Small Employer Certificate of Recognition (SECOR)

AMHSA, Alberta Employment and Immigration (formerly Alberta Human Resources and Employment), and the Workers' Compensation Board help municipalities earn special financial incentives for developing and implementing health and safety management systems. This voluntary program is called Partnerships or Partners in Injury Reduction (PIR), and offers a Small Employer Certificate of Recognition (SECOR). The SECOR program provides an option for employers with a small number of workers to develop a health and safety management system and achieve a Certificate of Recognition.

A SECOR is issued to an employer whose health and safety management system meets the Partnerships standard. An effective system can support due diligence by the employer and result in reducing the social and financial costs of workplace injury and illness. Employers who achieve a SECOR and are registered in PIR are eligible for an automatic 5% industry rate discount on their annual WCB premiums, which could increase to a maximum of 20% based on claims cost performance as long as a valid COR is maintained.

Any municipality in Alberta with 10 or fewer employees can participate in the SECOR program. The term "employees" includes anyone who directly affects the outcome of the organization's work (e.g. municipal manager, administration, volunteers, and outside employees). It also includes part-time and temporary employees, as well as subcontractors. The total number of employees cannot exceed 10 at any time during the year; if it does, the municipality is considered a regular employer and the standard COR requirements apply. See our PIR page for additional information about the Partners in Injury Reduction program.

Successful small employer municipalities will be issued a Small Employer Certificate of Recognition, which is valid for 3 years, assuming it is maintained by continuing to conduct SECOR audits in each of the next 2 calendar years.

Resources for Small Employers

• SECOR Audit Information
• SECOR Tool-Kit (Small Employer Health and Safety Management System Templates)
• SECOR Training Information

SECOR Tool-Kit — Small Employer Health and Safety Management System Templates

The SECOR Tool-Kit was developed by AMHSA for small employers in Alberta. The templates in this tool-kit have been designed to allow members to easily build the paper version of their health and safety management system. The numbering of the templates correlates with the numbering of the questions in the SECOR self-assessment tool.

All AMHSA members and associate members are welcome to download either the MS Word (doc) or Adobe Acrobat (pdf) files and customize them.

Note: Acrobat files cannot be altered with Adobe Acrobat Reader software, Acrobat Professional is required.

If you have questions or concerns, please email Shannon.

SECOR Audits

The AMHSA SECOR Audit Instrument is available in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format. The standard is 80%, with no less than 50% in any element. Small employers perform audits which are validated by a Commissioner of Oaths (form included in audit tool). This is submitted along with additional documentation for review by AMHSA. All audits must be completed within 45 days and submitted to AMHSA within 45 days of completion. Audits will be kept on file for 3 years.

Note: Download the SECOR Sworn Statement, Audit Checklist, and Process chart.

SECOR Training

If a municipality wishes to participate in the SECOR program, the manager or person most familiar with overall municipal operations is required to take AMHSA's 1-day Health and Safety Management Systems – Small Employer course. There is no prerequisite, although it is beneficial to have some experience in health and safety activities (e.g. inspections, hazard assessments). Successful participants will be issued a certificate, and can then implement their health and safety management system and perform a SECOR audit. A 1-day refresher training course is required every 3 years.

Course Schedule