Contents:

• Welcome
• Upcoming Events
• What's New
• GrandMaster Update

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Welcome!

April 2004- 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 Others 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:

March 1, 2004 - Canada Revenue Agency interest rates for the second calendar quarter - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) today announced the prescribed interest rates that will apply to any amounts owed to the CRA and to any amounts the CRA owes to individuals and corporations. These rates are calculated quarterly in accordance with applicable legislation and will be in effect from April 1, 2004, to June 30, 2004. (Full Story - 236 Words)

British Columbia:

March 26, 2004 - Changes increase flexibility for BC pension holders - Regulatory amendments to the Pension Benefits Standards Act will allow British Columbia pension holders greater flexibility, financial independence and fewer restrictions on several of their pension plan requirements, Finance Minister Gary Collins announced today. (Full Story - 413 Words)

March 2, 2004 - WCB assist fishermen to recognize the importance of vessel stability - After consultation with the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union, the B.C. Seafood Alliance, government marine agencies and independent fishermen, the Workers' Compensation Board today distributed a new fishing vessel stability poster. (Full Story - 445 Words)

Manitoba:

March 17, 2004 - Province announces renewal of voluntary reduced work-week program - Greg Selinger, minister responsible for the civil service, today announced the renewal of the voluntary reduced work week program, allowing provincial employees the option of taking up to 15 days off without pay. Over 2,100 employees, or 15 per cent of the workforce, took advantage of the program, which reduced costs by $2.5 million in 2003-04. In 2002-03, nearly 2,000 employees took advantage of the program, which reduced costs by $1.9 million. (Full Story - 221 Words)

March 1, 2004 - WCB to focus funding on prevention of workplace injuries and illnesses - The Workers Compensation Board (WCB) of Manitoba has announced the priorities of its Community Initiatives and Research Program (CIRP) for 2004. This year's program will consider initiatives that focus on the prevention of workplace injuries and illnesses. The CIRP provides up to $1 million annually to fund projects focusing on accident and disease prevention, safety in the workplace, treatment of workplace injuries, support for injured workers and their families, and research into scientific, medical or other issues related to workers compensation. (Full Story - 792 Words)

March 12, 2004 - Manitoba records all-time highest employment - Industry, Economic Development and Mines Minister Scott Smith today welcomed the release of the most recent Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey that indicated the Manitoba economy set an all-time record for employment in the month of February. According to Statistics Canada, a record level of 573,000 Manitobans was employed in February. In the last 12 months, an additional 6,300 new jobs were created in the province. (Full Story - 345 Words)

New Brunswick:

March 12, 2004 - Unemployment rate drops to single digits - Record numbers of New Brunswickers were working last month, which drove the provincial unemployment rate down to single digits, Training and Employment Development Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney said today. "This is certainly good news that there was nearly 351,000 New Brunswickers working in our province last month, and it is especially encouraging that this represents the most New Brunswickers ever recorded working in these surveys," Blaney said. (Full Story - 295 Words)

Nova Scotia:

March 26, 2004 - Government Begins Averaging Consultation - A public consultation that will look at greater flexibility in the management of overtime hours in the province begins today, March 26. The review is part of the changes made to the Labour Standards Code in Nova Scotia last fall, which improved overtime benefits for workers. The regulatory changes also allowed workers in the road building and construction industry to average their hours over two weeks, allowing them more flexibility in dealing with difficult weather conditions. (Full Story - 314 Words)

March 18, 2004 - Contribution Rates to Public Service Pension Increase - Members of the Government of Nova Scotia's largest pension plan will see an increase in pension premiums later this year as the government moves to ensure the long-term health of their pension plan, Finance Minister Peter Christie announced today, March 18.
(Full Story - 462 Words)

Ontario:

March 2, 2004 - Job-protected family medical leave a real, positive change - The McGuinty Government has raised the minimum wage rates starting today, Labour Minister Chris Bentley said. "This raise in minimum wage rates is nine years overdue and will help keep Ontario's most vulnerable employees from falling further behind the rest of Ontario employees." Effective today, Ontario's general minimum wage is $7.15 per hour. Increases are reflected in all minimum wage categories. (Full Story - 342 Words)

March 12, 2004 - Labour Minister names interim chair for Workplace Safety and Insurance Board - Labour Minister Chris Bentley named Jill Hutcheon interim chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) today. Hutcheon is the Chief Corporate Services Officer at the WSIB. "The WSIB is a vitally important organization to the people of Ontario," said Bentley. "I am pleased to have someone of Jill's calibre in place who can make sure the focus remains on serving injured workers while efficiently and effectively managing the WSIB's resources." (Full Story - 266 Words)

March 11, 2004 - Minister's action group moving quickly to reduce injuries to health care workers - Labour Minister Chris Bentley has named members to the health care panel of the Minister's Health and Safety Action Group. Working in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the expert panel will establish priorities to reduce injuries, ensure proper policies are in place, and promote safety through education, training, regulation and enforcement. "Almost 2,000 nurses are currently off work on long-term disability, costing the system $500 million per year," said Bentley. (Full Story - 510 Words)

Saskatchewan:

March 12, 2004 - Job rise in February - Saskatchewan's job numbers increased in February, with 1,500 more people employed than in February of last year. The figures also showed a shift to full-time work, with 7,200 more people employed full-time. Statistics Canada figures released today showed 477,000 people were working in the province last month (seasonally unadjusted figures). That's the second highest February on record for job numbers. (Full Story - 400 Words)

