Union Management

OBJECTIVE

The Union Management option is used to configure unions that are not specific to the Quebec Construction Commission and to define unions whose calculations are divided among multiple suppliers.

To change the setting for a union that has been used in a payroll calculation, you must click the Unlock Deductions Grid icon.

To preserve data integrity, you cannot delete a deduction that has already been used in a payroll calculation.

We also recommended being very careful when you change deduction lines that have already been used in a calculation. These changes have certain retroactive effects and therefore affect printed union reports for pay periods that have already been calculated. For example, if you change the description of a deduction, the new description will be included on the union reports.

Most changes can still be made safely on deductions, even if they have already been used in a payroll calculation. For example, you can change the calculation method or update a deduction rate without creating problems.

You can also change any value on the line if it is to correct an error made when the deduction was created. However, we do not recommend changing a deduction that has already been used, if you want to use it for other purposes.

If a deduction is to be replaced by another, rather than changing the deduction, it is best to:

If you still want to replace an existing deduction, the new deduction should be of the same type as the previous one.

Create a new deduction on a new line.
Reset the contribution rate to zero for the deduction which should no longer be used. This will stop the calculations, but will not affect the deductions already calculated.
Note that, in this case, the history of the original deduction will follow the new deduction.

Customized reports can be associated with each union and are created using the Miscellaneous Report Generator and can then be printed using the Union Report Generator.

Disbursements can also be made to the various suppliers associated with the unions using the Union Payment Report.

You can specify a maximum number of hours per year for a union by providing a master union code.

Steps

maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Union Management

Creating a Union

Enter the required information in the Detail tab:

Field

Description

Code

Union code.

Description

Description of the union.

Vacation Pay Rate

Vacation pay rate used in the calculation.

Income for calculating vacation

Available values:

0 – Regular (all income)

Calculates vacation pay based on income that does not include overtime.

1 - Income excluding overtime

Calculates vacation pay based on all income at the regular rate.

2 - Total income at regular rate

Calculates vacation pay based on all income entered.

Supplier

Supplier to which vacation is paid.

Remittance Account

Account used for the remittance of vacation pay (liability account).

Reading of the vacation remittance account is prioritized if the vacation Pay method is set to 3 - Committee in Define Work Categories:

Union Management remittance account.

If empty, uses the vacation account defined in Define Committees option.

Otherwise, the general ledger account defined in the Committee Remittance field will be used if Define Committees option is defined.

Generate cheque

If the box is checked, a disbursement is generated when the remittances report is issued.

Pension Plan Number

Union pension plan number.

NOTES: This number is printed on the T4 slips for the Canadian payroll and on the wage and income tax declaration for the U.S. payroll.

If there is no pension plan number entered here for the union, the system reads the pension plan number entered in Committee Management to print the T4 slips and W-2 forms for declaring wages and income tax.

Master Union

Used to group the union in a master union.

NOTE: You can specify an annual amount for the entire group in Master Union Management.

Report Format

Miscellaneous report created for the union based on the required information. This report must be custom designed to meet the requirements of each union.

NOTES: The report must have been created in miscellaneous payroll reports.

The report code must start with PCPAYE, followed by four (4) digits.

Format by Supplier

You can define report formats by the supplier defined in the grid by clicking the icon. You can then select a report format for each supplier by clicking the Select icon.

NOTES: If a format is specified for the supplier, it will override the report format selected for the union.

The report must have been created in miscellaneous reports under the payroll module.

Deduction Details section:

Fields followed by the * character are mandatory fields.

Field

Description

Description

Description of the contribution for entry on the pay slip.

Mode

Calculation mode to be used.

Available values:

1 - Rate / No. Hours

2 - Gross Salary %

3 - Set Amount

4 - Hourly Rate %

5 - No. Hours * Hourly Rate

6 - Nbr.Hours * Hourly Rate (Yearly Maximum)

7 - Rate / Hours (Yearly Maximum)

8 - % Gross Income (excluding vac.)

9 - % Gross Income (Excluding Overtime)

A - % Rate with highest nb of hours

B - % Maximum rate

C - % Rate first time entry

D - % Rate first time entry - regular

WARNING! For methods 1, 5, 6 and 7, the Base and Source fields must be completed.

NOTE: The calculation method varies by selection.

Base

Calculation base. Used to indicate the hours for which the contribution is based.

NOTEs: This field is only used if the Method field is: 1 (Rate / Hours) or 5 (No. Hours * Hourly Rate).

The hours worked are the actual hours, whereas the hours paid are the hours converted to overtime.

