Changes in payroll laws and regulations from across Canada
ONTARIO
Reminder: Government implemented minimum wage hikes on Oct. 1
The general minimum wage rate in Ontario rose from $11 an hour to $11.25 on Oct. 1. It was one of a number of minimum wage increases in the province.
The rate for students who are under 18 and who work fewer than 28 hours a week (or more than 28 hours during school vacation) rose from $10.30 an hour to $10.55. The rate for liquor servers increased from $9.55 an hour to $9.80. The minimum wage rate paid to homeworkers went up from $12.10 an hour to $12.40.
The minimum wage for hunting and fishing guides also rose on Oct. 1. The rate for guides who work fewer than five consecutive hours in a day increased from $55 to $56.30. The rate for guides who work five or more hours in a day, whether or not the hours are consecutive, rose from $110 to $112.60.
ALBERTA
Reminder: New personal income tax rates for Oct. 1
Personal income tax rates are changing on Oct. 1, as the provincial government replaces Alberta’s flat-rate income tax system with a graduated rate structure based on taxable income.
Under the new graduated system, there are five tax brackets and rates:
Taxable income tax rate effective Oct. 1, 2015
$0.01 - $125,000.00 10 per cent
$125,000.01 - $150,000.00 12 per cent
$150,000.01 - $200,000.00 13 per cent
$200,000.01 - $300,000.00 14 per cent
$300,000.01 and over 15 per cent
Prior to Oct. 1, a single income tax rate of 10 per cent applied to all taxable income.
Although the rate changes take place on Oct. 1, the personal income tax system only supports annual rates that come into effect on Jan. 1. As a result, the Alberta government has passed legislative amendments to retroactively change the income tax rates to the following prorated amounts, effective Jan. 1, 2015:
Taxable income 2015 tax rate
$0.01 - $125,000.00 10 per cent
$125,000.01 - $150,000.00 10.50 per cent
$150,000.01 - $200,000.00 10.75 per cent
$200,000.01 - $300,000.00 11.00 per cent
$300,000.01 and over 11.25 per cent
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says it considers the rates in the second table to be the rates that applied in the province from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30. For source deduction purposes, effective Oct. 1, the CRA implemented the rates listed in the first table for employers that use its Option 1 to calculate income tax deductions. For employers that use the CRA’s Option 2, the rates in the second table continue to apply.
The CRA says it will not penalize employers that cannot implement the change for the beginning of October.
"The CRA normally requires employers to withhold and remit income taxes in line with current rates, but because of the timing of the Alberta measures, it is recognized that these income tax changes will be implemented on a best-effort basis where practical, in full appreciation of the different payroll systems and administrative capacities of employers. Employers will not face penalties for failing to withhold as a result of the Alberta measures," the CRA says in a statement on its website.
"Employees whose employers are unable to change their payroll systems or processes on time can ask their employers to increase withholdings from October to December 2015. This could reduce the amount the employees owe when they file their 2015 income tax and benefit return," the agency says.
"Employers are encouraged to discuss these changes with affected employees," it adds.
For more information on implementing the changes, see the CRA’s Payroll Deductions Formulas for Computer Programs (T4127), effective Oct. 1, 2015, on its website (www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4127-oct/README.html).
Reminder: Minimum wages increased Oct. 1
The general minimum wage rate in Alberta rose from $10.20 an hour to $11.20 on Oct. 1, as part of the provincial government’s plans to increase the rate to $15 an hour by 2018.
The government also raised the minimum wage rate for liquor servers from $9.20 an hour to $10.70 on Oct. 1. The increase is part of a two-step plan to eliminate a separate liquor server rate as of Oct. 1, 2016.
Other minimum wage rates also went up on Oct. 1. The minimum wage rate for certain salespersons specified in provincial regulations rose from $406 per week to $446. The minimum rate for domestic employees who live in their employer’s residence increased from $1,937 per month to $2,127.
MANITOBA
Reminder: Minimum wage rates rose on Oct. 1
Manitoba’s general minimum wage rate rose from $10.70 per hour to $11 on Oct. 1. The minimum wage rate for security guards who hold a license issued under the Private Investigators and Security Guards Act rose from $10.95 an hour to $11.75 on Oct. 1.
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Reminder: Minimum wage rate increased Oct. 1
The minimum wage rate in Newfoundland and Labrador rose from $10.25 per hour to $10.50 on Oct. 1. The minimum overtime wage rate continues to be fixed at 1.5 times the minimum wage, rounded to the nearest cent.
QUEBEC
New record-keeping rules proposed
The Quebec government is proposing to amend labour standards rules to require employers to keep employment records on employees from placement agencies who work for them.
The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity published draft amendments to the Regulation respecting a registration system or the keeping of a register under the Act respecting labour standards in the Sept. 2 issue of the Quebec Gazette Part 2. The changes are expected to take effect in April 2016.
The amendments would require employers that use the services of an employee from a placement agency to keep a record of the employee’s full name, address, social insurance number, employment and date the employee begins work.
For each pay period, employers would also have to keep a record of the number of hours the employee worked per day and per week, the number of overtime hours paid or provided as time off in lieu of overtime pay, the number of days the employee worked each week and the amount paid to the agency.
Employers would also have to keep records on the placement agency, including its name and address, as well as the name of the agency representative.
Reminder: Government confirms 2016 QPIP premium rates
The Quebec government has confirmed it will lower premium rates for the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) next year.
Effective Jan. 1, 2016, the employee QPIP premium rate will decrease from 0.559 per cent to 0.548 per cent and the employer rate will go down from 0.782 per cent to 0.767 per cent. The government published final regulations confirming the rate changes in the Sept. 9 issue of the Quebec Gazette Part 2.
SASKATCHEWAN
Reminder: Province hiked minimum wage rate on Oct. 1
The minimum wage rate in Saskatchewan rose from $10.20 per hour to $10.50 on Oct. 1. Saskatchewan reviews the minimum wage rate every year using an indexation formula based on an equal weighting of the change in the province’s consumer price index and average hourly wage for the previous year. Before changes are made, the provincial cabinet must approve them and announce them by Jun. 30 each year.
