Canadian Payroll Reporter

MARCH 2014 4 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 ■ ALBERTA WCB policy changes for volunteers, unpaid workers Alberta's Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) has implemented policy changes it says will better distinguish unpaid workers from volunteers for workers' compensation coverage. As a result of the changes, the board now uses the term "unpaid workers" to describe individuals who provide ser- vices without pay for for-profit employ- ers. For-profit employers in industries where workers' compensation coverage is required must cover the unpaid work- ers and provide a "value of service" for them in their insurable earnings report- ing. If individuals provide services with- out pay for a not-for-profit employer, the WCB considers them to be volunteers. Not-for-profit employers in industries where workers' compensation coverage is mandatory are not required to cover the volunteers, but can choose to do so. If an employer opts for coverage, it must include a "value of service" for the vol- unteers in its insurable earnings report- ing. To determine the value of service, the board says employers should use an amount that is consistent with the rate they pay for similar work. See www.wcb.ab.ca/public/policy/ manual/policy_manual.asp. ■ BRITISH COLUMBIA B.C. moving forward on pooled pension plans The British Columbia government has tabled a bill that would allow for pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) to be set up in the province. PRPPs are defined contribution (DC) pension plans administered by a third party, such as a financial institution, rather than an employer. The plans are designed to provide a way of saving for retirement for individuals whose em- ployer does not have its own registered pension plan or for those who are self- employed. Bill 9, the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, is based on the federal Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, which generally applies to federally regulated workplaces. If passed, the British Columbia leg- islation would allow private-sector em- ployers in the province the option of signing up for a PRPP. Employers who LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP | CHANGES IN PAYROLL LAWS AND REGULATIONS FROM ACROSS CANADA Nearly 30,000 jobs added in January: StatsCan OTTAWA — Canada's economy gained 29,400 jobs in January, lowering the unemployment rate from 7.2 per cent to seven per cent, Statistics Canada re- ports. This is a change from last month when the economy lost 45,900 jobs. Employment was up in transporta- tion and warehousing in January. It was down in business, building and other support services and in pub- lic administration. Over the past 12 months, the following industries have been responsible for most growth: professional, scientific and technical services; finance, insurance and real estate and leasing; health care and social assistance; utilities; and natu- ral resources. On a provincial basis, Saskatchewan had the lowest unem- ployment rate (4.3 per cent) while Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest (12 per cent). In the United States, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics reports that the American econ- omy added 113,000 jobs in January, with the unemployment rate going down slightly from 6.7 per cent to 6.6 per cent. Most Canadians expect to be working after age 65: Survey TORONTO — More than 50 per cent of Canadians expect to be working at age 66. According to a survey, which Ipsos Reid did for Sun Life Financial in November, 27 per cent of respon- dents expect to be working full-time at age 66 and 29 per cent plan to be employed part-time. Twenty-eight per cent say they will be retired, while the remainder were not sure or did not think they would still be alive. The results are similar to last year's survey, when 26 per cent said they would be working at age 66 and 27 per cent said they would be retired. The numbers are quite different from the 2008 and 2009 surveys, when more than 50 per cent of those polled planned to be retired at 66 and only 16 per cent expected to be working. For the survey, Ipsos Reid inter- viewed 3,005 working Canadians between the ages of 30 and 65. The survey found 65 per cent of those who expect to be working would be doing so because they need the mon- ey, while 35 per cent will be work- ing because they want to stay in the workforce. The survey also found that although the average expected retire- ment age is 66, for people close to re- tirement age (55 to 65), the expected age is 67. Payroll earnings up 0.9 per cent in November: StatsCan OTTAWA — Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $928 in November, up from $918 in October, Statistics Canada reports. On a year-over-year basis, weekly earn- ings increased 2.5 per cent. The increase in weekly earnings during the 12 months to November re- flected a number of factors, including wage growth, changes in the compo- sition of employment by industry, oc- cupation and level of job experience, as well as average hours worked per week. Non-farm payroll employees worked an average of 32.8 hours a week in November, the same as Octo- ber, but down from 33.1 hours in the previous November. Year-over-year earnings of non- farm payroll employees grew in eight provinces, with the most growth in Saskatchewan and Alberta. NEWS IN BRIEF | A LOOK AT NEWS, FACTS AND FIGURES SHAPING THE WORLD OF PAYROLL PROFESSIONALS Continued on page 5

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