Ask an Expert

Reporting fake SINs

QUESTION: I think that a recently hired employee has provided a fake social insurance number (SIN). 
What should I do?

ANSWER: The federal government requires employers who suspect that an employee has a fraudulent social insurance number to immediately contact Service Canada to report it. 
Employers in Canada may call Service Canada’s Social Insurance Registration Office at (800) 206-7218 and select option “3.”    
Employers outside of the country should call (506) 548-7961 (there may be long distance charges). 

Successor employers and vacation entitlement

QUESTION: Our company recently bought another business in our industry. We will be employing some of the employees from the other company. When they join our firm next month, what date do I use for calculating vacation entitlement? Is it their original date of hire or the date they became part of our company? We are not unionized.

ANSWER: To calculate vacation entitlement, use the employee’s original date of hire with the previous employer. 
If one business buys another business and employs employees from the first firm, labour standards laws across the country stipulate that the employees’ employment before and after the purchase is continuous and uninterrupted.

QUESTION: Are employers required to maintain benefits (such as health and dental) for employees taking a maternity or parental leave?

ANSWER: The answer depends on the jurisdiction in which the employee works since maternity and parental leaves are covered by each province’s/territory’s labour standards laws, as well as the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated employees:

1. Provided that the employee continues to make any required contributions to the benefits plan.
2. The employer must continue to make payments to medical, pension and other benefit plans if either the employer pays the total plan costs or if the employer and employee share the cost, the employee opts to keep paying her portion.
3. Employers must give employees the option of maintaining benefits. Employers will have to give employees written notice of the option and the date it will no longer apply at least 10 days before the last day the employee may exercise the option without an interruption in benefits. 
The employee may be required to pay 100 per cent of the cost, although nothing prevents the employer from contributing to the cost.
4. Employers must maintain benefits unless the employee notifies the employer in writing that he does not want to continue to make the employee contributions to the plan, if there are any.
5. Employers must give employees the option of maintaining benefits (including life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, extended health and dental) while on leave. Employers will have to give employees written notice of the option and the date it will no longer apply at least 10 days before the last day the employee may exercise the option without an interruption in benefits. 
Employees opting to continue will have to pay the cost to continue the benefits plus the employer’s share. The employer is responsible for processing the documents and the payment as arranged.