Your compensation and benefits service in Canada may include more than just health care and retirement benefits. While mandatory benefits such as Canadian Pension Plan contributions and paid vacation days are required, you may wish to consider other benefits as well. For example, your compensation and benefits service may cover paid sick days and statutory holidays, as well as employment insurance. Moreover, you may want to offer additional non-mandatory benefits, such as health insurance and disability coverage.
Employment insurance
Depending on your organization’s structure, the type of compensation and benefits plan you choose for your employees can vary greatly. The right mix between costs and benefits is important for companies in Canada. Companies do not want to overpay for benefits that compliance are not likely to use. Employee benefits are one of the main ways companies support their employees so they can live a fulfilling life and be productive. Here are some benefits that employers must consider.
Employees are required to pay into Employment Insurance, a government-run program that helps employees who become jobless because of illness or caring for an ailing relative. Likewise, employers are required to contribute to employment insurance. These benefits are meant to help unemployed employees with basic health care and other expenses if they become jobless. However, this type of benefit is only available to businesses that employ employees; independent contractors are not required to pay into a benefits package.
Paid vacation days
In Canada, employers must provide their employees with paid vacation days as part of their compensation package. Vacation pay is calculated as a percentage of the employee’s eligible wages for the year. Usually, 4% of an employee’s wages is allocated as vacation time. If an employee is working, they are entitled to 3 weeks of paid vacation, while those in other provinces are entitled to two weeks of paid leave.
Generally, paid vacation is paid fourteen days prior to the commencement of the vacation period. However, this time frame can vary based on the province and company practice. For example, employers in British Columbia must issue paid vacation pay 7 days before the beginning of the vacation period. This is in order to allow employees to use their holiday pay during their vacation time. Employers can also issue vacation pay after the vacation period has begun, provided they agree to waive any outstanding balance.
Paid statutory holidays
The federal and provincial governments have rules regarding paid statutory holidays. Employers must give employees these days off, and typically track them as paid time off. However, not all statutory holidays are observed across Canada. Federal employers should consult the ministry of labour of the province in which they do business to determine which ones apply to them. In addition, employees may not receive statutory holiday pay if they are not in a position where statutory holidays are observed.
Certain statutory holidays occur on a fixed date each year, such as Labour Day (first Monday of September). Other statutory holidays occur on specific days of the month. For example, Christmas Day falls on the 25th of December, and Boxing Day falls on the 26th. Depending on the employer, employees may be entitled to paid public holidays. While many employers offer paid stat holidays to their employees, not all employers follow this practice.
Drug coverage
The introduction of universal pharmacare in Canada has been a hot topic among Canadians. Although the idea of universal pharmacare is welcomed by most respondents, many have expressed skepticism about its feasibility. According to one consultant, a national formulary could lower the cost of medications and ensure the affordability of drug benefits for all Canadians. It would be a benchmark against which benefits providers across the country would compare prices for drugs and determine their cost-effectiveness and effectiveness.
In Canada, employers are among the biggest payers of drugs and are responsible for a majority of drug costs. However, their role is significantly different. In Quebec, employers are required to offer coverage equal to the RAMQ drug plan. If their employees are not eligible for this plan, they must purchase coverage through an employer-sponsored program or through private insurance. In other words, the public system offers prescription drug coverage, but it does not cover the costs.
