Your step-by-step payroll guide to employee leaves in Canada
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While there are plenty of reasons a Canadian employee might need to take a leave of absence from work, these leaves are largely treated the same when it comes to payroll requirements.
For busy payroll pros: here’s a quick Payworks checklist on what to do and when to do it so that you’re not left scrambling (or legislatively non-compliant!) after their departure.
- Do it today: changing a salaried employee’s status in your payroll system
- Do it this month: changing an hourly employee’s status in your payroll system and issuing a ROE for your employee
- Do it at year-end: issuing a T4 for your employee
Do it today: changing a salaried employee’s status in your payroll system
First things first: once a salaried employee is within their final pay period, you’ll want to change the employee’s status to one of the “Final Pay” options (for example, “Final – Parental”). If you’re working within the Payworks Payroll solution, you can pretty much “set it and forget it” after that; their status will automatically change to the selected option once the pay period’s complete. This is also the time to pay out any accruals before the leave begins (psst: your dedicated Payworks Client Service Representative would be happy to give you a hand) and to confirm the employee’s mailing address if you’re planning to issue a printed T4 at tax time – more on that later.
“I appreciated the guided walk-through to get familiar with the payroll interface, as well as the fact that everything’s accessible in one spot. The flow is clear and easy to get used to.”
- PTI Transformers
Winnipeg, MB
Where do I change employee status in the Payworks Payroll system?
Within the Payworks Payroll application, navigate to Employee Information under Employee Setup. Select the employee, and then the Employment tab to change status.
Payworks pro tip: if you’re keeping your employee’s benefits active while they’re on leave (and you’ve changed their status to “Final – Parental Ben”, for example), this will create an Excess Deduction. If you need assistance, your dedicated CSR is here to help you balance things out with a Negative Net Pay Deduction!
Do it this month: changing an hourly employee’s status in your payroll system and issuing a ROE for your employee
For an hourly employee, you’ll need to hold off on completing the status change steps outlined above until after their last shift is complete, as an early status change may prevent them from clocking in and out. But while the timeline is a little different than for a salaried employee, the steps are the same!
Once an employee’s final pay period is complete, you’ll need to issue a Record of Employment (ROE) – either after seven consecutive calendar days (for full-time employees) or 30 consecutive calendar days (for casual, part-time, and on-call workers) with no work and no insurable earnings.
Of course, it wouldn’t be payroll legislation in Canada if there weren’t exceptions to the rule! For a more comprehensive breakdown of when and why to issue ROEs (and how Payworks can help), please see: https://blog.payworks.ca/the-abcs-of-roes-what-when-why-and-how-we-can-help.
Once you’re up to speed, Payworks’ ROE Manager makes the process ultra-simple, so you can feel confident that Service Canada will accept your submission. Draft mode, alerts for potential red flags and a pay periods merge feature will all help you submit with ease.
“Payworks has the quickest and easiest ROE process I’ve ever seen in any payroll system!”
- Rossdown Farms & Natural Foods
Abbotsford, BC
Where do I issue an ROE in the Payworks Payroll system?
Within the Payworks Payroll application, navigate to Processing, Process Payroll, and then Record of Employment under Additional Payroll Actions.
Do it at year-end: issuing a T4 for your employee
Don’t forget: even if your employee is on leave, they’ll still need a T4! As mentioned above, you can issue a printed T4; you can also empower your employee to access their tax forms as soon as they’re ready by enabling Payworks’ Self Service solution.
“Payworks is the BEST payroll provider. They are current on changes in payroll. They have a knowledgeable team of representatives. I feel I can process with confidence and the T4s will be a seamless filing with no issues. The checks and balances are all done for you. I highly recommend Payworks!”
- L.I.A. Bookkeeping
Sooke, BC
Where do I issue a T4 in the Payworks Payroll system?
Ensure you’re in the prior year’s database, and then navigate to Payroll, Year-End and Year-End Processing.
There’s a lot for employers to learn when it comes to leaves, and payroll “how-to”s are just scratching the surface! You can find a much more comprehensive breakdown of federal and provincial leave legislation in our Payroll Guide for Canadian Business – now available for free download at: https://www.payworks.ca/landing-pages/campaigns/payroll-guide.
These articles are produced by Payworks as an information service. They are not intended to substitute professional legal, regulatory, tax, or financial advice. Readers must rely on their own advisors, as applicable, for such advice.
