.
How long should the waiting period be for new plant hires?
Three months is the common default. The waiting period can be set by class, so a high-turnover plant class can wait longer than the office if the insurer allows it. Separately, an employee who enrols more than 31 days after becoming eligible is usually a late applicant and may need medical evidence.
How much do group benefits cost for a manufacturer in Ontario?
For a new group with no claims history, AEC Benefits' planning range is about $148 to $279 per employee per month for single coverage and $300 to $600 for family coverage, based on its own quotes for small Ontario groups from 2023 to 2026. It is a planning range, not a quote. A real number comes from your census: ages, salaries, job classes and dependants.
Does AEC Benefits work with unionized manufacturers?
The plant floor's benefits stay with the collective agreement. AEC Benefits can build the plan for the people outside the bargaining unit, such as office, sales, supervisors and management. For non-union plants of 5 to 100 people, we build the whole plan.
Want to talk through your options?
If you want real numbers instead of generic plan talk, AEC Benefits can pressure-test pricing, structure, and fit for your team.