Monthly Reporting Requirements

Effective: December 1, 2007

Recipients of income assistance (expected to work (ETW), no employment obligations (NEO), Persons with Persistent Multiple Barriers (PPMB)), and recipients of hardship assistance are required to report all and any employment income or other money received, and any changes in their circumstances in addition to requesting further assistance each month.

Effective: September 1, 2016

For recipients with the PWD designation, the completion of a Monthly Report Form (HR0081) or “stub” may be a requirement for eligibility for disability assistance.  The HR0081 is to be completed to report income and changes in circumstances as outlined in this section.

Recipients of disability assistance are required to submit an HR0081 when one or more of the following occur:
 

• they receive earned income;
• they receive unearned income that is Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) Temporary Wage Loss Replacement Payments issued under Sections 29 or 30 of the Workers Compensation Act;
• they receive any other income and/or money if the amount has changed or if it is the first time they have received the money;
• there is any other change in their circumstances that arose in the previous calendar month.

If a PWD recipient has used up their AEE limit for the exemption year, any earned income is deducted dollar for dollar from disability assistance.  If earnings exceed the amount of disability assistance, the recipient is eligible for Medical Services Only [see Related Links – Medical Services Only].

PWD designated clients in receipt of Medical Services Only coverage as a result of employment income should continue to submit the HR0081 each month in order for the ministry to re-establish eligibility for disability assistance when:

1. the client’s income falls below the disability assistance rate; or
2. the client is eligible for an annual earnings exemption in the new calendar year

 [For more information, see Related Links - BCEA Application - Stage 1 –  Medical Services Only Clients Requesting Assistance.]

Effective: January 19, 2015

Recipients of income assistance and hardship assistance must report changes in their circumstances such as address, shelter/utility costs, number of dependents, changes in employability status, whether they are attending school, and any changes in assets.

They are required to report all employment income, and any other kind of money received.  It must be clearly and completely reported on the “stub” and submitted to the office by the 5th of the month following the change.

Recipients of disability assistance must report changes in their circumstances such as address, shelter/utility costs, number of dependents, whether they are attending school, and any changes in assets.

Recipients with the PWD designation are also required to report when one or more of the following occur:
 

• they receive earned income;
• they receive unearned income that is Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) Temporary Wage Loss Replacement Payments issued under Sections 29 or 30 of the Workers Compensation Act;
• they receive any other income and/or money if the amount has changed or if it is the first time they have received the money;
• there is any other change in their circumstances that arose in the previous calendar month.

This means, each month they receive earned income or WCB income for temporary wage

loss they are required to report it even if it is the same amount each month. Any other income and/or money received would only need to be reported if the amount had changed from the previous month or if it is the first time it was received.

The Monthly Report is to be submitted by the 5^th of the following month.

Failure to report changes may result in delays in determining eligibility for assistance, an overpayment and a requirement to repay. Inaccurate or incomplete reporting may also result in a sanction.

Effective: September 10, 2014

Clients must report all changes that occurred during the calendar month. The Monthly Report (HR0081) must be submitted by the 5^th of the following month. For example, changes between January 1^st and January 31^st must be reported and submitted by February 5^th.

Clients can submit their Monthly Report online (if registered for My Self Serve) or the paper version (HR0081) can be submitted by mail, or in person. [For more information, see Additional Resources – My Self Serve.] Changes that occurred during the calendar month must be clearly and completely reported on the Monthly Report (HR0081).  All receipts, pay slips, and statements or documentation to support the change must be attached.

If a Monthly Report is submitted online through My Self Serve all supporting documents must be submitted either as electronic attachments through My Self Serve, mail, fax, or in person.

Note: If a correction is required to a Monthly Report submitted through My Self Serve, the Monthly Report may be uploaded through MYSS messaging, or a paper monthly report must be submitted by mail or in person.

The original, signed, Monthly Report must be submitted with the date(s) and description of the change clearly indicated.

Both client and spouse must sign the Monthly Report.

Effective: December 1, 2007

The EAW will review all reported changes and update case information before payment is generated for the next month.  If necessary, the EAW will assess eligibility for an earnings exemption.  This is often referred to as the reporting period and is the time lag between when the change occurred and when it affects the assistance month.

Staff will review all Monthly Report Forms (HR0081) and action any changes prior to the next assistance month payment being generated.

[For information on applying earnings exemptions, see Additional Resources.]  

[For Monthly Report (HR0081), see Forms and Letters] 

Effective: January 19, 2015

Before cheque issue cut-off (the Friday before Cheque Issue Day), the stubs (Monthly Report Form, HR0081) are received electronically or, where received in paper form, are gathered and date stamped.

