Last year, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Providence Health Care formalized the
Working Remotely on a Voluntary Basis Policy
, to provide staff the flexibility to get their work done, while helping to manage staff wellness, work continuity and efficient-use-of-work-space issues. Since introducing the policy, the shift to remote/hybrid work for suitable roles has been a success for Providence.
As of March 3, 2022, updates have been made to the policy to reflect PHC’s continued support for remote work beyond the pandemic. Note that both updates and the related benefits identified below require employees to have Working Remotely Agreement in place.
Update #1: T2200 Forms
As per section 5.14 of the updated policy, Providence will now issue an annual Form T2200 to all employees who work remotely for 50% of their time or greater (i.e. three days or more per week on a routine basis). This form allows staff to claim cost associated with working from home on their taxes.
Update #2: One-Time $500 Reimbursement
Previously, the policy was based upon the condition that working from home agreements not result in any additional costs to PHC and, therefore, no reimbursements of such costs were available for staff. Section 5.7 of the
Working Remotely on a Voluntary Basis Policy
has now been updated to include the
one-time reimbursement
, as per below:
Providence Health Care will provide a one-time, tax free reimbursement of up to $500 to staff to assist in defraying the costs associated with the purchase of items that support working remotely.
As an health authority-issued laptop is the only equipment intended to be taken home by employees who are working remotely on a voluntary basis, the reimbursement is intended to offset one-time expenses related to setting up a home office. If any equipment other than the laptop has been taken home, it must be returned to the office prior to applying for the one-time reimbursement.
More details, including Frequently Asked Questions, can be found in the updated Working Remotely section on connect.
