Compensation expenses
- Where a salary is eligible to be paid from a research grant, the accompanying benefits should be charged to the same research account. Where benefits are ineligible on the research account, it is expected that a non-research account be charged the costs of the accompanying benefits
- If an employee is working on more than one research project, the cost of their salary and benefits may be split proportionately between more than one account
Payments processed through Quest system
- Payments to graduate students can be made through Quest (Graduate Research Scholarships) which results in different tax implications to the payee and the University than payroll transactions
- Refer to the Graduate Research Studentship vs. Graduate Research Assistantship document on the Human Resources website to help differentiate compensation paid through Quest from that paid through payroll
- All payments made through Quest are completed by the appropriate graduate studies co-ordinator
- Payments made through Quest are reviewed for Research Financial Compliance on a test basis by the Research Finance Training and Compliance Team as part of their twice yearly Internal Review; these transactions are not reviewed by the Compliance Team at the time they are recorded
Federal employer compliance fee for engaging foreign nationals
Effective February 21, 2015, the federal government introduced an employer compliance system for employers hiring foreign nationals under the federal International Mobility Programs. An overview of the system and process can be found on the Employment and Social Development Canada website.
Employers are now required to submit the job offer and other relevant information for the recruitment of a foreign national to Citizenship and Immigration Canada and pay an employer fee of $230.
Tri-Agency eligibility status of the employer fee:
If the foreign national is recruited to work exclusively on research that Tri-Agency grants have funded in full, the employer fee of $230 is eligible for reimbursement as a recruitment cost as per the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.
If the foreign national is recruited for a variety of purposes but one of which is working on Tri-Agency funded research, the administering institution may apportion the cost of the employer fee to the grant holder’s funds based on the anticipated percentage of time the foreign national will spend working on the funded research.
If the foreign national is recruited for purposes unrelated to Tri-Agency funded research, the fee is not eligible for reimbursement from grant funds.
When all or a portion of the fee is being charged to a Tri-Agency grant, the request for payment (or P Card documentation) must include a statement justifying the expense based on the purpose of recruitment.
Eligibility status of the employer fee on other research grants:
The reimbursement eligibility of the fee on non-Tri-Agency grants will be determined on a grant-by-grant or sponsor-by-sponsor basis. Generally speaking, if the remuneration to the individual is eligible on the account, the fee will also be eligible.
If you have questions, please reach out to the appropriate member of the Research Finance Training and Compliance Team.
Post-doctoral fellow salary appointments
Post-doctoral fellow (PDF) salaries are an eligible expense on many research accounts. When considering hiring a PDF on a research account, it should be noted that:
- The Postdoctoral Office provides information about benefits and other services available to PDFs
- The research sponsors below have restrictions that apply to PDF appointments:
- The Ontario Research Fund (ORF) limits PDF salaries to $50,000 / year (including benefits); PDF salaries can be supplemented by other funds. This restriction does not apply to funds matched to ORF funds. Human Resources has developed a tool to estimate benefit costs to assist.