H13 – Employee Relocation Due to Reorganization or Program Decentralization Policy
Approver: President and CEO
Policy Owner: Chief Human Resources Officer
Date Approved: December 9, 2021
Next Review Date: December 2026
1.0 Purpose
- Red River College Polytechnic is committed to providing consistency, transparency, and fairness in approving and reimbursing expenses incurred by employees who are required to change residence as a result of a permanent change in employee headquarters as defined herein.
- The purpose of this Policy and any associated Procedures is to facilitate the repayment of relocation expenses incurred by employees as a result of a permanent change of work headquarters in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement as defined herein.
2.0 Application and Scope
- This Policy applies only to:
- the specific circumstances leading to relocation as defined in this Policy; and
- those Employees to whom the CBA applies as defined in Article 4 of the CBA.
3.0 Definitions
- “Approving Authority” means:
- The manager of the budget center to be charged; or
- In the case of budget center managers, the person to whom they report.
- “Collective Bargaining Agreement” or “CBA” means the Collective Bargaining Agreement entered into from time to time between the College and the Manitoba Government Employees Union.
- “Eligible Relocation Expenses” include the eligible moving expenses established by the Canada Revenue Agency at paragraph 4.22 of the Moving Expenses Guidelines [link]. Reimbursement for Eligible Relocation Expenses may be taxable in accordance with rules established by the Canada Revenue Agency [link]. The College makes no representation regarding the eligibility of the Relocation for other taxation benefits or credits.
- “Employee” means, for the purposes of this Policy, a person to which the CBA applies as defined in Article 4 of the CBA.
- “Relocation”, for the purposes of this Policy, occurs where:
- as a result of a reorganization, an employee’s work headquarters is moved from one city or town to another city or town requiring a change of residence by the employee; or,
- as a result of program decentralization, a program is moved permanently from a location in one city or town to another city or town requiring a change of residence by the employee.
For the purposes of determining whether a change in residence is required under this Policy, a change in residence is deemed to be required where:
- the new work location is more than 40 kilometers from the current work location; and
- the distance from an Employee’s residence to work increases by more than 40 kilometers as a result of the change in work location.
4.0 Policy
- The College will reimburse Employees who incur Eligible Relocation Expenses due to a Relocation in accordance with this Policy provided that:
- the expenses are incurred between the date the Employee receives notice of the Relocation and the date six (6) months after their start date at the new headquarters; and
- the Employee submits required supporting documentation in accordance with this Policy or any associated Procedures within six (6) months from their start date of at the new headquarters.
- Subject to the Employee satisfying of the criteria outlined in this Policy, the College will reimburse 100% of the Eligible Relocation Expenses to a maximum amount of $8,500 for full-time regular Employees and up to a maximum of $4,000 for all other Employees to whom the CBA applies as defined in Art 4 of the CBA.
- All Eligible Relocation Expense claims must be supported by receipts or other acceptable documentation as may be established in associated Procedures from time to time.
- Employees who receive reimbursement for Eligible Relocation Expenses but resign from their employment with the College at any time within a two-year period following the reimbursement must repay to the College, prior to their departure, a pro-rated proportion of the reimbursement received in accordance with the following formula:
(104 weeks) – (no. of completed weeks since the effective date of Relocation)
104
x
Total amount reimbursed for relocation expenses
5.0 Responsibilities
- The Chief Human Resources Officer is responsible for:
- establishing any Procedures that may be required to implement this Policy in a consistent and transparent manner.
- Employees are responsible for:
- Ensuring that their Eligible Relocation Expense claim is submitted with the appropriate documentation within six (6) months after their start date at the new headquarters.
- The Approving Authority is responsible for reviewing and approving only Eligible Relocation Expenses consistent with this Policy.
- The Finance department is responsible for:
- ensuring all approvals are in compliance with this Policy and any associated Procedures; and
- processing and reimbursing properly approved Eligible Relocation Expenses.
6.0 Review Schedule
- This Policy will be reviewed and updated as required within five years of its approval date
7.0 Related Documents
- Canada Revenue Agency Regulations: Moving expenses and relocation benefits – Canada.ca
- Revenue Canada Guidelines: Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C4, Moving Expenses – Canada.ca
- The Collective Agreement between Red River College and the MGEU