For example:

(1 - Hours Worked) Qty = TS+TH+TD

(2 - Hours Paid) Qty = TS+(TH*1.5)+(TD*2).

Source*

Identifies the source from which the union contribution (in hours or wages) must be calculated.

Available values:

1 - Committee

Default value.

If the mode is based on the salary amount, the system calculates the union contribution according to the employee's salary and bonuses checked in Affects Committee Calculations (salary) from Define Bonuses and Deductions.

NOTE: In salary mode, the Committee source includes the vacation amount.

NOTE: If the source is 1 - Committee and the Affects Committee Calculations box is not checked, The committee calculation will not be performed on the bonus in question.

If the mode is based on the number of hours worked, the system calculates the union contribution according to the employee's number of hours and the checked bonuses in Affects Committee Calculations (in hours) from Define Bonuses and Deductions.

NOTE: Vacation days are not included in the mode based on the number of hours worked.

If the mode is based on the salary amount, the system calculates the union contribution according to the employee's salary and bonuses checked in Affects Union Calculations (salary) from Define Bonuses and Deductions.

2 - Union

If the source is 2 - Union and the Affects Union Calculations box in a bonus is not checked. The union calculation will not be performed on the bonus in question.

If the mode is based on the number of hours worked, the system calculates the union contribution according to the employee's number of hours and the checked bonuses in Affects Union Calculations (in hours) from Define Bonuses and Deductions.

Implementation: A union deduction that must be calculated based on a salary amount, including vacation and a night bonus for which you do not want to pay vacation.

Required configuration:

In Define Bonuses and Deductions, check the Affects Union Calculations box in salary for the night bonus.

In Union Management, select the deduction and Union source for the deduction.

In this example, vacation will not be calculated on the bonus, but the amount of the bonus will be used to calculate the union deduction.

Frequency

Available values:

Weekly

Monthly

2e week

Applicable only to the 2nd week worked of each month.

Tax 1

Tax code for GST if necessary.

Tax 2

Tax code for PST if necessary.

Employee rate

Employee rate based on the mode selected.

Employer Rate

Employer rate based on the mode selected.

Maximum Hours

Maximum number of hours to which the deductions should be applied if the Mode field is set to 1 or 5.

Type

Type of deduction.

The choices are: 0 - Undefined, 1 - Union, 2 – Pension Plan, 3 - Group Insurance, 9 - Others.

NOTE: Types 1 and 2 are used on T4s.

Indicates that the union deduction must be subtracted from the salary to calculate the taxable income for the federal and provincial governments for provinces outside of Québec

The other deductions do not affect taxable income.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

When the payroll is processed, the system saves this value to recover it for the T4 slips for 1 - Union and 2 - Pension Plan. If for any reason, when creating a union, the information in the Type column is inaccurate, you can go back using the following steps:

For a deduction that has already been used for a payroll calculation, you must unlock the grid by clicking the Unlock Deductions Grid icon. Please read the warning about the impact of editing a union and click OK.

If you edit the Type column, a question is displayed on the screen. The user can change the calculations already performed to replace the preceding type with the new type.

If you answer No, the system does not change the calculations already performed, but does save the changes made to the union, including the change in the type of union.

If you answer Yes, the system requests an effective date.

The deductions already calculated will be modified from the date specified.

Tax ben. fed.

Federal taxable benefit.

NOTE: The federal taxable benefit is only used if the employer pays a contribution and it is considered a taxable benefit for the employee).

Tax ben. prov.

Provincial taxable benefit.

NOTE: The provincial taxable benefit is only used if the employer pays a contribution and it is considered a taxable benefit for the employee).

Tax Ben. Type

Type of taxable benefit.

NOTE: Type 1 is added to the Others taxable benefits in the year-to-date amounts for employees. Type 2 is added to the Health Insurance taxable benefits in the year-to-date amounts for employees.

Supplier

Supplier to which the deduction is paid.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

For a deduction that has already been used during a payroll calculation and for which the Generate Cheque box is checked, a question is displayed on the screen if the supplier code is changed. The user can change the calculations already performed to replace the previous supplier with the new supplier specified to issue the cheque to the correct supplier.

If you answer No, the system does not change the calculations already performed, but will still save the changes made to the union, including the change of supplier.

If you answer Yes, the system requests an effective date.

The deductions already calculated will be modified from the date specified.

If the date is in a closed accounts payable period, the system displays a message indicating that it cannot change the transactions and the data will not be saved.

NOTE: The miscellaneous reports, reports submitted to the unions and the cheques based on union remittance reports are affected by the changes.

CAUTION! The original supplier will be replaced by the new supplier in all relevant transactions, even if a payment has already been issued.