Staff are to ensure the following when reviewing stubs:
 

1. Client (Applicant 1) and spouse (Applicant 2) signatures completed
2. Date completed
3. All questions are completed
4. Explanations provided if any changes indicated
5. Columns pertaining to the declaration of income for client and spouse to be completed
6. Proof of declaration of income attached if applicable (i.e., payslips, receipts and any other supporting documentation)

Staff will review the stub to assess eligibility for assistance based on current regulation, policy and procedures.  [For information on how to apply earnings exemptions, see Related Links – Income Treatment and Exemptions – Policy – Employment Income.]

Staff will update the case with any changes in client information reported on the stub, such as address or shelter costs.

Staff will record all income reported on the system using the appropriate income types and include applicable notes on the case.  For example, if a client attached a payslip to their stub, the notes on the appropriate tab should indicate the name of the employer, amount of income received and applicable dates of pay.

Staff will also note any changes in assets, trusts, or any other kind of money or value received on the appropriate tab.

If an HR0081 is received and cannot be processed due to issues such as:

• incomplete entries on a paper report (e.g. questions not answered or missing signature)
• incorrect entries on a My Self Serve online report (e.g. wrong income amount)
• verification documents are needed (e.g. no paystubs uploaded or attached to verify declared income)
• recipient declaring a circumstance that may impact eligibility (e.g. declaring an outstanding warrant, or an ETW client not looking for work)

Staff are to contact the recipient to attempt to resolve the outstanding issue as soon as possible. Staff should contact the recipient through My Self Serve (MySS) messaging (for registered users) or by phone first, and return the HR0081 with the Incomplete HR0081 – Monthly Report Form Letter (HR3217) attached to the message or by mail if necessary [see Forms and Letters]. This letter or message specifies what information is missing on the monthly report form and instructs the recipient to return the completed form as an upload to the message reply or to the office along with any required documentation.

Note: If a correction is required to a Monthly Report submitted through MySS, then a corrected monthly report can be uploaded by the recipient through MySS messaging (a worker must send a month report via message, recipient prints, completes and uploads to their reply).

Staff should consider how much time is available before cut-off when determining what action is appropriate. Signals are to be used only as a last resort if needed to prevent a payment being issued where the amount may be incorrect or the recipient’s eligibility may be in question.  Staff should make two attempts to contact recipients prior to signaling [for more information on signaling, see Related Links – Individual Case Management]  . 

Effective: December 1, 2007

Recipients of income assistance (expected to work (ETW), no employment obligations (NEO), clients with the PPMB designation) and recipients of hardship assistance are required to report all changes in addition to requesting further assistance each month.

Effective: September 1, 2016

Recipients of disability assistance are required to report when one or more of the following occur:
 

• they receive earned income;
• they receive unearned income that is Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) Temporary Wage Loss Replacement Payments issued under Sections 29 or 30 of the Workers Compensation Act;
• they receive any other income and/or money if the amount has changed or if it is the first time they have received the money;
• there is any other change in their circumstances that arose in the previous calendar month.

The monthly report is to be submitted by the 5th of each month.

PWD designated clients in receipt of Medical Services Only (MSO) coverage as a result of employment income should continue to submit the Monthly Report (HR0081) each month in order for the ministry to re-establish eligibility for disability assistance when the client becomes financially eligible. [For more information, see Related Links - BCEA Application - Stage 1 – Prospecting and Eligibility Review].

Staff will need to assess eligibility for disability assistance based on what the PWD designated client is reporting each month on the stub while in receipt of MSO coverage as a result of employment income. Staff will need to manually reinstate PWD designated clients onto disability assistance if their income drops below the disability assistance rate before January income/March benefit month. 

Recipients who meet the above circumstances must submit a monthly report so that the EAW can continue to monitor and apply conditions of eligibility to ensure there is no inadvertent overpayment or miscalculation due to a misapplication of conditions of eligibility rules.

This means the EAW will review the information on the stub and determine if an earnings exemption should be applied and whether there is a change in the amount of assistance the client is eligible to receive [see Steps for Reviewing and Processing the Monthly Report above].

Staff should remind clients of their obligation to report and explain the process for reporting accurately and completely.  This reduces delays in determining eligibility for assistance and the number of overpayments clients incur.

For PWD clients who cannot submit a stub, all reasonable effort should be taken to assist them in reporting accurately and completely when changes occur.

If a recipient is unable to complete a stub due to any special needs such as physical, developmental, psychiatric, language and/or literacy barriers, alternate arrangements should be made.  For instance, these clients should be encouraged to seek assistance from advocacy groups, friends and/or family where appropriate.  Where these resources are unavailable, the client can make an appointment to meet with an EAW or outreach worker to complete the stub.

[For further information on how to apply earnings exemptions, see Related Links – Income Treatment and Exemptions.]