Contents:

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

Welcome!

December 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:

November 16, 2004 - Government tables Human Resources and Skills Development Act, Creating New Department - On December 12, 2003, Human Resources Development Canada was reorganized into two new departments: Social Development Canada (SDC) and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). Today, the Government of Canada is tabling the Human Resources and Skills Development Act, which contains the mandate of the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and the Minister of Labour and Housing. (Full Story - 726 Words)

November 2004 - An Index of the Employment Opportunities for New Immigrants - HRSDC has released a paper providing a report on a study to develop a quantitative model for examining the effects of various factors on the potential employment opportunities for new immigrants in different occupations. Factors in the report include skills transferability to other occupations, barriers that affect entry into each occupation, wages in each occupation, job prospects in each occupation and the level of employment in each occupation. (Full Story - 1773 Words)

Alberta:

November 16, 2004 - Career Information Hotline turns 20 - The Government of Alberta’s person-to-person career information service celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Established in November 1984, the Career Information Hotline is a toll-free telephone information and referral service that gives a personal touch to helping Albertans make informed career decisions on a wide variety of topics. (Full Story - 191 Words)

November 9, 2004 - 2005 WCB Premium Rates Reduced - Alberta employers will see a reduction in their average premium rate next year, from $1.98 to $1.83 per $100 of insurable earnings. Guy Kerr, president and CEO of the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) -- Alberta, announced the 7.6 per cent rate decrease to a room full of stakeholders at a business meeting today. "Employers, workers and labor organizations have stepped up to make sure people aren't getting hurt and to help those who are, return to work safely,"he said. (Full Story- 529 Words)

British Columbia:

November 10, 2004 - HR/Payroll Contract Opens Doors for Employees, Business - The provincial government has signed a contract with TELUS Sourcing Solutions (TSS), a Canadian company, to deliver its corporate HR/payroll systems and services. The 10-year, $133 million partnership is one of several key projects that will use the private sector to transform and improve government’s service delivery when it makes business sense to do so. The Province expects to realize savings in excess of $30 million over the life of the contract. (Full Story - 380 Words)

November 16, 2004 - More Civic Jobs Open to Aboriginal Candidates - A partnership signed today by the Province, the City of Vancouver and aboriginal organizations will help increase job opportunities for aboriginal people with the city. Through the Aboriginal Employment Partnership Initiative (AEPI) the City of Vancouver will identify future job opportunities, and share the information with aboriginal organizations so they can better match training programs to a wide range of upcoming civic service jobs. The City of Vancouver currently employs more than 8,000 people. (Full Story - 509 Words)

November 5, 2004 - Unemployment Rate Drops in Every Region of Province - British Columbia added 12,000 new jobs in October and the unemployment rate has declined throughout the province, Skills Development and Labour Minister Graham Bruce said today. B.C.'s unemployment rate fell to 6.9 per cent in October. That was reflected in all regions, where the unemployment rate dropped, including Vancouver Island, the Mainland, Thompson-Okanagan, Kootenay, Cariboo and Northeast. In the North Coast and Nechako region, the unemployment rate fell two full percentage points. (Full Story - 268 Words)

November 5, 2004 - WCB announces lower premium rates for 2005 - The Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) has announced a 4.1 percent decrease in the overall premium rate for 2005. "The 2005 aggregate base rate will be $1.975 per $100 of assessable payroll, compared to $2.059 in 2004," said WCB Chief Financial Officer Sid Fattedad. (Full Story - 485 Words)

Manitoba:

November 26, 2004 - Businesses Retail Hours Clarified for Sunday, Dec. 26 - Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan confirmed today that the permitted hours of retail operation on Boxing Day this year will be the same as on an ordinary Sunday. In 1999, legislation was passed that closed a loophole in the Retail Businesses Holiday Closing Act. The clarification which had support of all three political parties confirmed the status quo for Sunday shopping in the province and will ensure a consistent and level playing field for all retailers. (Full Story - 241 Words)