Remittance Account

Account to which the union remittance is posted (liability account).

Generate cheque

If the box is checked, a disbursement is generated when the remittances report is issued.

Fringe Benefit Clearing Account

Expense account for the deduction/benefit if payroll configuration is set to NORMAL.

Liability account for the deduction/benefit if the payroll configuration is set to BALANCED.

Variable Name

Variable name used to create the miscellaneous report associated with the union.

Sector

Labour sector. Used to specify the hours on which union-related deductions are to be calculated.

Available values:

Sector 0

Not applicable.

Sector 1

Civil engineering – Roads.

Sector 2

Industrial.

Sector 3

Institutional and commercial.

Sector 4

Residential.

Sector 5

Heavy residential.

Sectors 1 to 5

Applies to all sectors except sector 0, which is not applicable.

All

Applies to all sectors.

Trade Code

Used to specify the trade to which union deductions apply.

WARNING! If the field is empty or with the value 0, this tells maestro* that the union must be calculated for all trade code. If you specify a trade code, the union will be calculated for the designated trade code only.

NOTE: Only the hours or salary entered for the trade code are subject to the contribution specified on the line.

Years or Level

Used to specify the year or level for which the deductions should be calculated.

NOTE: The years or level of apprenticeship is from Define Years or Level.

WARNING! If the field is empty or with the value 0, this tells maestro* that the union must be calculated for all Years or Level of apprenticeship. If you specify a year or level of apprenticeship, the union will be calculated for the designated year only.

NOTE: Only the hours or salary entered for the number of years or Level are subject to the contribution specified on the line.

Deduction Used

Indicates that the union deduction has been used in a payroll calculation.

NOTE: Refer to the warning at the beginning of this document for the potential repercussions of changing a deduction that has already been used in a payroll calculation.

Deduction No.

Number of the deduction, for information purposes.

NOTE: This information is the link between the definition of deduction and its use in maestro* programs.

Click Save.

A confirmation message may be displayed if no deduction lines have been defined using type 1 - Union. Income tax calculations apply on type 1 - Union deductions. If Yes is answered to the question, the system saves the changes, but they will not affect the income tax calculation. Otherwise, the user will have to review the deductions grid to make changes. The cursor will be positioned on the first line in the deductions grid, in the Type column if the grid is unlocked.

APPENDIX

Calculation Method Details

Method	Description	Qty	UP	Division Factor
1	Rate / number of hours	Number of hours (paid or worked)	1	1
2	% Gross Income NOTE: This method includes vacation pay.	1	Gross Income	100
3	Fixed Amount	1	1	1
4	% Hourly Rate	1	Calculated from all hourly rates	1
5	Number of hours * hourly rate	Number of hours (according to the base selected)	Hourly rate	1
6	Nbr. Hours * Hourly Rate (Yearly maximum)	Number of hours (according to the base selected)	Hourly Rate	1
7	Rate / Hours (Yearly Maximum)	Number of hours (according to the base selected)	1	1
8	% Gross Income (excluding vac. pay)	1	Gross Earnings	100

Mode 5 is similar to mode 2. The calculation result provides a gross earnings amount to which the contribution rates (employee and employer) are applied. The main difference with mode 2 is that with the Base field, you can choose the hours used to determine the salary on which the contribution will be based. For example, using this mode, you can define a contribution that represents X% of the salary earned in regular time only.

Method 6 is similar to method 5 except that it uses the maximum number of hours per year defined in Master Union Management.

Method 7 is similar to method 1 except that it uses the maximum number of hours per year defined in Master Union Management.

To check whether the maximum has been reached for methods 6 or 7, the system combines the deductions calculated from the beginning of the year. All of the deductions (unions) that are associated with the same master union and that have an identical variable name are calculated together. Caution. new deductions entered during the year are not retroactive.

Method 8 is similar to method 2. The calculation result provides a gross earnings amount from which the vacation amount is deducted.

Calculating the employee’s deduction

Qty * UP * Employee’s rate / Division factor

Examples

Method	Description	Qty	UP	Division Factor	Employee’s Rate	Result
1	Rate / number of hours	40	1	1	0.51	20.4
2	% Gross Income	1	893.60	100	1.00	8.94
3	Fixed Amount	1	1	1	26.00	26
4	% Hourly Rate	1	22.34	1	0.10	2.23
5	Number of hours * hourly rate	40	22.34	1	.03	26.81
6	Nbr. Hours * Hourly Rate (Yearly Maximum)	40	22.34	.03	1	26.81

Last modification: September 20, 2024