Healthy Hire Manitoba Program

Under this program, Manitoba-based businesses can apply for up to $50,000 in provincial subsidies to help fund the wages of new employees or re-hired employees who can attest they have been vaccinated, will be vaccinated or are unable to be vaccinated. Employers under the program will receive a grant of up to 50% of the wages for a maximum of ten employees, to a maximum of $5,000 per employee.

Grant Eligibility

An employer must meet all of the below requirements to qualify for the program:

• Employers must be an active and permanent Manitoba-based business or organization physically operating in the Province of Manitoba as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, co-operative, non-share corporation, not-for-profit organization, or registered charity.
• Have an active email address and maintain communication with the program
• Possess an active and valid Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) issued business number/charity registration number
• Be in good standing with the Manitoba companies office at the time their application is assessed (not required for sole proprietors, registered charities)
• Have a valid bank account with a Canadian financial institution. When applying to the program, employers must submit a void cheque/direct deposit form from their financial institution. The bank account holder name must be associated with the Business Number you submit.
• Must declare they have supported public health protocols in the workplace, including providing new hires with public health vaccine information.

The Province has indicated that eligible employers participating in other government support programs could qualify to receive funding from the Program.

An employee must meet all of the below requirements to be eligible under the program:

• Be a current Manitoba resident eligible to work in Manitoba
• Be directly employed by the applicant employer in ‘insurable employment’ for the purposes of establishing entitlement to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.
• Be directly employed by the applicant employer in ‘insurable employment’ for the purposes of establishing entitlement to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.
• Temporary foreign workers legally permitted to work in Canada are also eligible for the Program.

Employers are responsible for ensuring employees meet the eligibility requirements.

Eligible Wages

Wages deemed to be eligible for the grant include all regular, overtime and statutory holiday wages which includes hourly and salaried employees.

Payments made for the following are not eligible for the program:

• Bonuses
• Commissions/Incentives
• Remote pay
• Meal allowances
• Travel allowance and lodging
• mandatory employer related costs (EI and vacation pay)

When can you apply?

Applications opened July 13th, 2021.

Here are some other important dates related to the program:

• Earliest an employee can be hired to qualify for subsidy – June 10, 2021
• Application opens – July 13, 2021
• Deadline to claim an advance payment – September 15, 2021
• Final claim application opens – September 16, 2021
• Application deadline – September 30, 2021
• The latest a pay period can end to qualify under the program – October 15, 2021
• Deadline to submit final claim – October 30, 2021

 Advance Payments

Eligible employers can request to receive payments in advance equal to $750 per eligible employee hired under the Program. There is a maximum of up to 10 advance payments totalling $7,500. Advance payment requests must be made online by September 15, 2021 to be eligible.

Additional information on other required supporting documentation and other Program requirements can be found here:

https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/programs/healthy-hire-mb.html#overview