Tackling pension adjustment errors in T4 box 52 | Regarding sick leave, what is required by law?
Tackling errors in T4 box 52
QUESTION: I have recently become responsible for payroll at our company. After distributing T4s to employees and filing the information return with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), I discovered an error in the amount reported in box 52 for a pension adjustment for a number of employees. I checked last year’s return and noticed a similar error. How do I correct it?
ANSWER: Whether or not you have to file amended forms depends on the size of the correction you are making. The CRA does not require employers to file an amended T4 if the difference between the previously reported pension adjustment and the amended one is less than $50. However, regardless of the amount, employers must file an amended T4 to correct a pension adjustment error if the CRA requests it or an employee asks you to accurately report it.
You may make a correction using the CRA’s online options of Internet File Transfer or Web Forms or by paper. If filing online, you only need to change the information that was incorrect. Use summary report type code “A” and slip report type code “A”.
To file amended slips by paper, clearly identify the revised form by writing “AMENDED” at the top of it. Besides correcting the error, include all of the correct information that was on the original form. Send a copy of the amended form to any CRA tax centre, along with a letter explaining why you made the change. Besides notifying the CRA, you have to give the employees affected by the change an amended T4.
The rules that apply for amending current-year T4s also apply to T4s for previous years.
Regarding sick leave, what is required by law?
QUESTION: How many days/weeks off each year are employers required by law to provide employees for sick leave and do any of the days have to be paid?
ANSWER: The short answer is — it depends on where you’re located.
The answer is determined by the jurisdiction in which the employee works, since days off are governed by labour standards legislation in each province and territory and under the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated workers, as the following table shows:
|
Jurisdiction |
Employee sick leave |
Employer required to pay employee for days taken |
Eligibility for time off |
|
Canada Labour Code |
17 weeks |
no |
3 consecutive months |
|
Alberta |
5 days/16 weeks1 |
no |
90 days |
|
British Columbia |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Manitoba |
3 days/17 weeks2 |
no |
30 days for the three-day leave; 90 days for the 17-week leave |
|
New Brunswick |
5 days |
no |
90 days |
|
Newfoundland and Labrador |
7 days |
no |
30 days’ continuous employment |
|
Northwest Territories |
5 days |
no |
30 days |
|
Nova Scotia |
3 days |
no |
N/A |
|
Nunavut |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Ontario |
10 days |
first two days must be paid if employees employed more than one week with employer |
N/A |
|
Prince Edward Island |
3 days |
no |
six continuous months to less than five years |
|
|
4 days |
one day paid; 3 days unpaid |
5 years or more of continuous employment |
|
Quebec |
26 weeks/104 weeks3 |
no |
3 months |
|
Saskatchewan |
12 days/12 weeks4 |
no |
more than 13 consecutive weeks |
|
Yukon |
12 days5 |
no |
N/A |
1. The five days are for Personal and Family Responsibility Leave. The 16 weeks are for Long-term Illness and Injury Leave.
2. The 17-week leave applies for serious illnesses.
3. The 104 weeks apply in cases where an employee sustains a serious bodily injury related to a criminal offence and it prevents the employee from carrying out his or her regular job duties.
4. The 12 days apply for illnesses or injuries that are not serious. The 12 weeks apply for serious illnesses or injuries.
5. Employees are entitled to take off one day per month of employment, up to 12 days less the number of days they were previously absent because of illness or injury.
