We have reviewed our overtime pay practices and have decided to make some changes. The first step in doing that is to make sure we are compliant with specific provincial rules as we understand them to apply.

Deloitte has conducted a detailed review of the provincial rules around overtime in the provinces where our offices are located. We have then reviewed each individual in each office to make a determination regarding eligibility based on the relevant provincial rules, the information contained in PeopleSoft and input from local HR. Where it is clear that a retroactive overtime payment is appropriate according to provincial rules, we will contact eligible employees and advise them of their overtime hours (as recorded in Deloitte’s time management system CMS) and the calculation of any amount owed.

Eligibility is based upon provincial employment standards legislation. Please see the rules governing overtime in your province of employment as outlined at www.otplan.ca for more information.

Specific provincial rules will determine who is eligible and what compensation eligible individuals may be entitled to. To calculate the value of any compensation, the provincial rules will be used in combination with the time recorded in CMS, and the salary information contained in PeopleSoft.

A payment will depend on three criteria:

1. Your eligibility to receive a separate overtime payment as per the provincial rules applicable in the province of your employment.
2. The hours you have recorded in CMS.
3. The provincial legislation that applies to you regarding how overtime is calculated and paid.

This varies depending upon your province of employment. Please refer to your respective provincial eligibility criteria at www.otplan.ca for further information.

If you are currently employed by Deloitte and are eligible to receive a retroactive overtime payment, you will receive an e-mail from the Financial Advisory group who are assisting us in administering the process (the “OT Administrator”). On or before June 3, 2008, you should receive an Assessment Letter including an overview of the Plan, the assessment of your eligibility, hours of work and compensation owed, if any. In addition you will receive an Acceptance and Release Form, as well as a Rejection Form.

If you agree with the overtime calculation set out in the assessment letter, sign and return the Acceptance and Release Form to the OT Administrator by August 1, 2008 and you will receive your payment through payroll within 30 days of the OT Administrator’s receipt of the original signed Acceptance and Release Form.

If you are a former employee, you will receive a letter to you last known address inviting you to contact the OT Administrator by August 1, 2008 to receive your Assessment Letter.

If you agree with the overtime calculation set out in the Assessment Letter, sign and return the Acceptance and Release Form to the OT Administrator within 30 days and you will receive your payment by separate cheque within 30 days of the OT Administrator’s receipt of the original signed Acceptance and Release Form.

If you don’t accept the Assessment Letter, you must submit the completed Rejection Form providing the reasons you believe the Assessment Letter is incorrect and any additional information that you believe supports your position to the OT Administrator by August 1, 2008 for current employees or within 30 days of the date of the Assessment Letter for former employees. Upon receipt of a completed Rejection Form, the OT Administrator will reassess the original assessment in light of any additional information provided by you. The OT Administrator will then contact you with a Reassessment Letter within 45 days. No payments will be made during this reassessment phase.

The provincial rules for the province in which you were employed apply.

If you were still being paid by an office in Canada when you worked the hours, the provincial rules for the office that was paying you apply and hours recorded in CMS will count towards any amounts owed for overtime.

If you were being paid by an office outside Canada, the overtime laws for the country or state where that office is located apply, and the hours cannot be counted for this process.

The rules around eligibility for overtime will be posted on a dedicated web site (www.otplan.ca) by province on or before June 3, 2008. If you are eligible, the OT Administrator will contact you (by e-mail for current employees and regular mail for former employees) beginning on or before June 3, 2008.

You will receive payment either through payroll (for current employees) or by separate cheque (for former employees) within 30 days of when the OT Administrator receives your original signed Acceptance and Release Form.

You will not receive a retroactive overtime payment if:

1. You are not eligible to receive overtime according to the rules in the province of your employment;
2. You have been eligible to receive overtime throughout based upon Deloitte’s existing policies (for example, you are in an ICS role below the manager level); or
3. You are eligible according to provincial legislation, but your hours recorded in CMS do not indicate that you have worked overtime to the extent that a separate payment is required according to the legislation in the province of your employment. In this instance, you will receive an Assessment Letter from the OT Administrator indicating your eligibility and showing the overtime calculation.

