Contents:

Welcome
Upcoming Events
What's New
GrandMaster Updates

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Welcome!

October 2002 - Welcome to the latest edition of The Payroll News. As always, please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends and associates who are interested in keeping up with the latest changes in the Payroll industry. Or better yet, subscribe them for free using the Tell Someone About Us link.

Upcoming Events

Listed here are recent changes in legislation on Federal and Provincial levels that may impact your payroll calculations. Please view the following list for changes that affect your region.

FEDERAL:

September 26, 2002 - Government launches pilot project to ensure full access to maternity and parental benefits - The HRDC have launched an Employment Insurance (EI) pilot project (starting September 25th) to allow certain mothers deprived of full maternity and parental benefits to choose between receiving partial EI benefits while on preventative withdrawal benefits and being entitled to a longer period of maternity or parental leave. The pilot project is intended for claimants who will establish a benefit period during the project or who will already have a benefit period in effect as of September 25, 2002, who will be receiving benefits for preventative withdrawal during their benefit period, and for whom the amount of the preventative withdrawal benefits will not prevent the payment of EI benefits. (Full Story - 782 Words)

Alberta:

September 4, 2002 - WCB Appeals Commission becomes independent - The Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation is now fully independent of the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB). As a separate government entity, the Appeals Commission now reports to the Minister of Alberta Human Resources and Employment. As part of the move to establish the commission as an independent entity, the WCB will no longer be able to require that the Appeals Commission reconsider its decisions. The WCB will now be able to make representation to the Appeals Commission on WCB policy and legislation. As well, the WCB will have the right to challenge decisions of the Commission in the courts on questions of law or jurisdiction. (Full Story - 668 Words)

September 13, 2002 - Agreement will help First Nations people get jobs - The Partnership Framework Agreement on First Nations Employment will help First Nations people in Edmonton get the information they need to find work and develop their careers. The new agreement sets out guidelines for a coordinated, cooperative approach to the planning and delivery of career, employment and labour market information for First Nations people. (Full Story - 338 Words)

September 2002 - Province releases projected WCB rates - In response to employer requests for more time to plan and budget, the WCB is providing a projection of the 2003 premium rates. Although the projected rates are reasonable estimates of what the actual 2003 rates will be, the WCB assumes no responsibility or liability that may arise from using the 2003 Projected Rates. Employers can expect to receive the approved 2003 premium rates in November 2002. (Full Story - 351 Words)

British Columbia:

September 6, 2002 - B.C. jobs now exceed pre-2001 levels - Strong job growth in 2002 means B.C. has more than replaced the jobs lost in the 2001 downturn. B.C. has gained just over 88,000 jobs since December, according to Statistics Canada's latest labour force survey. This total exceeds the net loss of 61,000 jobs B.C. endured between December 2000 and December 2001. B.C.'s unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points in August to 7.8 per cent. (Full Story - 257 Words)

September 4, 2002 - WCB Restructuring - The Workers' Compensation Board is restructuring its operations in response to declining numbers of new claims, declining income from investments and increased claims costs, as well as an examination of core services. In 2001 the Board sustained a $287 million operating loss. The internal restructuring will affect the WCB's overall staff complement, which will be reduced by approximately 235 positions over a period of several months. This is in addition to the 150 positions announced in early August. (Full Story - 391 Words)

5th Annual Rehabilitation Provider Education Session - The Workers' Compensation Board's Rehabilitation Services Department presents the 5th Annual Rehabilitation Provider Education Session. This year's session is scheduled for Friday, October 18th, at the WCB's Richmond office. (Full Story - 900 Words)

New Brunswick:

September 6, 2002 - NB has largest unemployment rate drop in country - New Brunswick experienced the largest decrease in the country in its unemployment rate and there were 10,500 more New Brunswickers working than at the same time last year. The province's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 10.5 per cent in August, which was down from 11.2 per cent at the same time last year and even with the 10.5 per cent level reached in July. The number of employed grew to 343,000 which was also up from 332,500 at the same time last year. (Full Story - 307 Words)

WHSCC Conference 2002 - Taking place from November 3rd to 5th, Conference 2002 is for CEOs and company managers; workers; joint health and safety committee members; safety officers and managers; human resource professionals; workers in the health care sector -- everyone who’s concerned about the health and safety culture in their workplace. (Full Story - 900 Words)

