Canadian Payroll Reporter - sample

4 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 News in Brief A look at news, facts and figures shaping the world of payroll professionals PM #40065782 Senate report criticizes Phoenix pay system › OTTAWA — Before the federal government de- velops a new pay system for its employees, it should report to Parliament on how it will avoid repeating the mistakes it made with Phoenix, a Senate committee has recommended. The Standing Committee on National Finance made the recommendation in a recently released report examining problems with the government's Transformation of Pay Administration Initiative, which included implementing the Phoenix pay system and centralizing pay operations at one location to save $70 million a year. The government has struggled with Phoenix since launching it in early 2016, with thousands of civil servants being overpaid, underpaid, or not paid at all. The Senate report said more than half of the government's 290,000 employees have had pay problems attributed to Phoenix. "Instead of realizing $70 million in annual savings... the government will incur approximately $2.2 billion in unplanned expenditures. By any measure, the Phoenix pay system has been a failure," said the report. In this year's budget, the government announced it would eventually replace Phoenix. "To date, the government has not explained why a new system is required, how it would represent value-for-money, what options are being considered, and how the government would avoid making the same mistakes again," the report said. It recommended that the government report to Parliament on options — including costs, expected impact on employees, and how it would manage and monitor the project. The report said that since it could take years to replace Phoenix, the government should consider interim changes to improve the pay process. It suggested allowing departments with more complex pay requirements — such as shift work — to use customized pay solutions rather than Phoenix's centralized process. The report also recommended that the government do more to help employees with pay problems by setting targets for the time to process outstanding pay requests. In addition, it called for the government to reassess training and the level of staffing for its compensation advisors and HR staff. Feds looking to create Indigenous holiday › OTTAWA — The federal government plans to create a new statutory holiday to commemorate the legacy of Canada's residential schools, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The holiday was one of the calls to action stemming from Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated abuse of Aboriginal children at residential schools. Trudeau said the holiday would provide a time for Canadians "to remember and reflect upon the nature of reconciliation and the work we still need to do." The government will consult with Indigenous groups to select the date for the holiday, he said. It is unclear whether the holiday would apply to all workers. Federal statutory holidays only cover federally regulated workplaces. Provinces and territories decide which holidays to include in their employment standards laws. Quebec reduces HSF rate for SMBs › QUEBEC CITY — Quebec's finance ministry has announced further changes to employer contributions to its health services fund (HSF) for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs). In a recently released Information Bulletin, the ministry announced that it had raised the threshold used to determine whether SMBs are eligible for reduced HSF rates from $5 million to $5.5 million for 2018. The change increases the threshold earlier than originally announced in this year's budget when the government said it would rise to $5.5 in 2019. Instead, the government will raise it to $6 million for 2019 and 2020. In 2021, it plans to increase the threshold to $6.5 million and in 2022 it will raise it to $7 million. Beginning in 2023, the ministry said it would index and automatically adjust the threshold each year. The ministry also lowered the HSF contribution rate for eligible SMBs. The rate reductions are in addition to those announced in the March 27 budget. For eligible SMBs in the primary and manufacturing sectors whose annual payroll is no more than $1 million, the rate is reduced from 1.45 per cent to 1.25 per cent for wages paid or deemed paid as of Aug. 16. The 1.45 per cent rate still applies to wages paid or deemed paid between March 28 and Aug. 15 this year. For wages paid or deemed paid from Jan. 1 to March 27, the rate remains 1.5 per cent. The reduction to 1.25 per cent comes earlier than announced in this year's budget, when the government said it would lower the rate to 1.25 per cent by 2022. For eligible SMBs in the service and construction sectors whose annual payroll does not exceed $1 million, the rate is reduced from 1.95 per cent to 1.75 per cent for wages paid or deemed paid as of Aug. 16. The 1.95 per cent rate continues to apply for wages paid or deemed paid between March 28 and Aug. 15 this year. For wages paid or deemed paid from Jan. 1 to March 27, the rate remains 2.3 per cent. The Finance Ministry said the rate would decrease to 1.7 per cent in 2019 and to 1.65 per cent in 2020. Rate reductions will also apply for eligible SMBs in the primary, manufacturing, service and construction sectors whose payroll is more than $1 million, but less than the annual threshold; however, their rate reductions will be calculated using formulas that incorporate the size of their payroll. SMBs whose total annual payroll is equal to or greater than the annual threshold will continue to pay the HSF at a rate of 4.26 per cent. Ontario director jailed, corporation fined for not paying workers › TORONTO — An Ontario court has sentenced the director of 12 now-defunct corporate busi- nesses to 90 days in jail and fined the corpora- tions $900,000 for not complying with employ- ment standards orders to pay staff. The conviction in a Newmarket provincial court of Yuk Yee (Ellen) Pun and the corporations that she ran related to 68 complaints that the province's Ministry of Labour received about unpaid wages totalling more than $676,000 from employees of the businesses. In June 2015, the ministry ordered Pun and the businesses to pay $457,443 in unpaid wages (due to a legal limit on the amount employment standards officers can order) plus a 10 per cent administration fee. They failed to comply with the orders and were charged. Pun and the corporations pleaded guilty to the charges. On top of the jail time and fine, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge. The ministry said the employees who lodged the complaints were administrative staff, food services providers and cleaning staff — many of whom needed interpreters and a legal aid clinic to file their claims. Yukon WCHSB announces 2019 assessment rates › WHITEHORSE — Some Yukon employers will see their industry's workers' compensation assessment rates rise next year, while others will experience a decrease, the Yukon's Work- ers' Compensation Health and Safety Board (YWCHSB) recently announced. Rate increases will vary from 1.3 per cent to 2.9 per cent, with the Services Low rate group seeing the largest increase, with assessment rates rising from $0.68 per $100 of assessable payroll to $0.70. Rate decreases will range from 1.1 per cent to 5.4 per cent, with the Services High rate group experiencing the biggest decrease, with assessment rates falling from $2.95 to $2.79. The YWCHSB released the 2019 assessment rates in August, two months before it has previously announced rate changes. It said the earlier announcement would give employers more time to prepare.

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