Contents:

• Welcome
• What's New
• GrandMaster Update

Welcome!

June 2007 - 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.

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:

May 30, 2007 - Payroll Deductions Formulas for Computer Programs - The CRA has released the 85th edition of the Payroll Deductions Formulas for Computer Programs. Effective July 1, 2007, these formulas can be used to determine federal, provincial (except Quebec), and territorial income taxes, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, and Employment Insurance (EI) premium deductions. The formulas also allow you to calculate payroll deductions for special cases such as commission, pension income, bonuses, and retroactive pay increases. (Full Story)

May 28, 2007 - Outlook for the Canadian Labour Market (2006-2015) - HRSDC has released Looking Ahead (2006-2015) -- a report that highlights the results of the department's latest ten-year Canadian labour market projections. The goal of the report is to encourage broad participation in discussion and debate on important public policy issues. (Full Story)

May 28, 2007 - Canada's New Government Announces Taxpayer Bill Of Rights And Taxpayers' Ombudsman - The Minister of National Revenue today announced two new initiatives, a Taxpayer Bill of Rights and a Taxpayers' Ombudsman, to ensure Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is more accountable to Canadians. Also outlined are commitments to small businesses that include being committed to administering the tax system in a way that minimizes the costs of compliance. (Full Story)

May 23, 2007 - Abusive tax schemes tackled by international tax administrations - Canada's participation in the JITSIC is producing real results. For example, last summer, the exchange of information between the CRA and the Internal Revenue Service of the United States led to the unraveling of an abusive cross-border tax scheme involving hundreds of taxpayers and tens of millions of dollars in improper deductions and unreported income. (Full Story)

May 7, 2007 - Quarterly Remitting Amounts for 2008 - Under proposed legislation, the CRA has announced that the threshold for Quarterly Remitting will increase to $3000 in 2008. Quarterly remitting gives small employers the option of remitting source deductions once every three months with the due dates being April 15, July 15, October 15, and January 15. (Full Story)

April 24, 2007 - Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report - HRSDC has released the 2006 Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report that focuses on the period April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006. The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development tabled the report in Parliament on April 27, 2007. The report, prepared by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, monitors and assesses the impacts of the Employment Insurance system on the economy, communities and individuals. (Full Story)

Alberta:

May 31, 2007 - Tourism sector serves up new strategy to address labour shortages - A newly released Workforce Strategy for Alberta's Tourism and Hospitality Industry details more than 30 actions industry associations will take to help alleviate labour and skills shortages in their sector. "Our members have told us that the recruitment and retention of staff is their greatest management challenge," said AHLA President Dave Kaiser. "We are pleased to be working with the Government of Alberta and other industry stakeholders on a comprehensive, long-term strategy to meet this challenge." (Full Story)

May 8, 2007 - Health and safety a clear priority for Alberta workplaces - Last year saw fewer workplace deaths, disabling injuries and lost-time claims in Alberta, latest health and safety statistics show. There were 124 occupational fatalities in 2006 compared to 143 in 2005, including 33 motor vehicle incidents, 27 workplace incidents, and 64 occupational disease deaths. The fatality rate compares the number of fatalities with the working population. (Full Story)

May 2, 2007 - Special Dividend for Alberta employers - WCB-Alberta will again issue special dividends to qualifying Alberta employers this May based on the very positive 2006 funding results. These dividends total approximately $440 million and reflect better-than-expected investment and premium income adding to strong corporate performance. (Full Story)

British Columbia:

May 24, 2007 - Too many young workers die says WorkSafeBC - According to WorkSafeBC, in 2006, nine young male workers died. They worked in the oil and gas industry, in general construction, as ski lift attendants, as a paramedic and as a pilot. "These nine deaths, indeed all deaths in the workplace, are avoidable and are unacceptable," said Diana Miles, WorkSafeBC's Vice-President of Worker and Employer Services. (Full Story)

May 18, 2007 - WorkSafeBC advisory: Plan ahead for flood response - WorkSafeBC reminds employers that there are workplace dangers associated with a potential flood. Workers face risk of injury from power sources, gas lines and propane tanks, cold water immersion, improper sandbagging techniques, and from water-borne pollution and other contaminants. (Full Story)

May 3, 2007 - WorkSafeBC reports surplus in 2006 - WorkSafeBC announced today a total comprehensive surplus of $971 million for 2006 compared to $967 million in 2005. Ensuring solid financial stewardship of the workers' compensation system enables WorkSafeBC to accomplish its mandate to prevent workplace injury, illness, and death; provide fair compensation to injured workers; and assist injured workers return to work in a safe and timely manner. (Full Story)

