Ministry of Health
Office of the Deputy Minister
777 Bay Street, 5th Floor
Toronto ON M7A 1N3
May 27, 2020
Subject: Pandemic Pay Eligibility
From: Helen Angus, Deputy Minister
CC: AssocDM Fraser, ADMs Hillmer, Heenan, Graham, Blair, Sabaratnam, Kaftarian, Dicerni, Dr Williams; President and CEO, Ontario Health, Matthew Anderson
As you know, on April 25, the government announced it is providing eligible frontline and support workers with temporary pandemic pay.
Since that time, we have received inquiries about whether the list of eligible workers or workplaces would be expanded. There is a limit to the amount of funding provided by the federal government through our agreement and after careful consideration, the government will not be expanding the pandemic pay beyond those already deemed eligible.
Pandemic pay will be in effect for eligible workers from April 24, 2020 until August 13, 2020, and consists of:
A temporary top-up on hourly wages: Eligible workers will receive $4 per hour worked on top of existing hourly wages, regardless of how much they already make; and
Monthly lump sum payments: Eligible workers who work at least 100 hours in a designated 4-week period will also be eligible to receive an additional lump sum payment of $250 for that period, up to a total of $1,000 in lump sum payments. The designated 4-week periods are:
In the first week of June 2020 ministries will start providing written funding commitments to employer partners that receive direct government funding, as well as to service delivery managers, followed quickly by the flow of money.
We expect some employers will begin receiving pandemic pay in early June, however exact timing will vary.
The Pandemic Pay website at Ontario.ca/pandemicpay will be updated in the coming days with more specific timelines.
Our ministry will continue to work with eligible employers to move the funding forward as quickly as possible, always recognizing the due diligence that is required for government funding.
If you have any questions about pandemic pay, please contact the Ministry at MOH.PPInquiries@ontario.ca
Thank you,
Helen Angus
Deputy Minister
