Toronto (December 9, 2008) – What day of the week does your organization pay its employees? If it is Thursday or Friday, do not be a “Scrooge” this holiday season; make sure you get that pay to your employees on time.
“As Christmas and New Year’s Day are on a Thursday, and Boxing Day is on Friday, payroll professionals and the payroll service providers need to be prepared to pay employees earlier if their pay date is on any one of these days,” states Richard Rousseau, Chairman of the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA).
All provinces require that employees receive their pay within a legislated time frame, and that the pay date falls within a specified number of days, or within a specific interval, after the end of the pay period, except for Ontario and federally-legislated organizations (Canada Labour Code, Part III).
When a pay date falls on a floating statutory holiday such as Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day, only one province (Quebec) requires that the payment must be paid the day before the holiday.
In all other jurisdictions, the payment must be paid within, but not after, the legislated time frame,or as illustrated in the chart below. It should be noted that Manitoba and Nova Scotia use working days as opposed to calendar days for their timing of payment.
Employers should also be aware that if they move their pay date into this taxation year to compensate for New Year’s Day, it will impact the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) exemptions, so they need to ensure that the payroll systems are adjusted to take the additional pay period into consideration.
“As a best practice, employers across Canada should use Quebec’s method and make the payment the day before the holiday, even though this practice is not required by legislation,”suggests CPA President, Patrick Culhane. “By ensuring that your staff is paid correctly and on time, employers show their recognition of the financial and emotional well-being of Canadian employees and their families during the holiday season.”
{See attachment for Chart: Timing of Payments by Jurisdiction}
About the Canadian Payroll Association
The Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) is the national association that has been representing employers’ payroll interests in Canada since 1978. Canada’s 1.5 million employers annually pay $730 billion in wages, $230 billion in government remittances and $80 billion in health and retirement premiums. They must also comply with more than 185 pieces of tax and employment related legislation across Canada. www.payroll.ca
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For more information, contact:
Wendy McLean-Cobban
Manager, Marketing & Communications
The Canadian Payroll Association
Tel: 1-800-387-4693 or 416-487-3380 ext. 111
wendy@payroll.ca
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