Private Communications

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THE LATEST IMPORTANT NOTICE: TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF SIGA CASINOS

Management has had the opportunity to assess the impacts of the new restrictions placed upon SIGA. This includes the closure of all SIGA Casinos operations effective 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, December 19, 2020. This restriction has been extended to remain in place until Monday, April 19, 2021, as per direction from the Chief Medical Health Officer’s announcement on January 26, 2021.

We regret the impact this situation will have on you, our team members. We are working to minimize any hardships created for you during our temporary closures.

Impacted SIGA employees will receive a letter via e-mail or regular mail with additional information and next steps.

Unfortunately, due to these new operational realities, SIGA has had to make the difficult business decision to keep on a limited amount of employees at the casinos and at Central Office. Affected employees will be placed onto either paid leave, under the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy Program or on an unpaid Public Health Emergency Leave at which employees can access other federal benefit programs such as Employment Insurance or the Canada Recovery Benefit.

Employees will receive a formal letter from Human Resources on Monday, December 21, 2020 via e-mail, confirming the type of leave they will be placed on, along with other details such as employee group health benefits and pension plan continuation during this leave (for those who qualify).

Managers will also be notifying affected employees that will be placed on leave.

We are doing our best to keep these measures temporary and it will be our goal to get our operations back up to full operating capacity as soon as possible. As more information becomes available we will communicate to our employees at that time.

Employment Insurance

Records of employment (ROE) will be completed during the week of January 4, 2021, and sent directly to Service Canada, indicating public health emergency leave for those employees not being placed onto the wage subsidy program. Employees do not require a copy of their ROE; however, they remain available under your Service Canada online account should you wish to review yours. Issuing the ROE is contingent on final pay being processed, including any unpaid overtime, banked overtime, or any used annual leave prior to December 27, 2020.

Those employees moving to Public Health Emergency Leave can access a variety of government support programs based on eligibility, such as:

Employment Insurance (EI)

Regular Benefits

The basic rate for calculating EI benefits is 55% of average insurable weekly earnings, up to a maximum amount.
The EI benefit employees could receive is up to $573 weekly or approximately $25,785 annually.
Employees could receive EI from 14 weeks up to a maximum of 45 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate in the employee’s region.

EI Sick Benefits

One week waiting period is waived for individuals in imposed quarantine.

Emergency Care Benefit (through CRA)

Provides up to $900 bi-weekly, for up to 15 weeks to individuals who: 1) are quarantined or sick with COVID-19; 2) are taking care of a family member with COVID-19; or 3) are parents with children who require care as a result of school and daycare closures, where they do not qualify for EI.

Emergency Support Benefit (through Canada Revenue Agency)

Provided to those not eligible for EI who are facing unemployment or face reduced hours as a result of COVID-19.

It is anticipated that:

Employees can apply for Employment Insurance benefits during the week of December 28, 2020, however please be advised that your ROE will not be uploaded to the Service Canada website until January 7, 2021.
Service Canada will process EI applications within four (4) weeks of the date of application.

LATEST FAQ – REVISED December 10, 2020:

FAQ – EMPLOYEE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – REVISED DECEMBER 10, 2020

SIGA’S HR CALL CENTER

**Please read the latest communication (under ‘The Latest’) and FAQ document (below under ‘Frequently Asked Questions’) before calling the call center.**

The purpose of SIGA’s HR Call Center is to improve the employee experience, this will be accomplished by providing employees with updated communications on all HR programs and services available throughout the year, including the availability of HR specialists who will assist you with any of your questions or inquiries.

The HR call center customer service goal is to respond to all calls and emails within 24 hours, this is dependent on the level of need for each question and inquiry

This HR Call Center will be open Monday‐Friday 9:00am‐4:00pm.

Call Center Numbers:

Out of Town: 1‐866‐899‐7322
Saskatoon: 306‐477‐7526

If you are not able to get through please leave a message with your name, gaming tag number, Casino and a number you can be reached at.

