Payroll Reporter
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www.payroll-reporter.com
April 2017
News in Brief pg. 4
Quebec backtracks on eligibility age
for tax credit | Union calls for
Phoenix contingency fund |
Ontario reviewing Fair Wage Policy
Ask an expert pg. 5
Are probationary workers
entitled to sick days? |
Retention bonus versus
retiring allowance
Know your holiday pay pg. 3
Properly compensating employees
for statutory holidays can be tricky,
even for the most seasoned
payroll professionals
Employee or independent contractor?
Determination important when
complying with standards laws
BY SHEILA BRAWN
A RECENTLY proposed class-action lawsuit
highlights the importance of businesses properly
classifying workers as employees or independent
contractors under employment standards laws.
In January, Toronto-based law firm Samfiru Tu-
markin filed a class-action lawsuit in the Ontario
Superior Court against Uber Technologies, seek-
ing $200 million in damages for Ontario residents
who have driven for the ride-sharing service since
2012.
The lawsuit claims that the drivers are employ-
ees, not independent contractors as Uber classifies
them.
"Uber drivers are employees in almost every
sense, but are incorrectly classified as independent
contractors," said Lior Samfiru, a partner at the law
firm. "Uber drivers are in fact employees, and are
entitled to minimum wage, overtime, vacation pay,
see ROUNDUP page 7
PM
#40065782
Legislative Roundup
Changes in payroll laws and regulations
from across Canada
see TAXABLE page 6
Credit:
Prathan
Chorruangsak/Shutterstock
Payroll issues
focus of CRA review
Program audit provides insight into
employers' understanding of obligations
BY SHEILA BRAWN
PAYROLL PRACTITIONERS are more confident calculating tax-
able benefits for group term life insurance, accidental death and dis-
memberment (AD&D), and gifts and awards than they are for stock
options, personal and living expenses, and housing-related benefits.
This is one of the findings from a recent review that the Canada
Revenue Agency (CRA) conducted on its Employer Compliance
Audit (ECA) Program. The agency says it carried out the evalua-
tion to determine how well the program is achieving its mandate of
maintaining the integrity of the tax system through employer educa-
tion and enforcement.
British Columbia
Minimum wage going up
The general minimum wage rate in British Columbia will increase
from $10.85 an hour to $11.35 on Sept. 15, the provincial govern-
ment recently announced.
The rate hike includes a 20-cent increase, based on British Co-
lumbia's 2016 consumer price index (CPI), as well as an extra 30
cents to account for strong economic growth in the province. Last
year, the government began indexing minimum wage rates using
increases in the province's CPI for the previous year (rounded to
the nearest nickel).
The minimum wage rate for liquor servers will also go up on Sept.
15 from $9.60 an hour to $10.10.
On that date, the government will also increase the minimum
see UBER page 2
