Payroll Reporter
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adian adian a
www.payroll-reporter.com
December 2017
Underestimating complexity
led to Phoenix problems: Report
Review of troubled pay system
released by federal government
BY SHEILA BRAWN
THE FEDERAL government's failure to fully appre-
ciate the intricacies involved in changing the way
it administered payroll led to the problems it faced
when it launched its Phoenix pay system last year, a
recently released independent report said.
"It is our view that fundamentally it was the under-
estimation of the initiative's complexity that led to its
downfall," said the report by consulting firm Goss
Gilroy. Called Lessons Learned from the Transforma-
tion of Pay Administration, the report stems from a
study it carried out earlier this year on the govern-
ment's Transformation of Pay Administration Initia-
tive (TPA).
Problems with Phoenix have been ongoing since
the government began rolling it out in Feb. 2016.
see ROUNDUP page 7
PM
#40065782
Legislative Roundup
Changes in payroll laws and regulations
from across Canada
see QUEBEC page 6
Credit:
Chris
Wattie
(Reuters)
ink your payroll is
complex? ink again
Canada 31st in payroll complexity: Survey
BY SHEILA BRAWN
CANADA RANKS in the bottom 40 per cent when it comes to the
complexity of doing payroll, says a new report measuring the intrica-
cies of payroll in 48 countries.
The Global Payroll Complexity Index 2017, prepared by HR and
payroll solutions provider NGA Human Resources, gave Canada an
average complexity score of 5.07 out of 10, below the global average
of 5.54. That placed Canada at number 31 on the list.
The country with the most complex payroll was France, with a
score of 7.59, followed by Italy at 7.56. Malaysia had the least com-
plex payroll of the countries measured, scoring 1.18 on the scale. The
United States ranked 18th, with a score of 5.78.
Canada
Government proposes changes
to Canada Labour Code
The federal government is proposing to make a number of changes
to federal labour standards.
The proposals are part of Bill C-63, the Budget Implementation
Act, 2017, No. 2, which the government tabled in the House of
Commons on Oct. 27.
It proposes the following changes, among others, to Part III of the
Canada Labour Code:
• Employees would be allowed to take time off in lieu of overtime
pay if they requested it. The time off would be taken at at least 1.5
see CHANGE page 2
News in Brief pg. 4
Senate distances itself from Phoenix | Salary
increases to average 2.4 per cent | Average
weekly earnings up in August | NYC bans
questions on salary history
Ask an Expert pg. 5
Income tax on banked
overtime pay| Required
notice for pay cycle changes
| Year-end reporting
for garnishments
Get ready pg. 3
Tips, tricks for fi ling
your annual T4 and
RL-1 information
returns
Public servants take part in a protest calling on the federal government to fi x its Phoenix
payroll system in Ottawa, Oct. 31, 2016.
