Overview

• What: Proposed amendment to the assessable payroll practice directive to clarify how tips and gratuities are treated for payroll reporting purposes
• Who: All B.C. employers whose workers may receive tips or gratuities, including, but not limited to, foodservice, hospitality, taxi and ride hail, local delivery, esthetic services including hair salons, and pet grooming
• Why: To ensure fairness for all employers, ensure consistent reporting, and clarify the existing practice directive language
• How: Details of upcoming engagement sessions will be posted shortly
• Key topics: Tips, Gratuities, Assessable payroll, Employer, Practice directive

Summary

WorkSafeBC is updating the language in the assessable payroll practice directive to better explain how tips and gratuities should be treated when employers report on payroll. This proposed change does not create new obligations for employers; it simply narrows the scope and clarifies guidance that’s been in place since 2010, and is used in other jurisdictions throughout Canada, such as Alberta and Ontario. The goals of this update are to:

• Support consistent reporting of tips and gratuities in assessable payroll
• Clarify what makes tips “verifiable”
• Help employers understand their responsibilities more clearly

We will be hosting engagement sessions in May and June, and will post session details and times soon. For more information, email stakeholderrelations@worksafebc.com.

How will this affect you?

If your workers receive tips or gratuities as part of their employment, this update will help you understand how to accurately include them in assessable payroll.

How you can share your feedback

Details about how to register for virtual sessions and share your feedback will be posted shortly.

If you have questions or would like more information, click on the “Share your feedback” button on this page.

How your contributions make a difference

Your input will help ensure the assessable payroll practice directive is clear, consistent, and practical. We want to hear from you so we can improve this directive and support employers across all sectors.

Learn more

Review the proposed amendments and the current practice directive:

• Proposed amendments to Assessment Practice Directive 5-245-2(A). The additional language can be seen highlighted in yellow in Appendix A (page 18).
• Current Assessment Practice Directive 5-245-2(A) - Asssessable payroll