Canadian Payroll Reporter - sample

5 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2016 CPR | November 2016 MANAGER OF CARSWELL'S PAYROLL CONSULTING GROUP annie.chong@thomsonsreuters.com | (416) 298-5085 Annie Chong ASK AN EXPERT Obligations for paying employees on day of workplace injury Question: If an employee suffers a workplace injury and cannot com- plete his or her work shift that day, what are the employer's obliga- tions under workers' compensa- tion laws for paying the employee his or her wages for the day? Our employees are not covered by a collective agreement. Answer: The answer depends on the jurisdiction where the employer is registered for workers' compensa- tion coverage, as the following table shows: Note: Federal government em- ployees are entitled to receive com- pensation under the same conditions as private-sector employees covered by the workers' compensation legis- lation of the province in which the federal employee works. However, Crown employees normally em- ployed in Yukon, Northwest Terri- tories or Nunavut are considered to be employees in Alberta for workers' compensation purposes. Pay requirements for employees awaiting workers' compensation board benefits Question: Are employers required to pay employees their wages or salary while they are off work, waiting to find out if the workers' compensation board will accept their claim? Answer: In all jurisdictions, but Quebec, employers are not required to continue pay- ing employees who are off work awaiting a decision on their workers' compensation claim.* In fact, in New Brunswick, work- ers are required to serve a three-day unpaid waiting period before receiving workers' compensation benefits. In Quebec, employ- ers must pay employees 90 per cent of their net wages or salary for the first 14 days after the day of the workplace injury. *Note: In Ontario, employers must con- tinue to pay their contributions for health care, life insurance and pension benefits for the employee for one year while the worker is absent because of the injury, provided that he or she continues to pay his or her share (if any) of the cost. Standby hours and employment insurance: How exactly does the process work? Question: We require some of our employees to be on standby in case we need to call them to work. The employees do not have to wait at the workplace, but they have to carry a cell phone with them so that we can reach them if needed. We pay the employees a portion of their regular hourly rate (above minimum wage) for the standby hours. How do we treat this standby time for employ- ment insurance purposes? Answer: In this case, the hours are not in- surable. The hours an employee is on standby somewhere other than at the workplace are insurable only if the employer pays the employee at least the rate that it would have paid had the employee actually worked the hours. If the employer requires that the em- ployee be at the workplace for the standby time, the hours are insurable regardless of the amount paid. Jurisdiction Payment Obligations for Day of Workplace Injury (no collective agreement in place) Alberta Employers must pay injured workers their normal wages/salary for the day of the injury. British Columbia Employers must pay injured workers their regular earnings for work performed up to the time of the injury. Manitoba Employers must pay injured workers their regular wages and benefits for the day of the accident or illness. New Brunswick Employers must pay injured workers for the hours they worked up to the time of the injury. Newfoundland and Labrador Employers must pay injured workers their normal wages for the day the injury occurred. Northwest Territories and Nunavut Employers must pay injured workers their regular earnings for the hours worked up to the time of the injury. Nova Scotia Employers must pay injured workers their regular wages and benefits for work performed up to the time of the accident. Ontario Employers must pay injured workers their full wages for the day of the injury. Prince Edward Island Employers must pay injured workers their regular wages for work up to the time of the injury. Quebec Employers must pay injured workers their regular salary or wages for the day of the injury. Saskatchewan Employers must pay injured workers for hours worked up to the time of the injury. Yukon Employers must pay injured workers their regular earnings for the day of the injury.

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