Canada. How employers can design health benefits, retirement plans for gig workers
Whether they’re delivering takeout, chauffeuring passengers, or fixing leaky sinks, most gig workers in Canada don’t get benefits.
Classified as independent contractors rather than employees, they’re excluded from employer contributions to Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance, they may not be protected under worker’s compensation and they can’t participate in tax-advantaged benefits programs like registered pension plans and employee life and health trusts.
Read: Uber Canada sharing details of self-directed benefits fund for gig workers
So even if an employer offered dental benefits today, its gig workers would have to pay tax on money received for cleanings and fillings. Under current tax laws, a gig worker’s dollar can’t go as far as an employee’s dollar.
One solution is to classify gig workers as employees. Some workers’ rights groups are advocating for this change, while others are setting the classification issue aside and negotiating benefit contributions from platform companies instead.
There’s a concern that gaining these benefits will require making a larger concession in terms of status. For example, in April, Washington state legislated minimum per-minute and per-mile earnings for gig worker drivers and required platform companies to provide paid sick leave, but effectively cemented drivers’ status as independent contractors.
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