Employers that have increased payroll post April 10, 2021 should read this

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Many businesses are stepping up their growth plans. In providing help during this period of recovery, the Federal government has introduced The Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) which will aid some businesses with their employment costs.

Summary

The CRHP is an alternative to the current wage subsidy program (CEWS). Employers must choose one or the other.

This subsidy will apply if the following occurred:

1. There is a decline in revenue (revenue decline criteria are generally the same as those under CEWS);

2. If employees were hired after April 10; and

3. If wages increased in comparison to the March 14 to April 10, 2021 baseline period.

This new subsidy will provide businesses with funding of up to 50% (declining to 20% by the final period) of incremental remuneration paid to eligible employees during the qualifying periods in comparison to the active employees’ wages during the baseline period of March 14 to April 10, 2021 which is period 14 from CEWS.

For companies that have grown significantly in payroll since April 10, but still meet the revenue decline tests, this program can be significantly more attractive than the CEWS program. This is because CRHP pays a fixed percentage of the growth in payroll rather than the low percentage that can arise if revenue is only down modestly. However, if staffing has not increased significantly then it’s unlikely the program will benefit your company.

Duration

The program duration for this subsidy is from June 6, 2021 to November 20, 2021 where the six periods in the program are broken down into four-week increments. The application deadline is 180 days after the end of each claim period.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the subsidy, businesses must have a revenue loss of more than:

a. 0% between June 6 and July 3, 2021 (period 17)

b. 10% between July 4 – July 31 (period 18) and any following periods set out in the program.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to a team member at RMT.