Manitoba:

May 28, 2007 - SAFE Work Partners Aim to Increase Safety in Construction Sector through Awareness and Enforcement - The WCB and WSHD, together with SAFE Work partners in construction, are highlighting safety across Manitoba's busy construction sector. With an increase in activity in this sector comes a heightened need for prevention efforts. An important step is enhancing awareness of safety among both workers and employers in the construction sector. (Full Story)

May 1, 2007 - WCB Releases Latest Injury Statistics - The WCB of Manitoba tracks a number of measures which show the volume of injuries being reported to the board. The following charts show the total number of reported injuries as well as time loss and no time loss injuries. A breakdown of the total injuries by industry and a chart of the number of claims awaiting adjudication are also included. (Full Story)

April 2007 - New Fact Sheet Released for Employment Termination - The Manitoba government has released a new Fact Sheet, effective April 30, 2007, that discusses the subject of Termination of Employment. Employers or employees can decide to end an employment relationship at any time. In most cases, the legislation requires that the person ending the employment give notice. (Full Story)

April 2007 - General Holidays Fact Sheet Released - The Manitoba government has released a new Fact Sheet that details changes to general holidays in the province. The changes go into effect April 30, 2007. General holidays are sometimes referred to as statutory holidays or stat holidays. They are days recognized by legislation as holidays. Employees either have this day off with pay, or, if they work, are paid differently. (Full Story)

New Brunswick:

May 29, 2007 - Fair wage for Crown construction work to be increased - A new regulation has been approved under the Employment Standards Act that will adjust the minimum wage schedules for employees in Crown construction work, Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Ed Doherty announced today. The New Brunswick Fair Wage Schedule establishes the minimum hourly wage rates that employers must pay to certain categories of employees for work done under provincial Crown construction projects. (Full Story)

May 24, 2007- Minister launches review of WHSCC - Another commitment from the Charter for Change was fulfilled today with the launch of an independent review of the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission (WHSCC). "The purpose of this review is to determine whether the current WHSCC system provides the most appropriate benefits possible," said Minister Ed Doherty. "The review will examine how well the current system compares to workers' compensation systems across Canada, and will also reveal key considerations for the future of the WHSCC." (Full Story)

Newfoundland and Labrador:

May 30, 2007 - Collaborative Approach Taken to Review Provincial Labour Legislation - A joint effort between the Provincial Government, business and labour is underway to review the province's collective bargaining legislation. Minister Shawn Skinner ensures a collaborative, fair and balanced approach will be taken in moving the review process forward. "As the minister responsible for labour relations I want to ensure that before we reach the stage of proposing specific amendments, we see to it that a fair legislative review process occurs and a balanced approach is undertaken that best reflects the interests of both workers and employers in the province". (Full Story)

May 17, 2007 - Provincial Government Calls for Reversal of Federal Decision
on Student Employment Program - The Provincial Government is calling on Service Canada to reverse its decision regarding the Canada Summer Jobs Program, given the severe hardship and disappointment it is causing for students and community groups throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. "The federal government has created new guidelines that have resulted in a loss of funding for worthwhile organizations and will drastically reduce the number of summer jobs for students" said Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment Shawn Skinner. (Full Story)

May 4 2007 - Innovative Job and Training Web Site Launched - The Provincial Government has launched a new labour market Web site entitled www.LMIworks.nl.ca. LMIworks was announced today by the Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, and is part of a broader set of measures to improve access to career supports, employment and skills training in Newfoundland and Labrador. It supports and complements Budget 2007 investments of $6.7 million to expand career and employment services and improve the province's skills training and apprenticeship system. (Full Story)

Nova Scotia:

May 10, 2007 - Taking Responsibility for Workplace Safety - Some personal safety issues have become commonplace and the goal of the Internal Responsibility System is to bring that attitude to workplace. The System is a key concept in occupational health and safety -- the idea is that everyone at a workplace shares the responsibility as an essential part of their work. (Full Story)

May 3, 2007 - Phase-in Helps With New Regulations for Workplace Violence - Nova Scotia recently introduced new regulations and a strategy to reduce workplace violence and clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of employers and employees. "Awareness, training and education are key components. We need to promote greater awareness of the best practices that can predict, reduce or eliminate workplace violence," said Mark Parent, Minister of Environment and Labour. (Full Story)

