A former federal government employee is launching a proposed $10-million class action lawsuit against Sun Life over how the insurer calculated cost-of-living increases on long-term disability benefits payments. The claim, filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by Ottawa law firm Connolly Obagi LLP, alleges Sun Life willfully miscalculated the cost-of-living increases incorrectly for Giulia Belec, the […]
An Ontario group benefits advisor is calling on Canadian insurers to change a long-term disability practice that adversely affects employees at small companies. Dave Patriarche, president of Mainstay Insurance Brokerage Inc. and founder of the Canadian Group Insurance Brokers, is asking Canada’s major insurers to make a small administrative change that would ensure employees at […]
Since my last two editorials have targeted issues around pension plan design and retirement readiness, I’m balancing things out this month by turning my attention to benefits. Fortunately, I have strong opinions on the topic of this month’s cover story. Since I joined Benefits Canada four years ago, I’ve noticed that paramedical benefits — and […]
Historically, Epcor Utilities Inc. provided employees with $1,000 in annual coverage for each paramedical service, ranging from massage therapists, physiotherapists and chiropractors to speech therapists, naturopaths and dieticians. But in 2018, the Edmonton-based utilities company looked at its annual paramedical costs and found its massage therapy spend had ballooned to nearly match the cost of […]
Flexibility on the job can go a long way to helping employees manage their mental well-being, according to a survey by FlexJobs. The survey, which polled 3,900 global employees, found 84 per cent of respondents said having a flexible job would help them better manage mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. More than a third (35 […]
With three confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Canada, 40 potential cases under investigation and the World Health Organization declaring the virus an international public health emergency, unions — especially those representing transport and health-care workers — are calling on employers to ensure sufficient safety measures are in place. The Ontario Nurses Union sent out […]
On Dec. 12, the 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit showcased ideas on how to approach mental health in the workplace, including how to remove the stigma of mental illness and what plan sponsors can do to facilitate positive return-to-work transitions. Considering how mental-health support, accommodation is changing Sixty per cent of working Canadians have experienced […]
Workplace mental-health programs can demonstrate a huge return on investment for an organization’s bottom line, as well as reducing absenteeism and presenteeism, said Nir Yahav, mental-health specialist on the national disability best practices team at Manulife, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit on Dec. 12. There are huge costs associated with presenteeism, […]
While 2.7 million Canadians suffer from migraine, the condition can be subdivided based on its frequency, said Dr. Esma Dilli, neurologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, during Benefits Canada’s 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit on Dec. 12. Episodic migraine is defined by less than 15 headache days a month, whereas […]
While insomnia is a disorder, it’s just as commonly a symptom, which most people and physicians don’t grasp, said Dr. Atul Khullar, medical director at the Northern Alberta Sleep Clinic. A lot of times, not sleeping is essentially the body breaking down because of a separate disorder, risk factor or residual symptom of a mental-health […]