Recognition in not one, but two categories at Benefits Canada‘s 2020 Workplace Benefits Awards is helping get the word out to Scotiabank employees that the bank is a leading employer when it comes to benefits offerings, says Ayman Alvi, director of global benefits. Read: Who are the winners of the 2020 Workplace Benefits Awards? “We participated in the Workplace […]
Canadians have weathered two waves of the coronavirus pandemic and are now working their way through the third. But what happens when the fourth wave — of psychological trauma, economic injury and burnout — arrives? One half of Canadians said they’d experienced worsening mental-health challenges during the pandemic, according to an April 2020 poll by […]
Just before the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Canada, Scotiabank made a pretty significant change to how it communicated about its benefits plans and programs with employees. With so much information available to employees, the bank realized it might not necessarily be easy to digest or understand, said Ayman Alvi, Scotiabank’s director of global benefits, during Benefits […]
Scotiabank’s director of global benefits talks navigating the coronavirus pandemic, enhancing the employee experience and planning for the post-pandemic workplace. Q: What top challenges do you face in your role? A: Primary challenges are ensuring we’re evolving our programs to meet the needs of a diverse and changing workforce and communicating these programs clearly. We […]
The Canadian government is providing more employers with free rapid tests for workplace coronavirus screenings. According to a press release, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce will enable local chambers to distribute rapid tests to smaller employers, while in Ontario, small- and medium-sized employers in the province’s coronavirus hot spots can access the tests at Shoppers […]
Employees affected by the coronavirus in British Columbia will qualify for up to three days of paid sick leave under proposed legislation that Premier John Horgan expects will plug holes in a federal plan and lay the groundwork for a permanent program. Horgan says the program will bridge the gap for workers between the time they first feel […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans experienced flat performance in the first quarter of 2021, with the median plan’s returns declining by 0.2 per cent in the first three months of 2021 after rising 10 per cent through 2020, according to Northern Trust Canada’s pension universe. Read: Canada’s DB pension plans post 5% return in Q4, […]
The Nova Scotia Teachers’ Pension Plan returned 6.78 per cent in 2020, increasing net assets to $5.519 billion, but falling short of the policy benchmark of 7.96 per cent. The plan did outperform the actuarial assumed rate of return of 5.70 per cent. “Like many pension plans across the country impacted by COVID-19, we saw […]
While the debate over paid sick days intensifies across Canada, only two provinces currently offer this benefit on a permanent basis. On April 30, Ontario passed a three-day sick leave policy — to be administered through the Workplace Insurance and Safety Board — retroactive to April 19 and ending on Sept. 25. Employers will be […]
Workers in Ontario will soon be able access three paid sick days to help them self-isolate during the coronavirus pandemic, but critics said the policy announced April 28 falls far short of what’s required to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government had for months resisted intense pressure from health experts and advocates […]