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Job Share Arrangements: Information for Employers

The Supreme Court of Canada recently released a decision, Fraser v. Canada, that dealt with a challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms related to the RCMP pension plan. OMERS has carefully reviewed the decision and it does not change our approach to job sharing programs.

For OMERS purposes, it is the employment relationship that dictates whether a job sharing arrangement is a period of reduced pay or a change in employment conditions. Once OMERS is provided with this information, we administer the OMERS Plan accordingly.

We have updated job sharing information, which is available in section 23 of the Employer Administration Manual, to help you understand the difference and ensure you are reporting accurately and consistently.


Frequently Asked Employer Questions

OMERS continues to administer job share arrangements based on how these events are reported by employers. This involves considering the member’s status before the job share arrangement began (i.e.,(CFT) or(OTCFT)) and the nature of the employment arrangement while the member is on the job share (see below).

CFT
For an employee who was CFT before the job share, the arrangement can be classified in one of two ways for OMERS purposes:

  • CFT with a leave of absence. If the employee continues to be classified as a CFT employee, the period of absence should be classified as a purchasable leave of absence.

  • Change of employment status from CFT to OTCFT. If the employee’s status is changing to OTCFT, then the period that the employee is not working is not considered purchasable.

OTCFT
For an employee who was OTCFT before the job share, the arrangement can be classified in one of two ways for OMERS purposes:

  • OTCFT with a leave of absence. If the employee continues to satisfy their existing employment conditions as an OTCFT employee, the period of absence should be classified as a purchasable leave of absence.  

  • Change in employment while remaining OTCFT. If the changes in the employee’s employment conditions are not temporary, then the period that the employee is not working is not considered purchasable.

We have enhanced the material on job share arrangements in the Employer Administration Manual to clarify the above. Please refer to the section on Job Share Administration for more details.

The Supreme Court decision does not change OMERS administration with respect to job share arrangements. OMERS continues to administer job share arrangements based on how these events are reported by employers.

If an employer has questions about whether the Supreme Court decision impacts the structuring of job share arrangements for employment purposes, they may wish to seek their own legal advice. It is important to note that the administration of the job share for OMERS purposes will depend on the reporting by the employer.

While OMERS cannot advise in this regard, we are available to assist with any question you have related to the administration of the OMERS Primary Plan for your job share arrangement.

You should report the leave of absence using the e-Form 165a Leave Period Reporting. See Leave Period reporting/election (165) e-form section of the Employer Administration Manual for more details.

To report a change in employment status for the duration of the job share arrangement, use the e-Form 106 Changing Member Information. See the Updating member information section of the Employer Administration Manual for more details. For OTCFT members, please reflect the reduced hours or days in your standard Form 119 reporting.

You should deduct contributions based on a member’s actual earnings while on a job share arrangement. See the Earnings section of the Employer Administration Manual for more details.


Job Share Arrangement Summary

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Job sharing flow chart for employers .pdf
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