November 5, 2004 - 1,200 New Jobs in Manitoba Recorded in Month of October - Industry, Economic Development and Mines Minister Jim Rondeau today welcomed Statistics Canada’s labour force statistics showing 1,200 new jobs were created in Manitoba during the month of October. "With this being the third consecutive month of employment gains, we are seeing a positive trend that has resulted in 8,200 new jobs," Rondeau said. Manitoba saw employment growth of 1.5 per cent compared to Canada’s 1.2 per cent over the first 10 months of 2004. (Full Story - 862 Words)

November 17, 2004 - Employer of Choice Project to Address Skilled Labour Shortage - The province today announced $201,000 in funding to support the Employer of Choice pilot project, calling it a new approach to addressing labour shortages in Manitoba. With small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employing approximately 67 per cent of the Manitoba workforce, helping them tackle their most pressing labour force issues is a priority for the governments of Canada and Manitoba. (Full Story - 469 Words)

November 19, 2004 - Manitoba WCB Premiums Remain Unchanged for 2005 - Manitoba will continue to have the lowest average premium rate of all provinces, after the WCB announced today that the average rate charged to employers will remain at $1.70 for 2005. On average, Manitoba employers pay $1.70 per $100.00 of their assessable payroll to the WCB in return for injury insurance coverage for their workers including wage loss payments, medical benefits and rehabilitation services. Employers may pay a lower or higher rate depending on the safety and health risk of their business and the cost of prior claims. (Full Story - 614 Words)

New Brunswick:

November 30, 2004 - New legislation on Sunday shopping in effect as of Dec. 1 - As of Dec. 1, 2004, municipalities will have the authority to determine, through bylaws, whether there is to be Sunday shopping within their community. Environment and Local Government Minister Brenda Fowlie made the announcement today. "This legislation will give local governments more freedom to make their own decisions, based on what is best for their area," Fowlie said. "The change continues the government's commitment to reducing red tape by allowing local decision making with respect to Sunday shopping." (Full Story - 452 Words)

November 5, 2004 - 9,400 more New Brunswickers working than same time last year - There was 9,400 more New Brunswickers working in the province last month compared to the same time last year, and the unemployment rate stood at 10.1 per cent as compared to 10.8 per cent last October, Training and Employment Development Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney reported today. Figures released by Statistics Canada today showed that there were 353,700 New Brunswickers working in October, which was up from the same time last year when there were 344,300 employed. (Full Story - 345 Words)

Newfoundland and Labrador:

November 17, 2004 - Minister announces changes beneficial to both employers and injured workers - Joan Burke, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment and Minister Responsible for the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission, announced today a decrease in the average base assessment rate - the first decrease since 2000. The rate will be adjusted from $3.24 to $3.19, effective January 1 for 2005 rates. (Full Story - 336 Words)

November 29, 2004 - New Members Appointed to WHSCC Board - The minister responsible for the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission today announced the appointment of a new chair and three new members to the commission’s board of directors. "The commission is dedicated to improving the compensation system for both employees and employers, while focusing on quality client service and injury prevention," said Minister Joan Burke. "Each of the new appointees to the board of directors is committed to advancing the goals and mandate of the commission, bringing their own unique knowledge and expertise to the table". (Full Story - 572 Words)

Northwest Territories:

November 4, 2004 - WCB announces 2005 Assessment Rates - The WCB's average unsubsidized assessment rate for 2005 has been set at $2.07 per $100 of assessable payroll. This represents a decrease of 8% from the 2004 average unsubsidized rate (based on current payroll figures). The WCB will continue to offer a rate subsidy to all NWT and Nunavut employers. In 2005, this subsidy will be 10%, lowering the provisional average assessment rate to $1.87 per $100 of assessable payroll, 4 cents lower than the rate for 2004. (Full Story - 254 Words)

Nova Scotia :