Newfoundland and Labrador:

September 6, 2002 - Fall starts with new highs in employment numbers - According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, employment for the province continued to grow in August, marking 21 months of consecutive year-over-year gains. Employment increased by 2.1 per cent in August, or by 4,900 jobs, as compared to the same month last year. Along with the employment increase, the unemployment rate dropped by 0.5 percentage points to 14.8 per cent, the lowest unemployment rate for the month of August since 1989. Likewise, improvements in the employment numbers were reflected across most regions of the province. (Full Story - 650 Words)

Prince Edward Island:

September 5, 2002 - Taking Steps Towards Better Health - A recent employee activity program at East Prince Health has encouraged staff to take more time out of their busy schedules to walk. Dr. Cathy Chan says "The workplace is a key place for promoting health since we now know the powerful influence our jobs have on our health. We spend many hours at our paid work, so it makes sense to encourage healthy living during working hours.". (Full Story - 403 Words)

Saskatchewan:

September 6, 2002 - Record jobs for August - Saskatchewan has set a new record for the number of people working in August. Statistics Canada figures released today show 496,800 people were employed in the province last month (seasonally unadjusted), beating the previous August record set three years ago. August employment was up 6,300 over August of 2001. This marks the fourth consecutive month of solid job growth over last year's figures. (Full Story - 367 Words)

September 27, 2002 - Students Attracted to Saskatchewan Jobs - Saskatchewan has set a new record for the number of people working in August. Statistics Canada figures released today show 496,800 people were employed in the province last month (seasonally unadjusted), beating the previous August record set three years ago. August employment was up 6,300 over August of 2001. This marks the fourth consecutive month of solid job growth over last year's figures. (Full Story - 283 Words)

Yukon:

September 10, 2002 - The YWCHSB welcomes Auditor General's Report - The Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board (YWCHSB) is welcoming the recommendations in the report of the special examination by the Auditor General of Canada. "We thank the Auditor General for conducting this special examination and for noting that our compensation system is fundamentally sound and responsive," said Dale Schmekel, Chair of the Board of Directors. "We welcome suggestions for improvements and we will be closely considering the recommendations over the next several weeks.". (Full Story - 455 Words)

The latest release of GrandMaster Suite (3.60.08) incorporates a number of changes to make it even easier to use the program and perform your payroll tasks. Recent program changes since our last Payroll News issue include:

• Improved justification of Payroll Module information - We have adjusted the display of the current payroll's identification information in the Payroll Module window. Previously, the Pay Year, Pay Period and Pay Sequence information was displayed as a combination of left and right justification. These values now show as right justified which makes the information easier to read.
• Employee Profile Report headings adjusted - We have changed the Total Pay heading in the Employee Profile Report to read Total Costs. This better reflects the values being displayed under its column (e.g. employee wages plus all statutory and company benefits).
• Timekeeping Module now supports Reference Field on Import - When performing the Import Actual Hours process in the TimeKeeping Module, you now have the option of importing the value shown in the Reference field.
• Rate amount now displays to four decimal places in Rate tab - When viewing the Rate tab for an earning that used a Rate Table, the rate was being displayed correctly with 4 decimal places. However, if you edited the earning then viewed the Rate tab again, the label beside the rate amount would only show two decimal places. This has been corrected so that the tab displays the correct decimal amounts.
• Earning Rate Table not being displayed in Position Update dialog box - If you pressed the key while in the Earning Rate Table field (in the Position Update dialog box), the Global Earning Tables dialog box was not appearing. This problem has been corrected and the list of tables now appears when you press the key.
• Category dialog box moving to background - Fixed a minor problem where the Category dialog box was moving behind other dialog boxes when you pressed the key (e.g. the List function). The dialog box now retains the focus and maintains its correct position.
• Employee number displaying incorrect justification after import - When you performed the Import into Payroll process (via the Import Employee command under the Payroll Menu), the employee's Badge Number was not showing as right justified (in the Employee Update dialog box's Badge field). The import process now processes this value correctly and displays the data in a right justified manner.
• Program not processing correct period number after reversing Extra Pay - If you processed a Reverse Pay after running an Extra Pay, the program was not processing the correct period number. For example, if you processed a normal pay (period 8), processed an extra pay (Period 9) then processed a Pay Reversal for the extra pay (Period 9) the Pay Reversal would become pay run #8. The program now increments the pay period only after a Normal pay has been calculated and closed.
• Employee's distribution incorrectly updated in Hours Entry dialog box - If you were in the Hours Entry dialog box and updated the hour amounts on a given line, the program was also changing the employee's distribution amount to the base distribution. This has been corrected. Now the distribution should not change unless you have a default distribution assigned and the Distribution field is blank.
• Adjusted Calculation Method Number 70 - If you defined a deduction to use the deduction calculation method 70, the resulting calculation would not take into account the threshold hours setting even when the employee hours had surpassed the defined threshold. The calculation now accounts for this occurrence.
• Position defaulting to Base Rate for new employees with no defined earnings - While entering employee hours, if you choose a Position for an employee with no defined earnings, the Position would default to their base rate. This change would also effect accumulators that were linked to given Positions. The problem has been corrected.

