Reduction of the Health Service Fund Contribution, Modifications to CCQ Social Benefit Rates, and Removal of Trade Codes

For Quebec Companies and Those With Employees Working in Quebec

Varennes, September 2018 - The Ministère des Finances du Québec and the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) have recently announced changes that will affect the wages paid to employees:

  • Reduction of the Health Service Fund contribution rate for the construction sector’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs);
  • Modifications to the social benefit rates for Residential sector trades; and
  • Removal of trade codes 300 and 400.

To include these changes in the pay processing, modifications must be made to maestro* to replace the current values. The changes and steps required to make them are described and presented below.

 

Please note that the customers are responsible for validating the official rates and keeping track of any subsequent change. It is therefore recommended to properly check the data entered in maestro*. The numbers, rates, and data in this document is provided for information purposes only.

 

Required Changes

Click the relevant link to access the appropriate section:

 

Reduction of the Health Service Fund Contribution Rate

In accordance with last March’s 2018-2019 Budget Speech, the Minister of Finance confirmed the gradual reduction of the Health Service Fund contribution rate for SMBs with new rates coming into effect on August 15, 2018. For more details on the modifications, refer to the news release published on August 24 in the Tax News section of the Revenu Québec website. The contribution rates are available in the table below:

 

2018 CONTRIBUTION RATES FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR’S SMBS

Total Payroll (TP)

Salaries or wages paid before March 28, 2018

Salaries or wages between March 28 and August 15, 2018

Salaries or wages paid after August 15, 2018

$1,000,000 or less

2.30%

1.95%

1.75%

$1,000,001 to $5,499,999

1.8644% + (0.4356% x MST/1,000,000)

1.4367% + (0.5133% x MST/1,000,000)

1.1922% + (0.5578% x MST/1,000,000)

$5,500,000 or more

4.26%

4.26%

4.26%

 

Changing the Health Service Fund Contribution Rate in maestro*

 

Since the total payroll (TP) is different for every company, customers must determine themselves which rate should be entered in the field mentioned in step 2 below by using the data from the 2018 Contribution Rates for Employees of the Construction Sector’s SMBs table (framed in a red box).

For instance, a company with a TP of $1,000,000 or less would enter 0.0175 in the field.

 

 

maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Government Tables

 

  1. In the Detail section of the Government Tables window, select the province of Quebec in the Code field.
  2. Under the Provincial Rates tab, enter the new rate using the decimal format in the field located in the Factor/Rate column of the Employer section, on the Healthcare Deduction line.

  1. Click the Save icon, then Quit to exit the window.

 

Modifications to Social Benefit Rates

In an email sent on August 28, the CCQ reported that new social benefit rates will be applicable for the September 2018 period:

 

 

Values

Sector

Residential

Trade

Electrician (220)

Security Systems Installer (222)

Annex

R-1, R-2

 

The rates are already available and can be updated right away. The CCQ does, however, recommend waiting after business hours or during the weekend to make the modifications. Refer to the Wages section of the Commission de la construction du Québec website to review these changes.

 

Modifying Social Benefits Rates in maestro*

The steps required to complete the procedure are documented in the How-to Updating CCQ-Related Data in maestro*.

 

Removal of Trade Codes

By way of a communication received on August 30, the CCQ announced that due to regulatory changes, and following a transition period, trade codes 300 (Structural Steel Erector) and 400 (Ornemental Iron Worker) will no longer be effective as of the August 2018 monthly period. The trade codes will remain active for the previous periods.

More information on this latest modification is available on the CCQ website.

 

Removing Trade Codes in maestro*

Contrary to several people’s expectations, removed trade codes must not be deleted from the Define Trades option, but rather modified in the Employee Management option. The code files must also be kept to avoid losing the data history.

 

Maestro*MOBILE users will need to verify the Available in *MOBILE box (located at the bottom of the Define Trades window - maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Define Trades – under the Daily Entry section).

  1. Enter the trade Code in the appropriate field then press Enter.
  2. If the Available in *MOBILE box is checked, remove the mark.
  3. Click Save, then Quit to close the window.

It will no longer be possible to select these trade codes in maestro*MOBILE.

 

The necessary changes must be made in the Employee Management option where a new trade code will be assigned to those employees who have the 300 or 400 code as trade. The employees will be selected through lists generated in maestro*.

 

If “Default Trade per Employee”- and “Specific Trade per Employee”-type lists already exist, follow the steps below:

maestro* > Maintenance > File Maintenance > File > List Generator

  1. In the List Generator window, locate the PCEMP.IDX file and check the box located to its left, then click the Select button located at the bottom of the window.
  2. In the second List Generator window, search for the list related to default trades in the List field and double-click on its title to select it.

Go to section 1’s step 5 (below) to display the Excel file.

 

Section 1:Generating a List

 

maestro* > Maintenance > File Maintenance > File > List Generator
  1. In the List Generator window, locate the PCEMP.IDX file and check the box located to its left, then click the Select button located at the bottom of the window.
  2. In the second List Generator window, enter the new list’s Title in the appropriate field, for instance, Default Trade per Employee.
  3. Under the Parameters tab, select the required data to display them on the list:
    1. In the tree structure, click the Number data to highlight it;
    2. Click the -> icon to include the data in the list. The added data now appears in bold characters in the tree structure.
    3. Repeat the two previous sub-steps for the Last Name, First Name, and Trade Code (PCMETIER) data.
  4. Click Save. Maestro* automatically assigns a number to the new list.
  5. Click View Excel File. An Excel spreadsheet is displayed containing data extracted from the list.
  6. By sorting or searching the file, identify and take note of the employees whose default trade code is 300, then those with the 400 code.
  7. Click Quit to close the window.

 

Section 2 :Modifying the Defalut Trade Code

 

maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Employee Management
  1. Based on the Excel data, enter the identification number of one of the relevant employees in the Number field, under the Identification section, then press Enter.
  2. Under the Trades and Unions tab, in the Default Values section, modify the Trade Code in the field of the same name.
  3. Click Save.
  4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 of this section for all the employees identified in step 6, section 1.
  5. Once all default trade codes have been changed, click Quit to close the window.
 

To create the second list, “Specific Trade per Employee”, repeat sections 1 and 2 using the following data:

  • Section 1, step 1: File PCEMPMET.IDX
  • Section 1, step 2: Title Specific Trade per Employee

Afterwards:

Section 2 :Modifying the Specific Trade Code

 

maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Employee Management
  1. Based on the Excel data, enter the identification number of one of the relevant employees in the Number field, under the Identification section, then press Enter.
  2. Under the Trades and Unions tab, in the grid below the Default Values section, remove the Active column’s checks corresponding to Trade Codes 300 and 400.
  3. Select new trade codes by checking the related box.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Repeat steps 1 through 3 of this section for all the employees identified in step 6 of section 1.
  6. Once all specific trade codes have been modified, click Quit to close the window.

 

Last modification: September 19, 2024