November 2004 - 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions about Holidays - There are 5 general (paid) holidays listed in the Labour Standards Code: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, Labour Day and Christmas. These are the minimum number of holidays that employers must provide to employees. Many employers offer more paid holidays. This year, Christmas day is on a Saturday. Because of this, employers and employees seem to have more questions than usual about when to observe the holiday. Following are some questions and answers that should address most of the inquiries. (Full Story - 881 Words)

Prince Edward Island:

November 19, 2004 - Changes Announced to Occupational Health and Safety Regulations - The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs and the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) are working to improve health and safety for workers and employers in Prince Edward Island. Recent amendments to Occupational Health and Safety Act Regulations extend the act to apply to all workplaces across the province. Previously, farms and workplaces with fewer than three employees were exempt from the act. The amendments also include updated fall protection regulations. (Full Story - 400 Words)

Ontario:

November 3, 2004 - New Law Would Foster Fair And Balanced Labour Relations - The McGuinty government is promoting stable labour relations and economic prosperity by introducing legislation that would ensure fairness and choice in Ontario's workplaces. "Since 1990, Ontario's labour laws have swung unfairly in favour of one side or the other," said Labour Minister Chris Bentley. "We intend to restore balance, giving all Ontarians equal confidence in our laws. This would promote the harmony and stability in the workplace that are vital for a prosperous and productive economy." (Full Story - 1600 Words)

November 26, 2004 - Promoting Multilingual Brochures On Employment Standards - The McGuinty government is raising awareness of employment standards law among vulnerable workers by making available much- needed information in 21 different languages, London West MPP and Ontario Labour Minister Chris Bentley said today. (Full Story - 376 Words)

November 16, 2004 - Solutions for Workplace Change Conference Highlights - Cutting-edge research developed to keep Ontario's workers healthy and safe will be the focus of the Solutions for Workplace Change conference. Key leaders from Ontario's occupational health and safety system will learn how research funded by the Research Advisory Council (RAC) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is providing evidence-based solutions for workplace change. (Full Story - 474 Words)

Saskatchewan:

November 5, 2004 - Record job numbers in October - Saskatchewan had a great performance on the jobs front last month, setting a record for employment in October. Statistics Canada figures released today show a record 495,500 people were working in Saskatchewan last month (seasonally unadjusted figures). That tops the previous record set in October 2002 and is up 8,900 jobs from October of last year. October's numbers marked the seventh time in the last nine months where jobs have been up over the previous year. (Full Story - 344 Words)

Yukon:

November 22, 2004 - Maximum Wage Rate $67,000 for 2005 - The maximum wage rate affecting injured workers’ benefits will be $67,000 in 2005. The rate was $65,800 in 2004.
The number for maximum assessable earnings -- which affects employers' assessments will have an identical increase. The two maximums are the same. (Full Story - 181 Words)

The current release of GrandMaster Suite (4.00.06) 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:

• Cheque Register Report sequence number now includes the pay sequence - When you print a Cheque Register Report after printing your pay statements, the sequence number will now include the pay sequence number.
• Import Employees feature now supports import to existing employees - The Import Employees and Import Employee Names payroll data import options have been modified to support the import of employee data to existing employees as well as new employees. This change allows you to import changes to existing employees from the currently available import options. This change does not support a template change to existing employees.
  
