If you've had to make the difficult decision to lay off employees, you probably have a laundry list of to-dos to make sure you do it correctly, one of those things being "find out how this affects the employee benefits plan".
Our benefits team has received hundreds of questions about what companies need to do in the case of a lay-off. Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions:
Yes. If you have access to your carrier's Plan Administration portal, you can most likely process the temporary layoffs yourself online. If you don't have access to a portal, or you're unsure of how to process the layoffs, please reach out to our benefits team.
You'll need to have the following information handy: a list of the laid-off employees, the effective date of the termination and their expected return to work date, and which benefits are being continued for them if any.
Legally, you are not obligated to continue benefits for laid-off employees. However, during these unprecedented times, this may be the time when it is needed most, especially if your plan includes an EFAP (Employee & Family Assistance Plan) or a virtual healthcare component. If you’re interested in learning more about this, feel free to email benefits@humi.ca.
This varies on the insurance carrier and the extended benefits. Please reach out to your benefits advisor to provide you with the most up to date information for your group benefits plan.
At this moment in time, insurance carriers are firm on their maximums. However, these are unprecedented times, and things are changing weekly, if not daily. If the global pandemic is still occurring in 3/4/5 months, insurance carriers may revisit their limits.
The most common method we see is employees providing their employers with post-dated cheques for their share of the premiums.
Employers can make a one-time adjustment once the employees are back on payroll. If you need assistance on how to process this, please contact your payroll provider, and they will be able to assist you.
I’m the Director of HR at Humi, and I’m obsessed with all things people and human resources. Throughout my time working in a range of industries, I’ve learned that one thing is clear: the world of work is changing and HR professionals are leading the charge.
I believe that businesses should know their people as well as they know their product. But people are complex, and the solutions aren’t always easy. That’s how Think with Humi will help.
Written by me, this newsletter is designed to give you insight into the relevant and raw people challenges, and give you the tools to enable you to continuously to shape the future of work.
Written by a people leader, for people leaders.