May 2, 2007 - WCB Launches Updated "Not Worth It"Youth Campaign - On the heels of increased awareness of workplace safety and an 8 per cent decline over last year in the number of young workers injured on the job, the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia has today launched a new wave of the highly successful “Not Worth It” advertising campaign. (Full Story)

Ontario:

May 31, 2007 - Canada Day a public holiday under Employment Standards Act, 2000 - Many employees will get the day off with public holiday pay on Canada Day on Monday, July 2, 2007. Canada Day is one of eight public holidays under Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000. Canada Day is usually on July 1, but if July 1 falls on a Sunday, as it does this year, Canada Day is July 2 as stipulated by the federal Holidays Act. (Full Story)

May 11, 2007 - McGuinty Government Increasing Benefits For Lowest Paid Workers - With the passage of the 2007 Ontario budget, the McGuinty government is helping our most vulnerable workers, increasing benefits to injured workers and speeding up resolution of employment standards claims, Labour Minister Steve Peters announced today. "The health and safety of Ontario workers is a priority for our government," said Peters. "We are helping Ontario's lowest-paid workers benefit from Ontario's economic strength, and have put in place policies to ensure fairness and improved service delivery." (Full Story)

May 25, 2007 - WSIB Establishes Safety Awards for Young Entrepreneurs - The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will begin a workplace safety award program for young entrepreneurs - the WSIB Chair's Awards - in 2008. The WSIB Chair’s Awards will be distributed through two prizes to young entrepreneurs within the CYBF program who demonstrate a commitment to workplace safety. (Full Story)

Prince Edward Island:

May 2007 - WCB releases Employers Report of Accident form - The PEI Workers Compensation Board has released a revised copy of the Employers Report of Accident (FORM 7). This form is used by PEI employers to record incidents of employee injury or occupational diseases. (Full Story)

Saskatchewan:

May 18, 2007- Province Removes The Northern Overtime Exemption - Labour Minister David Forbes announced today that the Province will eliminate the Northern Overtime Exemption, a labour standards regulation that has been on the books for more than 50 years. The exemption will be repealed effective September 1, 2007, to allow northern employers time to become familiar with the administration of overtime and alternate ways to accommodate flexible hours under Saskatchewan's Labour Standards Act. (Full Story)

May 11, 2007 - Best April Ever For Jobs; Lowest April Ever For Unemployment Rate - The province's red-hot economy continues to set employment records and Saskatchewan's unemployment rate is at a historic low. Statistics Canada figures released today show Saskatchewan has now had 13 straight months of record job numbers, with 494,400 people working in the province in April (seasonally unadjusted figure). That's up 14,400 over the previous record for April set just last year. (Full Story)

May 4, 2007 - Improved Immigration Services For Saskatoon Employers - As part of the Government's plan to increase the province's workforce, an immigration office will be established in Saskatoon. Effective Friday, June 15, 2007, a regional immigration presence in Saskatoon will provide assistance to employers who are interested in hiring immigrants; and Information on department funding and supports for service providers to improve integration services for newcomers in Saskatoon. (Full Story)

May 1, 2007 - Minimum Wage Board To Review Indexing - Labour Minister David Forbes has asked the province's Minimum Wage Board to study the idea of raising the province's minimum wage to the Low Income Cut Off and tying future increases to the Consumer Price Index during its next review. The Minimum Wage Board is an independent board that provides recommendations to government on the province's minimum wage. By law, the Board is required to review The Minimum Wage Regulations every two years. (Full Story)

The upcoming release of GrandMaster Suite (5.34) will incorporate a number of changes to make it even easier to use the program and perform your payroll tasks. Program changes since our last Payroll News issue will include:

