Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER April 17, 2017 26 FEATURES EmploymentSource™ Works as hard for you as you do for your clients Our premier employment content on WestlawNext® Canada is integrated with relevant case law, legislation, expert commentary and legal memos, allowing you to manage your practice in the most efficient way possible. It's the complete mix of resources you need to confidently advise on compliance, defend occupational and health and safety charges, or prepare successful dismissal or termination strategies. Search across multiple content types simultaneously Instantly evaluate what a claim is worth with the Wrongful Dismissal Quantum Service, an interactive service with report-building functionality Review exclusive commentary by Canada's foremost employment and occupational health and safety law experts Start ahead − and stay ahead − with our exclusive collection of legal memoranda Keep current with two leading employment and dismissal law newsletters and digests For a free demonstration, call 1-866-609-5811 or visit westlawnextcanada.com/employmentsource 00233WZ-52632 Canadian Payroll Reporter is designed to keep you up to date on legislation, regulations, court decisions, technology advances and other developments that affect payroll departments. STAY ON TOP OF PAYROLL LEGISLATION To order your subscription call 1.800.387.5164 | 416.609.3800 www.payroll-reporter.com/subscribe Subscribe today for only $179 Order No. 20186-17 Payroll Reporter Can R Can R adian adian a www.payroll-reporter.com September 2016 see BRITISH COLUMBIA page 7 PM #40065782 Legislative Roundup Changes in payroll laws and regulations from across Canada News in Brief pg. 4 Feds still working to fi x Phoenix payroll problems|B.C. Tax Commission to issue report in October|Little change in average weekly earnings in May Ask an expert pg. 5 Reporting fake SINs|Successor employers and vacation entitlement |Maintaining benefi ts while on leave Alberta Reminder: Minimum wage rates going up The general minimum wage rate in Alberta will rise from $11.20 an hour to $12.20 on Oct. 1. The rate will now apply to liquor servers since the government is eliminating a separate minimum wage rate for them on Oct. 1. Other minimum wage rates are also going up at the beginning of October. The rate for certain salespersons specified in provincial regulations will rise from $446.00 per week to $486.00. The rate for domestic employees who live in their employer's residence will in- crease from $2,127 per month to $2,316. Labour Minister Christina Gray says the government will keep an see CONSIDER on page 6 Credit: Adwo/Shutterstock New folio pg. 3 The CRA has retired its Employee Fringe Benefi ts Employer Interpretation Bulletin and replaced it with a new Income Tax Folio chapter. Advocacy leads to changes Canadian Payroll Association works with government to ensure payroll's voice is heard BY SHEILA BRAWN CODES NOW replace footnotes on the T4. There are now higher thresholds for Can- ada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec accelerated remitters. There are now graduated penalties for late remittanc- es. The timeframe for issuing electronic ROEs now better aligns with pay cycles. These are just some of the changes the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) has successfully advocated for governments to make in recent years. From source deduc- tions to year-end reporting to employment standards and workers' compensation, CPA president and CEO Patrick Culhane says the association regularly works with government officials and civil servants to make payroll-related laws more efficient and effective for employers, government, employees and the general public. "Advocacy is important to us," says Culhane. "Our core purpose is payroll compliance through education and see GRADUATED page 2 Payroll technology changes don't have to cause headaches Research, well-defi ned plan and stakeholder inclusion help transition BY KIM GROOME BECAUSE PAYROLL plays such a critical role, it can be easy to jus- tify keeping your existing solution even when it means managing work-arounds, manual processes and maintaining external spread- sheets. In spite of this, to provide the best possible experience for em- ployees and to make a more strategic impact in your organization, The Canada Revenue Agency in Ottawa has worked with the Canadian Payroll Association through the years in making changes to payroll-related laws. HEALTH & SAFETY Positive mental health good business strategy Evolution of mental health initiatives in the workplace sees encouraging results By Mary Ann Baynton I n workplaces where positive mental health for all employ- ees is supported, engage- ment and productivity increase while stigma and stress are re- duced. Employees can maximize their potential to do a good job and go home at the end of the day with some energy left over for their personal lives. Building team resilience, effec- tively addressing and resolving conflict, providing clarity about expectations, and supporting the success of each employee's per- formance are some of the major contributions towards a mentally healthy workplace. And if there are employees who also live with mental health issues such as de- pression or anxiety, the same ap- proaches will be protective for them. ese are exactly the elements that contribute to organizational success. And while human resources professionals cannot be respon- sible for the mental health of every employee, with the right frame- work, they can cascade responsi- bility to each and every employee, with clear directives and support for leaders. e strategies and outcomes of employers that have been suc- cessful in creating this seemingly idealistic environment are shared in the 2017 Evolution of Work- place Mental Health in Canada: Research Report, a project com- missioned by the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace to support re- search through the University of Fredericton. These are not perfect work- places, with no conflict or mental health issues — that is not even the goal. ese are workplaces where conflict is resolved effectively, the mental health of all employees is promoted, and employees with mental health issues are helped to remain productive while at work. e report, along with other research, provides evidence that this is not just a so-called "nice- to-have" approach. We now have statistics that show it is a prudent and beneficial business strategy. Fortunately, early adopters that implemented the National Standard of Canada for Psycho- logical Health and Safety in the Workplace released in 2013 have shared their results to light the way for other employers that wanted to see proof before tak- ing action. Leadership views changing Progress on mental health is evi- dent — 73 per cent of the working Canadians surveyed for the report said the availability of workplace mental health and educational training programs had improved since 2007, with similar responses from those who came from white- collar, blue-collar or pink-collar work environments. And societal shifts in the gen- eral public's attitudes toward mental health issues have also contributed to overall stigma be- ing reduced, according to lead re- searcher Joti Samra, program lead at the Centre for Psychological Health Sciences at the University of Fredericton. Mental health is increasingly being viewed as an important component of overall health, awareness has increased, and the overall understanding of men- tal health issues has become less judgmental and more compas- sionate. There is a movement from a focus exclusively on those with a diagnosed mental illness to a broader view of protecting the psychological health and safety of each and every employee. One of the overarching themes that has evolved in the last decade relates to attitudinal changes in the workplace, particularly among those in leadership roles, toward valuing the protection of employ- ees' mental health. Seventy-seven per cent of survey respondents across all worker groups indicated attitudes toward workplace men- tal health issues were better than they were in 2007. "is suggests a better under- standing of the impact that the workplace has on mental health and awareness of the important role and obligation employers have in protecting the overall health of their employees — not only in terms of physical health and safety, but also psychological health and safety," says Samra. e results of a 2016 national public opinion survey of 5,000 working Canadians, commis- sioned by the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health, sup- port Samra's findings. In the last decade, fewer Canadians describe their workplace as being one that is psychologically unhealthy and unsafe. In fact, since 2009, the number who disagree that their workplace is a psychologically healthy and safe environment has been cut in half, to just 10 per cent. Taking action e sheer quantity of tools and resources now available can be daunting, and many of them are available at no cost in the public domain. is is quite a change Credit: Belight (Shutterstock) ACTIVE > pg. 29 One of the overarching themes relates to leadership's attitudinal changes.

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