Stay tuned to CanPay's Product News page to receive the latest changes and release information for all GrandMaster products!

By the time you read this month's Payroll News article, the Autumnal Equinox will have already occurred (during the last two weeks in September). Technically speaking, this happens when the equator is in the direct path of the sun. Day and night are of equal length, North and South Poles receive equal light, thus the term equinox.

On a physical level, the onset of autumn can actually cause a person to experience physiological changes. The days get shorter; subsequently the sun shines on us less and less each day. This reduction of sunlight can actually cause our bodies to become tired more easily, even listless. Science has shown us that sunlight and Ultra Violet light on skin is essential for us to survive. The metabolism of nearly every system in the human body is influenced positively by the synthesis of the sun hormone vitamin D3 which only occurs when UV light falls on the skin.

On an emotional level, the more relaxed attitude of summer is replaced with the realization that we must prepare for the coming Winter. Fall can be a beautiful time. But with the lack of sunlight, short dull days and long dark nights, we are all prone to falling into the doldrums.

Hold on now -- What does any of this have to do with the payroll and the workplace?

Many companies encounter an increase in employee sick days and absentee rates with the onset of the fall season. Employees begin to show more signs of overwork and stress. The prospect of holidays being so far off can even lead employees to become lethargic. Many people even experience a mild form of seasonal depression and begin to feel unusually sad, down in the dumps and are prone to crying for no apparent reason. Concentrating becomes increasingly difficult and they feel anxious and on edge. All of this can translate into down time for employees and employers alike.

But it doesn't have to be that way! If you find yourself entering the Fall season with a less than positive attitude, why not implement a few basic year-end actions to spruce things up:

Set goals for the fall - Write down the items that have you concerned and plot out a firm plan of action to address each one. Start small and work towards completing each item -- you'll be surprised at how much you can accomplish in a short time.

Upgrade your skills - Enroll in a training course and update your job skills. Ensuring that you are properly trained and prepared for your job duties will go along way to helping you feel energized about what you do.

Establish and maintain a proper Work-Home balance - When you're at work, then work. When you go home for the day, leave the work behind you. It's very important to recharge each night by focusing on your family, friends and personal life. Although your next holiday may be a long way off, you can still return to work each day refreshed.

Improve your Diet - Keep an eye out for changes in your eating habits. If you find your appetite increasing (as it does for many this time of year), improve your odds by offering yourself better alternatives. If a careful food regimen is not adhered to, weight gain can become an added problem. Avoid sweets and starchy or fatty foods. Eat, instead, fresh fruit and vegetables.

Exercise More - Exercise is important for keeping healthy and invigorated. The easiest exercise is walking outdoors, especially on bright sunny days. Even if the temperature is subzero, if the sun is out, you should be too. Soak up as much of those golden rays as you can.

Plan Your Next Holiday - Although it may be a long way off, get excited about your next vacation and start planning ahead. If you're creative, you can map out an adventure that you can look forward to over the coming months. Planning early for a holiday can also translate into a dramatic savings in the cost of your get-away!

There you have it -- a few simple suggestions that may help to make a difference for you this fall. It goes without saying that these suggestions will work equally well at any time of the year. The important thing to remember is to keep a positive attitude and outlook on the days ahead. As the seasons change, we must change along with them. That outlook will enable us to enter the fall season with a renewed sense of enthusiasm.