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The location of work for the dispatched employees;
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The salary payable to the dispatched employees (based on "equal pay for equal work") and the method of payment;
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The dispatched employees' working hour system;
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Treatment for dispatched employees during work-related injury, non-work-related illness, maternity and nursing period;
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Workplace safety, sanitation and training;
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Payments such as economic compensation (severance);
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Term of the Dispatch Agreement; and
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The basis for, and payment of, the service fee for the dispatch services.
What are the responsibilities of the staffing agency and/or the Actual Employer for administration of work-related injuries and occupational disease diagnosis?
Work-Related Injury Identification
In general, when an employee suffers a work-related injury, the appropriate authorities must certify that the injury is work-related and assess the seriousness of the injury. The Regulation confirms that if a dispatched employee suffers an injury when working for the Actual Employer, the staffing agency is responsible for filing the relevant application with the authorities. The Actual Employer must provide necessary assistance.
Occupational Disease Diagnosis
The Actual Employer is responsible to assist in the occupational disease diagnosis and identification for a dispatched employee and must provide necessary materials, such as a history of the employee's occupation as well as his/her exposure to the occupational hazard, the results of an evaluation of factors causing the occupational disease at the workplace, etc. The staffing agency should provide other necessary materials, such as the Dispatch Agreement and labor contract.
Work-Related Injury Insurance Contribution and Relevant Payments
In general, employers are required to pay contributions for work-related injury insurance. The Regulation clarifies that these contributions must be paid by the staffing agency of a dispatched employee. However, the Actual Employer and the staffing agency can agree among themselves as to who bears the eventual financial cost of such contributions.
Actual Employers and staffing agencies should agree, in straightforward terms, on how they will handle between themselves their respective responsibilities in relation to these matters.
If employees are dispatched cross-provincially, what rules apply to social insurance contributions?
Social insurance rules differ from province to province. The Regulation provides that if a dispatched employee is dispatched to an Actual Employer cross-provincially (i.e., to a place other than where the staffing agency is located), the participation rules for social insurance (including contribution rates) are determined according to the local regulations applicable where the Actual Employer is located.
If the staffing agency has a branch where the Actual Employer is located, the branch will handle administration of the dispatched employee's participation in social insurance programs, including payment of social insurance contributions. If not, the Actual Employer must handle such matters on behalf of the staffing agency.