• July Federal Tax Changes - The July 2007 Federal tax changes, included in this release, are based on the "Payroll Deductions Formulas for Computer Programs 85th Edition- T4127Jul (E)" document released by the CRA on May 15, 2007. Your payroll calculations will automatically use the new tax table with the first pay date after June 30th. Additionally, employee provincial TD1's for the provinces of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island will adjust to the new base TD1 amount. Any employee's from these two provinces that use a personal exemption amount greater than the base will not be adjusted. Further, there are no Federal tax changes with this release and the provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and British Columbia are the only provinces with tax changes effective July 1, 2007.
• The Payroll Register (History) now shows message when a group is used - Prior to this release the Interim Payroll Register would display a message that would warn you when a group was used to compile the report. The message would indicate that the totals shown in the report were solely based on the group and should not be used to reconcile your employee YTD amounts. With this release we have made a change so that this message will be shown when you print the History Payroll Register.
• New pension deduction calculation method (147) added - We have added a deduction calculation method (code 147) to determine a deduction amount based upon the employee's EI hours multiplied by the employee base earning rate with the result multiplied by the deduction percent rate. This deduction method will process earnings such as over time or double time at the employee base rate of pay instead of the over time or double time rate.
• New deduction calculation method (148) added - We have added a new deduction calculation method (code 148) that is identical to the existing code 35 but has YTD deduction and benefit maximums. This new calculation method will allow you to set a YTD maximum deduction or benefit amount to cap the deduction or benefit.
  o Option to suppress printing of employee pay statements if in arrears - When employees do not have a net pay amount on the current pay sequence due to an arrears situation, the Pay Statement Report would include them but print a "Void" cheque. With this release we have added an option that you may choose to suppress the printing of employee statements when the employee is in arrears. This change will allow you to save on the cost of printing void statements.
• Employee Start date added to the employee rate reports - We have added the option to include the employee Start Date in the employee pay rate reports. This change also allows you to include the Start Date in an export file. When you choose the Start Date as a printed report option the date will be printed immediately after the employee name. You may choose the position of the date in your .csv file when exporting employee payrate data.
• Two new deduction calculation methods added - This release includes the deduction calculation methods 149 and 150 that are custom codes designed to be used for Life Insurance/Indemnity and AD & D computations.
• Choice of date options now available to resolve accumulator rate table - We have modified the accumulator update to allow you to choose the rate table resolve date option. This change will allow you to set which date the accumulator will use to determine the employee accumulator rate in a rate table when the table search method is by days. With this change you have the choice of the employee Start Date, Initial Hire Date, Anniversary Date, Vacation Anniversary Date, Holiday Anniversary Date or the Sick Anniversary Date. You may refine this further by assigning the anniversary dates by employee or have a default set of company anniversary dates.
  

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

Working too hard?
It's a common complaint in our multi-tasking world (Part 1 of 2)
Barbara Bowes

The issue of overworked employee and the pressure they feel has been a hot topic of debate in business for the last several years.

Time after time, studies have shown overwork is becoming a chronic condition among employees. In fact, it has been found that mental health issues in the workplace are much higher than expected and it can be closely correlated with the growing cost of employee benefit plans.

A more recent study by the American Families and Work Institute explored the issue of overwork in depth. It examined how the way we work today and how we prioritize our lives on and off the job contribute to being overworked.

Tapping into the opinions of more than 1,000 employee participants in late 2004, the study found that almost one-third of salaried employees felt overworked to the level of "very often" during a one-month period.

Another one-third felt overwhelmed at the "very often" level, and close to one-third of participants reported they didn't even have time to step back and process or reflect on the work they were doing.

Yet we all know that operating a successful organization with overworked employees can create serious repercussions.

For instance, overworked employees make more mistakes. They feel angry at their employers for unrealistic expectations and they resent fellow employees who don't appear to work as hard as they do. As well, these employees will more than likely turn down promotional opportunities because they are already overwhelmed by current responsibilities.

But why are employees overworked? What are some of the causes? The following key issues were identified in the Families and Work Institute study.

Multitasking increases job pressure - One of the key culprits in overwork is the need for multitasking, or the need to work on many tasks at the same time.

Multitasking creates increasing job pressure and when pressure increases, employees feel overworked. For instance, 60 per cent of the employee participants in this study suggest multitasking greatly contributes to the feeling of being overworked.

Interestingly enough, one of the key factors of success purportedly for a global economy is exactly that -- the ability to multi-task.

Read any job ad these days and you'll see that jobs at all levels of an organization often call for an ability to multitask

What are we doing to ourselves? Are we doing too much? Can people really multitask, or is it a myth?

Please return next month for the conclusion of this article.

Source: Overwork in America: When the Way We Work Becomes Too Much, Families and Work Institute, 2004 study; Dual-Centric: A New Concept of Worklife, Ellen Galinsky, Families and Work Institute.

Barbara J. Bowes, FCHRP, CMC, is president of Bowes Leadership Group and author of The Easy Resume Book: A Transferable Skills Approach. She can be reached at barb@bowesgroup.com