Since the pandemic started we’ve had employers (and advisors) reaching out for help in handling remote workers.  This usually starts around a benefits question (if the employee is in another province or country, how does emergency travel work?), and then gets more complicated quickly (taxation, safety, tech issues etc.).

This is still a very complicated issue and several professionals will need to be consulted before allowing employees to work abroad for anything more than a short time.  CRA has provided a bit of clarity in the article below.

If you need assistance with remote workers, please reach out and we can try to assist.

The Canadian Revenue Agency is providing guidance for employers to determine the province of employment for full-time employees who are working remotely.

https://www.benefitscanada.com/news/bencan/cra-guidance-clarifying-how-employers-must-determine-province-of-employment-for-remote-workers/

As a Mainstay Insurance Brokerage client, you get some perks of my work within the industry.  One of those is free attendance at Canadian Group Insurance Brokers educational events (the association I started in 2003). 

We have two events in Vaughan (Hwy 400 and 407 area) coming up in May and June. Both are full day events aimed at benefit advisors, insurers, TPA’s and others in the industry, so you get  “fly on the wall” inside perspective.  These are a great way to increase knowledge, and if you’re in HR even get education credits.

The first, on May 8th, has a number of speakers including a discussion around renewals, and an employer panel sharing their stories, needs and expectations of advisors and insurers.  Details are HERE.

The second, on June 19th, is a smaller workshop on Building and using a benefit plan administration checklist.  As a client you’ve had this checklist explained to you (if not, come out for sure) and had it included in every years renewal package.  This workshop gets into the legal cases, taxation issues, areas of risk and employment/HR issues that employers see every day.  Details are HERE.

If either of these events are of interest and you can spend the day with us, please let me know and I’ll book a spot for you free of charge.

Special Note:  If you have HR consultants, friends, and/or business associates (best if they have a plan or want to start one) that may want to learn more about benefits, please feel free to share the info and have them reach out to me.  We find many are trying to find an advisor that specializes in benefits and don’t know where to turn.  I may not add too many new clients a year, but the room will have some great ones that can help, if I can’t.

Each year the provincial dental associations release their fee guide adjustments (see 2024 below).  Last year Ontario saw the largest increase in 25 years at an 8.5% increase.  Things have settled for 2024 at 4.8% but still the second highest I can recall in my nearly 28 years in the industry.  This is also more than double the annual trend we’d seen over the decades.

The fee guide increase is what drives the inflationary portion of claim costs.  This means that if your employees paid $100 for a service last year, the same service will cost $104.80 this year (on average – some codes are higher and others lower).  On top of that we also have trends and utilization that increase the final cost.  These are the effect we see over time for patients going into the dental office more often (like cleanings ever 3 months instead of 6) and for more things (like scaling units).  All put together we may see overall average increases of 7.5%.

In the past, we’ve shared information about healthcare navigators (like Ray Rupert below).  Navigation experts can help with complicated health issues and assist in gaining access and resolving situations by acting as your advocate.

Raymond Rupert  – RCM Health Consultancy Inc.  – 647 350 5500 ext 105  –  rrupert@rcmhealth.ca –   www.rcmhealth.ca 

Navigators are often used in speciality clinics to help obtain access and funding for high cost speciality drugs, and used to access testing and services as well as second opinions.  The article below shares how they may also be used when it comes to cancer treatment.

Drug Access Navigators help people with cancer get financial support for treatment and almost every cancer clinic in Canada has one.

This legislation would require employers to include salary ranges in ALL job postings.  What this means is that both new job candidates (and existing employees) will see the salary range offered and will be in a better position to make informed decisions, before taking a job (or negotiating increases).

The article below has a quote that clients may want to keep in mind about highlighting perks (like their benefit plans) when doing postings.

“Smaller companies that don’t have well-structured compensation policies and practices will be most impacted by the legislation. In order to attract and retain skilled professionals, these companies will need to quickly establish defined compensation processes and may also have to go the extra mile and include other aspects of the compensation and benefits package, including perks, in job postings.”

Before new pay transparency legislation takes effect in Ontario, it’s important for employers to ensure their current compensation structure is in order…  READ ARTICLE BELOW

https://www.benefitscanada.com/human-resources/hr-communication/what-do-ontario-employers-need-to-know-ahead-of-new-pay-transparency-legislation/