Ranting about government programs

[GP_Matt]

I need to rant about the current system of government support as it is driving me absolutely insane. My employees would be better off if the government had done absolutely nothing to help. They killed programs that work and replaced them with programs that are full of holes and cracks that we are slipping through.

Under the old system during a slowdown you can furlough workers and put them on temporary layoff. They collect EI but report their earnings and it gets clawed back based on their earnings. Under CERB the claw back is all or nothing at $1000 so someone who works 41 hours a month at $25 an hour receives $1025 from the company and nothing from the government while a second person who works 39 hours receives $975 from us and $2000 from the government.
I have work (we are essential and can work remotely) to keep them busy and we are busting our asses to find more work but won't know in advance and people don't want to take a risk on losing CERB so they would rather stay at home and I can't blame them.

The backstop for this is the wage subsidy program of 75% if you have a revenue drop. Again this is an all or nothing program where you see a 30% decline in revenue and get a huge influx of cash but a 29% drop gives you nothing. It is also based on the whole company so if your operations in one region of the country are still going strong but your Alberta work has dropped by 60% you get nothing.

The only way to make this work is to have your successful regions turn away work to show the revenue drop which is completely nonsensical and would be really poisonous to company morale. I can't imagine getting into a "Fall for Hall" scenario and coming out of it with a team that is driven to succeed on the other side.

Anyway, ending the rant at the end of another week with far more questions than answers. I really want to keep as much staff working as possible and want to come out the other side with a viable company but can't figure out how to navigate the patchwork of support systems in place right now without leaving my employees in a position where they are better served by staying at home.

Another option that I refuse to consider is to be a ruthless boss and tell the staff that they have to work even if it means that they take home less than $2000 per month. The system actually allows that because they are only allowed to collect CERB if they are out of work but if they are out of work because they refuse they do not qualify. Such a terrible system. Why can't they graduate things. Why does a company with a 30% drop in revenue come out miles ahead of the company with the 29% drop or the company with the 75% drop.

[Geraldsh]

So everyone works 39 hours until this boondoggle is over. Anyone stays later gets a thank you and a pat on the back later(wink, wink, nudge,nudge)

[Northendzone]

it can't help but feel that many programs are being rushed into by the government, and the infrastructure/website/rules to deliver them is not fully in place - so folks read about a program and then can't find any info on them, are have to wait to apply.

as an aside, one stunning development was reading about folks who want to walk away from their jobs to collect the $2,000 which is taxable income and temporary where as at least their jobs are a little more "guaranteed". Personally, I would always rather work than collect $ from the government as I see working as the way to get ahead, while social assitance should be short term and can lead to a cycle......