You can also email the call centre at any time at: hrcallcenter@siga.sk.ca

BENEFITS AND PENSION

Public Health Emergency Leave (Unpaid Leave)

Sun Life Benefits

If you have been placed on the Public Health Emergency Leave, you have the option to remain active in your Sun Life Benefits at a cost, or, have them terminated effective your leave date and reinstated upon your return to work. If you choose to continue your benefits while on leave, you will be responsible for paying 60% of the Long Term Disability premium (if applicable), all Optional benefits (if applicable), and a portion of the Health & Dental benefit if your selection required payroll deductions. Please contact the HR Call Center or benefits-pension@siga.sk.ca to inquire about your benefit cost.

You must complete and send the Public Health Emergency Leave Form to benefits-pension@siga.sk.ca to advise if you are accepting or declining Benefits and/or Pension. If confirmation and payment is not received by December 10th, it will be assumed that you have opted-out of coverage and your benefits will be terminated effective the date of your leave.

Click here for instructions on how to pay your monthly benefit and pension payments.

If your benefits terminate, you can still submit eligible expenses incurred prior to your leave date by submitting your outstanding claim through Sun Life’s Mobile App. Click here for instructions.

Open Enrolment

At this time, the Open Enrolment will not be available to you. Upon your return to work, if you are eligible for benefits the Benefits Team will ensure you have the opportunity to make a new Health & Dental selection. You will receive an email or letter when this is available to you.

If you have questions regarding benefits or the Open Enrolment Event, please contact benefits-pension@siga.sk.ca or call Jessica Thoms at 306-477-7373.

Pension and Savings Plans

You have the option to participate in the Pension Plan by making a contribution each month. SIGA will match all contributions made. Please contact the HR Call Center or benefits-pension@siga.sk.ca to inquire about the amount you would need to contribute.

If you are enrolled in the First Nations Savings Plan (FNSP), Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), or the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA), no contributions are required and deductions will be reactivated once you return to work.

Wage Subsidy (Paid Leave)

Sun Life Benefits

If you are currently enrolled in the Sun Life Benefits plan and have been placed on Wage Subsidy, your benefits will continue to be active during this leave and regular benefit deductions will be processed on your Wage Subsidy pay from SIGA.

Open Enrolment

Now is the time to make a new benefits selection for your Health & Dental plan with Sun Life. As your benefits remain active during this leave, you have until December 14th to make a new benefits selection that will be effective January 1, 2021 and in place for two years.

If you have questions regarding benefits or the Open Enrolment Event, please contact benefits-pension@siga.sk.ca or call Jessica Thoms at 306-477-7373.

Pension and Savings Plans

If you are enrolled in the Registered Pension Plan (RPP), First Nations Savings Plan (FNSP), Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), or the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA), you will continue to see payroll deductions on your Wage Subsidy pay.

Mandatory Contributions

You will see a 6% deduction for the Pension Plan with a SIGA matched contribution
If you contribute to the FNSP, you will see a deduction of 5.25% with a SIGA matched contribution.
Effective January 1, 2021, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) will be increasing contributions from 5.25% to 5.45%. This increase will also apply to the FNSP as this plan is designed to match CPP.

If you would like to stop your TFSA or RRSP contributions, please contact the HR Call Center by email.

First Nations Savings Plan Withdrawal

During this leave, SIGA has allowed employees to withdraw the employee contributions only from the FNSP. This is not standard practice but will be allowed to help provide employees with financial support if they so choose. Please contact the HR Call Center and request a FNSP Withdrawal form.

Employee Family Assistance Program (EFAP)

EFAP services remain available to you while on leave. It is a professional, confidential service to support you and your family for a wide range of personal, family and work-related concerns by providing counselling and resources.

Morneau Shepell continues to be our EFAP provider until December 31, 2020. You can contact them for support by calling 1-800-387-4765.

Starting January 1, 2021, Homewood Health will be our new EFAP provider. On or after January 1, 2021, if you are requiring services please contact 1-800-663-1142.

COMMUNIQUES

EXTERNAL INFORMATION

Important Third Party Resources

COVID-19 – Impact to your Savings – Next Steps.

There is no shortage of coronavirus news and with that there are a lot of misperceptions and rumours floating around and those only lead to unnecessary stress and panic. We rely on a number of reliable websites to gather information and want to share them with you:

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