Canadian Payroll Reporter

Sick leave plans can lead to lower EI premiums e federal government's EI Premium Reduction Program can benefi t employers with short-term disability plans BY SHEILA BRAWN EMPLOYMENT insurance (EI) premium rates may be frozen at 1.88 per cent for the next year for employers outside Quebec, but some employers will still see lower EI rates in 2016. Employers that take part in the federal government's EI Pre- mium Reduction Program (PRP) pay premiums at rates that are less than the standard 1.4 times the employee rate other employ- ers pay. For 2016, employers regis- tered in the program can ex- pect their employer multiplier to range from 1.203 times the employee rate to 1.296, depend- ing on the category in which Employment and Social Devel- opment Canada (ESDC) places them for the rate reduction. The only catch is that to take part in the program, an employ- er must offer employees a short- term disability plan that meets specified criteria. Employers without such plans need not bother applying. If you have not heard of the PRP or are not taking part in it, you are not alone. ESDC says there are about 30,000 em- ployers registered in it. When the department last evaluated the program in 2009, it found that only about 2.9 per cent of businesses registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) were enrolled in the PRP. "PRP registration is influenced by an employer's willingness to offer an SD (short-term disabil- ity) plan," says the 2009 report Payroll Reporter Can R Can R adian adian a www.payroll-reporter.com November 2015 see RATES FOR EI on page 7 PM #40065782 Legislative Roundup Changes in payroll laws and regulations from across Canada News in Brief pg. 4 Looking for answers with Ontario's proposed pension plan| Canadians not taking all their vacation: Survey| Average weekly earnings up in July Ask an expert pg. 5 Do we need the court's permission to lower garnishment deductions?| Provincial entitlements to sick days Salary surveys pg. 3 On average, most employees will only see their pay go up by about three per cent next year, according to the surveys see ALL page 2 see MAKE on page 6 Credit: Blair Gable (Reuters) Are you complying with overtime rules? BY SHEILA BRAWN ONE AREA of compensation that can cause headaches for employ- ers and payroll departments is overtime pay. Knowing who is enti- tled to overtime pay, how much to pay, when to pay and how to keep good records are critical components in ensuring that employer policy complies with labour standards rules. Employers that do not adhere to overtime rules could have to an- swer to a labour standards board or even face a lawsuit. In Ontario, the Ministry of Labour lists overtime pay as one of the top five com- plaints it received in 2014-2015. In recent years, some large employers, including CIBC and Sco- tiabank, have had to deal with class-action lawsuits for unpaid over- time. Most recently, transportation and logistics company Canada Federal EI maximum insurable earnings going up in 2016 The maximum insurable earnings for employment insurance (EI) premiums will increase from $49,500 to $50,800 in 2016, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission (CEIC) recently announced. The federal government previously said EI premium rates for employees outside of Quebec would remain at 1.88 per cent for 2016, while the rate for employers would stay at 2.632 per cent. For employees in Quebec, the employee EI premium rate will decrease from 1.54 per cent to 1.52 per cent, while the rate for employers will

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