Apply today for Ontario’s Recruitment and Retention Incentive Program

The goal of RRI is help attract more registered practical nurses (RPNs) and registered nurses (RNs) and personal support workers (PSWs) to the retirement home sector to respond to immediate staffing needs in the coming two years.

The RRI is open to retirement homes across Ontario that meet the following criteria:

• The retirement home must be licensed under Ontario’s Retirement Homes Act, 2010 (RHA).
• The position(s) applied for under RRI must meet the minimum workload and time commitment requirement starting on or after June 1, 2021. These commitments are 25 hours/week for PSWs for 6 months and 30 hours/week for nurses for one year.
  • Note: two retirement homes may submit a joint application if staff hours are shared across homes.
• A retirement home must have identified a member of their organization who willing to mentor any newly hired nurse(s) (nursing mentors facilitate orientation and transition to the workplace and practice environment, including helping new nurses continue to consolidate and effectively apply learning from their nursing program in the delivery of care).

• The first Call for Applications from retirement homes was launched on August 12, 2021 and the deadline for applications is September 17, 2021.
• The 2nd Call for Applications from retirement homes launched on December 14, 2021 and the deadline for applications is March 31, 2022.

To be eligible to receive the RRI financial incentive, nurses and PSWs must:

• Not have been employed as a PSW/nurse in Ontario in the six months prior to being hired;
• Commit to 6 or 12 months of employment at a work schedule offered by the employer.
• For PSWs: Have successfully completed an Ontario PSW training program that meets the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities program standard
• For nurses: Hold a Certificate of Registration in good standing from the College of Nurses of Ontario

The RRI offers a financial incentive to nurses (RPNs/RNs) and PSWs who commit to a minimum time period of work in an eligible retirement home. PSWs will receive an incentive payment of $5,000 for a six‐month commitment to work in a retirement home. Nurses will receive $10,000 for a one‐year commitment to work in a retirement home.

No. Applications for the RRI must be completed by retirement homes to determine their eligibility and staffing needs. Once approved, retirement homes will highlight availability of the RRI incentive to the recruited health professionals directly. After being hired and providing key information, nurses and PSWs will receive the incentive payments in installments directly from the program.

Funding will be provided to eligible nurses and PSWs in installments following confirmation of continued employment with the retirement home.

• Funding of $5,000 will be disbursed directly to each eligible PSW in two installments: $2,000 approximately two months after beginning their commitment, and $3,000 following the completion of the 6-month commitment.
• Funding of $10,000 will be disbursed directly to each eligible nurse in three installments: $3,000 after the completion of four (4) months, $3,000 after the completion of eight (8) months, and $4,000 after the completion of twelve (12) months.

Yes, the incentives are taxable. By law, recipients of funding from the RRI are to be issued T4A information. This information is also reported to the Canada Revenue Agency. The T4A will outline the total funding issued during the calendar year. For information about Canadian income tax law please contact the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-959-8281 or visit www.cra-arc.gc.ca.