Council here has agreed to raise the upper limit on what employees may receive while on medical leave, in order to allow all employees to get the same percentage of their salary should they be forced to miss work.
Under current coverage levels, an employee receiving weekly indemnity or long-term disability payments would receive 75 per cent of normal weekly earnings, up to a maximum of $700.
In a Jan. 8 report, CAO Patty Sinnamon recommended the amount be capped at $1,400 per week for weekly indemnity and $5,600 per month for those on long-term disability.
“The purpose of the benefit plan is to provide an insurance or ‘assurance’ or ‘peace of mind’ that employees would not face a financial hardship due to an illness. The proposal ensures that the weekly indemnity is proportional to the employee’s earnings,” the CAO explained in her report. “The current plan essentially penalizes employees at (pay grid) Level 7 and above and, in fact, department heads would receive less than half of their weekly earnings when on medical leave.”
Sinnamon reported the annual cost to the municipality to increase the cap limit for weekly indemnity is $1,224 and the cost to up the cap on long-term disability is $1,154.
Councillor Mike Downey opposed raising the cap, stating that employees who are on leave don’t have work-related expenses.
“If they are off on leave then they are not going to incur these cost and if they feel this would be of value to them then they can pay for it themselves,” he said.
Downey also said, “most people would be covered under the $700 limit.”
Sinnamon disagreed; stating that half the township’s full-time staff would receive less than 75 per cent of their wages while on leave under the current plan.
“I believe the proposal is fair because it does bring everyone up to 75 per cent,” said councillor Jim Curry.
Sinnamon stated that employee benefits, as part of a compensation package, are important in terms of retaining current employees and attracting new employees.
“This has certainly been evidenced by the recent attempts to hire a new director of finance, as our current benefit plan has been a concern for more than one candidate in this process,” she noted in her report.
Council voted in favor of the recommendation to raise the capped limits, with only Downey opposed.