• Distribution Table list displays slowly - After selecting the Distribution Tables option, the program was taking longer than normal to display the Distribution Tables list. This wait time was greater if your data was stored on a network and would also effect any other processing that required the program to check or verify your distributions. This problem has been corrected with this release.
• Human Resource focus problem when adding new employee - If you added a new employee from within the Human Resource module and encountered an error message indicating that an employee number exists in the payroll, the focus would continue on to the next data entry field when you closed the error message box. The focus should have returned to the Employee Number entry field allowing you to enter a valid number. This has been corrected.
• Selected payroll name not displayed - The selected or open payroll name was no longer appearing above the pay year in the Payroll Module's window. If you had selected a payroll in other GrandMaster Suite modules such as Human Resource, Labour Distribution, Resource Planning, Scheduling and Timekeeping the payroll name was also not being shown. This display problem has been corrected.
• Cheque Register Report doesn't display cheque number - If you printed a Cheque Register Report for a Reversal pay sequence the report did not display the original cheque number that was assigned for the pay sequence that was reversed. The report has been modified to obtain the cheque number from the employee's pay history for the pay sequence reversed ensuring that the Cheque Register Report accurately displays the employee cheque information.
• The HSBC (Hong Kong Bank) EFT file incorrect - When transmitting an EFT file to the HSBC or Hong Kong Bank the file may have been rejected by the bank as invalid. The Hong Kong Bank or HSBC EFT file formats have been modified and reduced to one option that meets the HSBC file specification as supplied by HSBC. If you transmit your EFT file to HSBC you must update your bank profile to select the updated Hong Kong Bank option prior to submitting your next EFT file to ensure that your transmission file is valid.
• Mailing Labels not printing correctly - When you printed the Mailing Label Report the first page would seem to print your labels correctly but subsequent pages did not. A change has been made to the Mailing Labels program and several new data entry fields have been added allowing you to define the Top of Form Margin and the Number of Labels per Page. The Number of Labels per Page requires a setting from 1-10, which will correspond to the number of labels along the left margin of the page. Further, the report will force a 10-pt font.
  

Visit CanPay's News page and view the latest Release Notes for a complete listing of program changes.

Rating Performance Rating (Part 2 of 2)

One of the first things to challenge when designing a performance management system is your philosophical approach. Remember, the goal is not about trying to control employees. Rather, it's about focusing on improving overall performance. This includes ensuring not only that the employee is doing the right tasks, but ensuring there are effective organizational supports in place to help make it happen.

The HayGroup, a large international HR consulting firm, recently completed an in-depth study of employee attitudes and translated some of its results into a working paper called, Managing Performance.

This study identified three key areas that impacted on effective performance management.

Goal Clarity

The Hay study revealed considerable problems with goal clarity at all levels of the organization. Top level teams often only attained superficial agreement on goals while managers struggled with too many priorities and therefore couldn't focus. On the other hand, front-line workers weren't effectively informed about company goals and objectives. In fact, the results showed a key reason people leave their jobs is a perceived lack of company direction.

Systems and Processes

It's all well and good to say that goals and objectives need to be cascaded throughout the organization and clearly communicated to employees. But the HayGroup study showed that disconnects in systems, processes, functional departments and different levels of staff continue to create communication gaps. They recommend that opportunities for intense dialogue be provided so employees can challenge, interpret and shape their goals and become motivated toward higher productivity. Finally, communication must be a free flow process throughout the whole performance cycle.

Aligning Rewards

Ensuring that rewards are in tune with organizational goals is well understood. However, many incidences were identified where reward policies conflicted with the goals and employees were punished rather than rewarded. Jan Kennedy, senior consultant with HayGroup, warns managers not to send mixed messages.

As well, most managers will stand tall and confirm their belief that high performers should get higher rewards. In the view of Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, for instance, high performance for an A level employee should translate into salary raises that are two to three times higher than level B employees. However, the study found this reward philosophy is rarely translated into actual practice. It seems that managers are continuing to avoid making the tough decisions and spread their rewards evenly, "like peanut butter."

Performance management is known as the worst-managed function of HR. And it's disappointing to learn that after all this time, we still can't get performance management right. But at least there's now good evidence to show that if systems are in place and implemented effectively, revenues, shareholder value, employee satisfaction and investor interest will increase. Now, that's a goal worth pursuing!

Source: Managing Performance, Achieving Outstanding Performance Through a Culture of Dialogue, HayGroup, January 2002. Bowes Leadership Group presentations, 2002.