While some workplaces may find it difficult to accommodate flexibility for employees with caregiving responsibilities, employers should be creative, according to one human resources consultant. “To me, I feel like it’s not that difficult to do,” Helen Patterson, a consultant at Life Works Well, told an audience at the Human Resources Professionals Association conference in Toronto on Friday. “Flexibility is not […]
The federal government only recently revamped parental leave, but it’s already looking at even further changes through a dedicated paternity leave. In a report this week, The Canadian Press cited multiple sources who suggested the government is considering options such as a new benefit, similar to a program in Quebec, that would earmark a portion of […]
About a quarter (23 per cent) of full-time American employees don’t receive workplace benefits such as health insurance, paid vacation or a retirement savings plan, according to a survey by business-to-business research firm Clutch. The survey also found that health insurance is the benefit most valued by employees, with 55 per cent reporting it has the […]
New labour law changes, particularly enhanced leave provisions in Ontario, are likely to increase costs and administrative challenges for employers, according to one expert. Amendments in Ontario’s Bill 148, which took effect on Jan. 1, include 10 days of personal emergency leave, two of which are paid; a new domestic violence leave of 10 days, five […]
With 2017 coming to a close and 2018 on the horizon, professionals in the pension, investment, benefits and human resources industries have a number of dates to add to their calendars for the new year. Jan. 1: Ontario’s new youth pharmacare program takes effect. It will provide universal coverage of all medicines listed in the Ontario Drug Benefit […]
With the majority of the amendments in Bill 148 taking effect in Ontario in early December, it requires employers in the province to undertake a review of their employment policies and practices to ensure compliance. The bill followed recommendations put forth in June 2017 as part of the Changing Workplace Review. The goal of the review was to […]
Alberta is implementing it’s first job-protected bereavement leave as of Jan. 1, 2018. In addition to the death of an immediate family member or of a spouse, the three-day unpaid leave is also available for the loss of a person the employee isn’t related to but considers to be like a close relative. Bereavement leave is available for employees across […]
Only 13 per cent of employers offer a paid week off between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, according to a survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey, which looked at the practices around workplace leave in the United States, found that providing Christmas Day and New Year’s Day as paid holidays is almost ubiquitous, […]
The Canadian Pacific Railway Co. and the Canadian Pacific Police Association have ratified a new five-year agreement, which includes paid compassionate leave that employees can receive as a loan. When employees have a personal situation, such as very ill parents, a child or a spouse, they will be able to take up to three months without […]
In its sixth year of offering employees educational workshops during Financial Literacy Month, Western University has changed its approach this time by delivering information on a range of topics rather than just the organization’s pension plans. In the past, the university has used the financial literacy focus to communicate the details of its two defined contribution plans, […]