To submit your Acceptance and Release Form, you should reply by regular mail to the following address:

OT Administrator
Deloitte & Touche LLP
181 Bay Street
Bay Wellington Tower - Brookfield Place
Suite 1400
Toronto, ON, M5J 2V1.

You may submit a Rejection Form by regular mail (as above) or by fax at (416) 366-1102 or email at otadministrator@deloitte.ca.

If you have any further inquiries, you may submit them via email to otadministrator@deloitte.ca or alternatively you may call the following toll free number: 1-866-669-6615.

For current employees, payment will be made to the account where your regular pay is deposited, less deductions, within 30 days of receipt of your signed Acceptance and Release Form. Former employees will be paid, less statutory deductions, by way of cheque within 30 days of receipt of their signed Acceptance and Release Form.

Managers are not eligible for overtime pay either expressly in provincial statutes or as a result of the minimum wage test in certain provinces. If you believe you should be entitled to overtime and have not been contacted, please call the toll free number (1-866-669-6615) by August 1, 2008 to commence an inquiry. You will then be provided with an Inquiry Form which you will have 30 days to fill out and submit to the OT Administrator for consideration.

Due to the administrative complexity of making payments into RRSPs, and the resulting impact on the timing for individual payments, we are not able to deposit any retroactive overtime payment received under the OT Plan into an RRSP.

We have tried to capture mid-year changes in level. However, if you changed level in the middle of the year and it has not been appropriately captured, please fill out your Rejection Form, indicating that this is the reason for the rejection, and submit it to the OT Administrator. 

Contact the OT Administrator at: 1-866-669-6615 or by email at otadministrator@deloitte.ca.

If you do not respond to the Assessment Letter within the prescribed period of time, the funds set out in the attached Assessment Chart will be temporarily transferred to an escrow account, and if not claimed by you will be sent to a registered charitable organization.

An Ombudsperson is an independent, impartial person who is responsible for: reviewing the information provided by the OT Administrator; determining whether additional information is required, and if so, obtaining it, and then assisting the employee and Deloitte in finding a mutually acceptable resolution, if possible.

Arbitration is an alternate method to resolve disputes between parties. A neutral third party acts as the arbitrator who hears the position of each of the parties and then makes a final and binding decision. The arbitrator’s award will be final and binding on the parties and will not be subject to judicial review or appeal by you or Deloitte.

Yes, you are welcome to have external counsel review the Assessment Letter before you accept it. Should you wish to retain legal counsel at any point in this process, Deloitte will pay fifty percent of the legal fees you incur, up to a maximum contribution of $250 from Deloitte.

Submit a copy of your paid invoice for legal services to the OT Administrator and you will receive reimbursement for 50% of the amount incurred, to a maximum of $250.

The same deductions as would be taken from any salary payment at this time of year: income tax and, if you have not yet reached the maximum deduction level, EI and Canada or Quebec Pension Plan, plus any other locally required deduction.

Income tax rules in Canada require these payments to be taken from earned income, no matter when it is paid. 

Any time off taken in lieu of overtime pay has not been deducted from the retroactive overtime payment. If you have taken time off in lieu, we ask that you kindly contact the OT Administrator to inform them of this fact, so that your assessment can be adjusted accordingly.

We are not able to provide time off in lieu of historic overtime worked.

For current employees, any retroactive overtime payment received under the OT Plan will be included in the year end T4 issued by Deloitte. Former employees will receive a separate T4 at the same time (end of year) for any retroactive overtime payment received under the OT Plan.

We have enlisted the assistance of Deloitte’s Financial Advisory group who have a significant amount of experience in claims management. This group is referred to as the OT Administrator.

The OT Administrator will have access to your employment information in order to help answer questions and administer the process. Each member of the OT Administrator’s team has executed a confidentiality agreement with respect to all employment information.

Anyone other than a partner or a human resources specialist can witness your signature, so long as they are over the age of 18.

The OT Administrator can answer your questions. The OT Administrator can be reached at the following toll free number: 1-866-669-6615 or by email at otadministrator@deloitte.ca.

For the balance of the “People Year,” until August 3, 2008, the same calculations we are using for overtime eligibility to date will apply: if you are eligible, and have hours that your province recognizes as requiring a separate overtime payment, you will receive overtime in accordance with provincial rules. An interim policy based upon the same provincial criteria will be available shortly.