Does SECOR qualify for the WCB rebate?

Yes. A current SECOR certificate qualifies the employer for the same WCB-Alberta Partnerships in Injury Reduction (PIR) rebate program as full COR — up to 20% back on annual WCB premiums depending on industry performance and individual claims experience.

How long does SECOR take to get?

Most small Alberta employers need 4–8 months from starting to a passing SECOR audit. Most of that is the auditor training, building or updating the written program, running the system in the field for a few months, and then completing the audit.

Who can complete a SECOR audit?

A person within the company who has completed the Certifying Partner's auditor training. Many small Alberta employers have the owner or operations manager become the SECOR auditor.

What happens if I grow past 10 workers?

At your next audit, you will need to move to the full COR pathway with a third-party external auditor. Your existing safety program carries forward — the audit method is what changes.

Is SECOR less work than COR?

The audit is less work than a full COR audit because there is no external auditor day. The underlying safety program is essentially the same — hazard assessment, training, inspections, incident investigation, emergency response, and records. The difference is in who does the audit and how.

Alberta Safety Glossary

Definition

Small Employer Certificate of Recognition (SECOR) — Alberta

SECOR is the Certificate of Recognition pathway for Alberta employers with 10 or fewer workers. The employer completes the audit themselves after required training, instead of using a third-party auditor, and earns the same certificate and WCB premium rebate eligibility as full COR.

Small Employer Certificate of Recognition (SECOR) is the small-employer version of COR in Alberta. It produces the same certificate and the same WCB-Alberta Partnerships in Injury Reduction (PIR) rebate eligibility as full COR, but the audit is structured for the realities of running a small business.

Who qualifies for SECOR

SECOR is available to Alberta employers with 10 or fewer workers — counted as the total number of workers across all job sites, not per site. The threshold is set by the Certifying Partner based on Alberta's COR standard.

If you grow past 10 workers, you generally have to move to the full COR pathway at your next audit.

How the SECOR audit works

Instead of a third-party auditor coming to your site, the employer (or a designated person within the company) completes a structured self-audit using the Certifying Partner's audit tool. The auditor must first complete the partner's training course.

The audit covers the same elements as full COR — hazard assessment and control, training, inspections, incident investigation, emergency response, and program administration — scaled to a small business.

What you get

A passing SECOR audit produces a Certificate of Recognition that is recognized for prequalification and bidding requirements, and qualifies the employer for the WCB-Alberta PIR rebate program — up to 20% back on annual WCB premiums depending on industry performance.

From a buyer / prime contractor point of view, SECOR and COR generally count the same.

When to upgrade from SECOR to COR

If your worker count grows past 10, the next audit must be a full COR (third-party) audit. It is also worth moving to full COR earlier if a major prime in your industry requires it — even when the worker count would still allow SECOR.

Operationally, the safety program does not have to start over: the SECOR system you already run is the foundation for the COR system. The audit is what changes.

Frequently asked questions

Related services & resources

SECOR explained

What SECOR is, how our team can help when you want support, and the path to COR when you grow.

COR (full certification)

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