March 12, 2004 - Minimum wage board appointments made - Two new appointments have been made to the Saskatchewan Minimum Wage Board; John Yeo of Moosomin and Luisa Graybiel of Regina. The board advises the provincial government on issues such as the maximum amounts employers can deduct for room and board, the minimum age of employment, the minimum pay required for an employee who is called in to work, the maximum length of a work shift, paid transportation home for employees who get off work between 12:30 and 7:00 a.m., as well as the appropriate minimum wage. (Full Story - 250 Words)

The current release of GrandMaster Suite (3.90.08) 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:

• Printer support for self-sealing T4s - When printing T4 statements, you can now use the self-sealing option. These special forms can be printed on a standard laser printer then fed through a special machine to seal both sides for mailing. This option can be found in the Print T4 dialog box's CRA Form Selection section.
• Employee start dates no longer default to system date - When adding a new employee to a payroll, the employee's default Start Date no longer defaults to your computer's system date (i.e. the current date) but rather the field is left blank. This allows you to enter the actual date the employee started working. Additionally, you can not continue with the add employee process until you define a valid start date.
• Easier to enter employee number when adding a new employee - We have adjusted the program to make it easier to enter the number for a new employee while adding them to the payroll. Previously, when you entered an invalid number for the new employee (one that was already used) the cursor would jump to the Template field. You would then have to move back to the Number field again and enter a different number. Now when you enter an invalid new employee number, the dialog box will return focus to the employee number entry field after you select OK in the message box.
• Updated Crystal Reports version 8 files - We have updated the associated files for Crystal Reports version 8. These files are required when printing year-end statements.
• Improved handling of employee selection in list boxes - When you chose an employee from a list box, then returned to the same list box, the chosen employee would no longer be highlighted. Instead, the selection would move to the top of the list (forcing you to locate the original employee once again). We have modified the program so that when you select an employee and go to another dialog box, the selected employee will be in focus when you return to the list.
• Transaction report not sorting correctly by gender - When you set up the Transaction Report to sort by Gender, the word "Male" or "Female" would not show in the report where it was applicable but would instead show as a blank. The program has been changed so that the correct gender will be displayed when you include the employee gender in the sort. The sort method has also been adjusted since it was not functioning correctly based on this issue.
• Error message when entering pension registration number - When you entered a pension registration number in the Deduction Assignments dialog box, the program would display an Invalid Box 50 error message. This has been corrected.
• Warning message for employees under age 16 - When calculating a pay, a warning message would appear when the program encountered an employee who was under 16 years of age. Since labour standards allow you to employ a child 15 years or older without a child labour permit from the Employment Standards branch, the program has been adjusted accordingly. The message now appears only if the employee is under age 15.
• Program hangs when printing sample labels - When you attempted to print the sample labels from the Reports - Mailing Labels command, the program would appear to stop running. This has been corrected so that the sample labels print correctly. Additionally, we have modified the Labels tab in the Mailing Labels dialog box to include the Print To options. Now you have the option of printing the report to the screen or directly to the printer.
• Credit Union EFT format not displaying Due Date - When you created an EFT file using the Credit Union format, the "D" record was displaying the Due Date value as zeros instead of the actual date. This has been corrected.
  

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

The federal government recently announced a new program called compassionate care leave. The program provides for up to six weeks of paid leave for employees who are caring for a gravely ill or dying relative. While on leave, caregivers are paid through employment insurance. Employers must guarantee that their jobs will be there when they return.

In my opinion, this program is long overdue. We have known for years that the vast majority of care to frail and ill older adults is provided by family members and friends and that most of these caregivers are in the labour force.

The compassionate care leave is meant to protect people’s jobs while allowing them to spend the intensive time necessary to care for a dying person. Caregiving takes its toll in inadequate sleep, health problems, extra expenses and stress over trying to achieve a balance between job and family demands.

Under this kind of duress, paid work suffers as well. Employed caregivers do their utmost to juggle work and caregiving responsibilities. They take vacation time, miss days of work, arrive late, leave early, turn down promotions or leave the labour force altogether. Job performance suffers.

Compassionate care leave is a small step toward relieving these pressures by giving people time to spend with their loved ones without fear of losing their jobs. Yet many employers believe that this absenteeism will be costly since it can be difficult to find replacement employees for short-term leaves and permanent replacement of employees is not possible since caregivers’ jobs must be guaranteed.

This concern on the part of employers has a familiar ring. When maternity leave programs were implemented in 1970, employers worried about the difficulties of managing the workplace with employees gone for up to a year. Yet since the implementation of these leaves, the time that women have spent out of the labour force after the birth of their first child has dropped dramatically from 12 years in the 1960s, to 12 months in the 1990s. While maternity and parental leaves cannot entirely account for these changes, overall, such leaves are good news for employers.

I believe that the same is true for compassionate care leave. Many employed caregivers are in their forties and fifties. Keeping these people employed means retaining skills, knowledge and experience in the job. The cost of hiring and retraining is high and the corporate knowledge of seasoned employees is not easily replaced. In its current form the compassionate care leave allows for a maximum of six weeks of leave. If it means that an employee returns and is able to focus on the job rather than leaving or having their health suffer because of the stress, then everyone wins.

Article courtesy of Dr. Norah Keating, professor and co-director of Research on Aging, Policies and Practice in the University of Alberta Department of Human Ecology