Staffing a constituency office is solely the responsibility of each Member.
Members must enter into an employment contract with staff of their constituency office. When hiring an employee that will not be subject to a collective agreement, it is strongly recommended that Members use the template provided by the Legislative Assembly Administration. If a formal employment contract is not executed, an offer letter detailing terms of employment is required. The signed employment contract or offer letter must be submitted to Client Care to ensure proper and timely payroll processing.
Staff cannot be a close relative of the Member.
Some caucuses may wish to establish “group conditions” for constituency office staff. Any individual or group conditions established cannot be binding on the Legislative Assembly.
Each Member determines the salary and other terms and conditions of employment for constituency office staff, unless they fall under a collective agreement.
Staff salaries are paid through the Legislative Assembly’s payroll system. Payroll Services will require a copy of the employment contract for new staff, who will also be required to complete the necessary employment forms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is meant by “group conditions”?
Group conditions can be a union contract or an employment contract developed by the caucus, and they are applicable to all constituency office staff within the party. For example, group conditions could identify a salary schedule or vacation entitlement that applies to all staff.
Who is the employer?
The employer is the Member, who must register with WorkSafeBC and pay annual premiums. For assistance with WorkSafeBC registrations, please contact Client Care.
What forms are required for a new hire?
New employees will be required to complete federal and provincial TD1 tax forms, a direct deposit form, and the New Hire Information Form. These will all be completed through the onboarding portal. Employees with the benefits package will be provided with additional benefits enrolment forms, also to be completed through the onboarding portal.
What is meant by “salary paid”?
Constituency office staff are set up on a regular pay schedule and paid a set amount every pay period. Any changes to the amount paid would require notification to Payroll Services via the Salary/Position Status Change Form. An example would be extra hours worked in addition to the normal work schedule for a particular period.
How are vacation and/or other leaves tracked?
All leaves are tracked and managed internally in the constituency office. Submit a Salary/Position Status Change Form to Payroll Services in a case of longer sick leave for benefited employees and if/when vacation payouts are required. In a case of an approved leave without pay, complete a Salary/Position Status Change Form and submit it to Payroll Services to stop the pay and provide the employee with a breakdown of benefits costs, if the employee wishes to maintain them during the leave.
Is the office allowed to hire extra staff if they have a surplus in their account to cover the additional salary costs over the allotted monthly allowance?
This can only be a temporary arrangement. It is not uncommon to hire staff to replace a regular employee on a paid leave, or during a transition period where a person remains on payroll to train a new staff member.
Members may require the use of temporary staff to assist within their constituency offices during peak times. Employees hired on a temporary or “as and when required” basis are normally paid an hourly rate plus vacation pay, and in some circumstances can receive a health and welfare allowance in lieu of benefits.
Bi-weekly time sheets will be required for an hourly-paid constituency office staff member. Time sheets are to be submitted to Payroll Services on a timely basis to be processed in the nearest pay run. The calculation of statutory holiday pay is done in the constituency office and to be paid out the hours have to be entered in the time sheets as well.
There is no requirement for Members to provide additional benefits to temporary employees. Benefits are available to regular full- and part-time employees. The health and welfare allowance is only mandatory if outlined in a collective agreement or employment contract.
Constituency office staff who are entitled to participate in the benefit plans are required to complete the enrolment forms and submit them through the onboarding portal.
A summary of benefit plans is provided below. Full details of the plan benefits and relevant forms are available on the Client Care Portal.
Extended Health and Dental: The extended health and dental plan provides coverage designed to partially reimburse for services not covered by the provincial Medical Services Plan or Pharmacare, such as prescription drugs, paramedical services (e.g., physiotherapy), dental services, and vision care. The plan carrier is Canada Life Insurance Company.
Health Care Spending Account (HCSA): Established to enhance the current extended health and dental plan, the HCSA provides credits for employees to use on certain health, vision, and dental care expenses not covered by our group benefits plan through Canada Life or the MSP provincial health care plan. Eligible expenses are based on the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) income tax guidelines. This plan is also administered by Canada Life Insurance Company and applies only to employees who are benefitted. More information about the HCSA can be found in the Benefits Guide on the Client Care Portal under HR, Payroll, and Benefits.
Life Insurance: This benefit is available for benefitted employees only. Employee basic life insurance provides coverage equal to three times the annual salary or employer-paid minimum coverage ($100,000), whichever is greater. Coverage includes accidental dismemberment insurance, loss of sight insurance, and a terminally ill advance payment. Optional additional life insurance, optional family funeral benefit, and optional accidental death and dismemberment insurance are also available.
Short Term Injury and Illness (STIIP): This benefit is available to regular employees who are unable to work due to illness or injury. STIIP provides coverage for continuation of salary at a rate of 75% of their regular rate of pay for a period of up to 6 months. A maximum of $4,670 per month is paid by centralized Legislative Assembly funds after 30 calendar days of illness, at no additional cost to the constituency office. If the employee’s 75% pay is greater than $4,670 per month, the Member has the option to approve the additional coverage (up to the max of 75% of pay) out of the constituency office allowance. Employees will be required to provide medical documentation to substantiate their claim. Employees who have been on STIIP leave for 3 months and are not anticipated to make a full return to work after 6 months should apply for Long-Term Disability benefits.
Long-Term Disability (LTD) Plan: This plan provides coverage for income continuation in the event of total disability due to illness or injury. Coverage under the plan is provided to eligible regular employees who are regularly scheduled to work a minimum of 50% of full-time, at no additional cost. Benefits are payable to eligible employees who have completed an initial 6 months of active employment, are under age 65, and have sufficient medical evidence to support their LTD claim as adjudicated by Canada Life. The plan is limited to the earlier of two years coverage or until the next provincial election. The insurance carrier for the LTD plan is Canada Life Assurance Company.
Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP): The EFAP is available to all employees and is a service that provides free, confidential, professional assistance to employees and their families to help resolve problems that affect their personal lives and, in some cases, their job performance. The EFAP can be accessed 24/7 by phone at 1-800-655-5004 or by visiting this link online and searching for “Legislative Assembly.” If calling EFAP, the person will have to state that they are an employee of the Legislative Assembly of BC.
Pension Plan: Pension benefits are available to all regular full-time and part-time (minimum 0.5 FTE) constituency office staff. Each eligible employee will be required to complete an application or a waiver form. Once an application is accepted, contributions continue for the duration of employment. If an employee signs a waiver, they can opt into the plan at a future date but will not be eligible to buy back any previous service. Contributions to the plan are portable to any of the partnership plans within the public service. Full details of the pension plan can be obtained online at www.pensionsbc.ca in the section for public service employees or by phone at 1-800-665-3554.
Records of staff leave are to be maintained in each constituency office. All sick leave records must also be forwarded to Payroll Services, as there may be an impact on the employee’s pay. Members must ensure that the vacation entitlement for staff is indicated on the employment contract. A record must be kept for each employee accruing vacation time, overtime as banked time, and records of sick time, which will be required in the event an employee has qualified for long-term disability. Proper records will reduce the potential for dispute.
Members will be required, upon termination of an employee, to complete an offboarding portal form where any outstanding vacation time or overtime owing will be identified. Any vacation or lump sum payments will be recovered from the constituency office allowance.
It is up to the Member to ensure that vacation time is taken when possible. All unused vacation time will be charged to the constituency office allowance. This means there needs to be sufficient funds in the Member’s constituency office allowance to pay out the liability when it comes due. It is at the discretion of the Member to determine if unused vacation time can be carried over into another year. Alternatively, unused vacation can be paid out on an employee’s anniversary date, calendar year-end, by request, or on termination of employment.
Members are required to provide Client Care with written notice of any salary changes for their employees using the HRO Salary/Position Status Change Form. Members can also provide notice in the form of a copy of an executed amendment to the employment contract.
All retroactive pay will be recovered from the Member’s constituency office allowance.
All Members must register, in accordance with the Workers’ Compensation Act, as employers with WorkSafeBC. Members can register online at www.worksafebc.com. If any office fails to register, they may be subject to a fine or penalty imposed by WorkSafeBC.
WorkSafeBC will make an assessment for the required premium based on the annual salaries paid. Assessments are sent to the constituency office once a year. It is the responsibility of each constituency office to calculate the premium owed, based on the salaries paid in the previous year and the current assessment rate provided. Since an elected official is not considered an employee, a Member’s salary is not included in the assessment. The amount of the premium is paid from the constituency office allowance.
For assistance with WorkSafeBC registrations, please contact Client Care.
Staff of Members affiliated with the BC NDP Caucus
Constituency office staff of Members affiliated with the BC NDP Caucus are subject to a collective agreement where layoff and recall provisions apply. Members affiliated with the BC NDP Caucus are encouraged to contact the Caucus Executive Director or their designate with any questions.
Staff of Members not affiliated with the BC NDP Caucus
Members not affiliated with the BC NDP Caucus, including Independent Members, may be required to provide notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice in accordance with the Employment Standards Act or common law requirements. Depending on the nature of the question, Members are encouraged to contact Client Care with any questions prior to termination of an employee’s employment.
Fixed-Term Employment Contracts
The Legislative Assembly provides Members with template fixed-term employment contracts. These agreements are drafted to automatically expire at the end of the fixed term; no notice or pay in lieu of notice is required to be provided to the employee.
Provision of Notice to the Legislative Assembly Administration
Members are required to send written notice, in a timely manner, to Client Care of any employee termination – including layoff, retirement, or resignation. Late notice could result in an overpayment to an employee. Through the offboarding platform Members should include the date of the employee’s last day of work, the date of the last day of pay (if not the same), any monies owing other than regular pay, if applicable, and the reason for termination.
Payroll Services will process the final pay, the termination notice for the B.C. Pension Corporation, and the record of employment for the employee. Employees should be reminded to keep their mailing address current with Payroll Services to receive tax documents, such as T4s.
Members may determine they wish to contract a person or company to perform a specific job. In these circumstances, a Member must remain cognizant of the difference between contracted work (a contract for services) and employment (a contract of service). The more autonomy the individual or company has will tend to indicate that the individual is a contractor rather than an employee.
Members should refer to the Canada Revenue Agency website here for full details on determining the relationship. If a contractor relationship exists, contract work may be an eligible expense and can be paid directly from the constituency office allowance. If an employer/employee relationship exists, the employee should be paid through the payroll system with proper deductions at source. Please note that a Member may be subject to fines and penalties by the Canada Revenue Agency if it determines that an employer/employee relationship exists and the appropriate taxes were not remitted.
It is important that a Member ensure there is an appropriate written agreement in place with the contractor. Members are encouraged to contact Legal Services with questions related to such agreements.
Members affiliated with the BC NDP Caucus must also remain mindful of any additional requirements under the collective agreement with respect to any limitations on contracting out work. Members affiliated with the BC NDP Caucus are encouraged to contact the Caucus Executive Director or their designate with any questions.
Members may determine they wish to engage the assistance of volunteers at their constituency office or constituency events. A Member is encouraged to enter into a volunteer agreement with any individual engaged to provide volunteer services. Members may contact Legal Services for assistance with volunteer agreements.