Eight in 10 (80 per cent) small- and medium-sized employers in Eastern Canada say they don’t provide employee benefits, according to a new survey for Medavie Blue Cross by Abacus Data. The survey, which polled SMEs and SME workers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, found a third (35 per cent) of SMEs that don’t […]
Half of benefits plan members (49 per cent) and plan sponsors (48 per cent) say they have a health-care spending account in 2022, compared to 39 per cent of both plan members and plan sponsors that said the same in 2021, according to the 2022 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. In 2017, when this question was […]
Ontario-based StoneRidge Insurance Brokers Corp. is acquiring employee benefits consultancy MultiCare Group. The acquisition will allow StoneRidge to provide a full range of insurance, risk advisory and benefits services to employer clients, according to a press release. Adam Lewis, president of MultiCare, will join StoneRidge and Scott Studley has been appointed executive vice-president of the company’s […]
Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of employees are experiencing high or moderate levels of stress, according to a new survey by Alight Solutions and Business Group on Health. The survey, which polled more than 10,000 employees across the globe, found more than a third (34 per cent) of workers reported symptoms of burnout and just […]
The union representing employees at the City of St. John’s, N.L. ratified a collective agreement that includes enhanced bereavement leave. The agreement increases bereavement leave from three to five days for a spouse, child/stepchild or grandchild. The term “legal guardian” will be added for a three-day entitlement and an additional paid day will be included […]
The union representing roughly 3,000 Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. employees across Canada has ratified a two-year collective agreement that includes pension enhancements and increased benefits. Read: Arconic, Unifor agreement protects workers’ DB pension plan The agreement will allow members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference to join CP Rail’s pension improvement accounts and includes a 3.5 per […]
U.S. employers are anticipating health benefits costs will rise by an average of 5.6 per cent per employee in 2023, according to early results from a survey by Mercer. The survey, which polled more than 850 U.S. employers, found if respondents made no changes to their benefits plans, the cost for the largest plans would rise […]
A recent court ruling that awarded a plaintiff $1.5 million in punitive damages against the Blue Cross Life Insurance Co. of Canada — in connection with its more than six-year denial of long-term disability benefits — could result in increased costs for employer-sponsored benefits plans. “If this sets a precedent, then higher awards will be […]
Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of employers have increased their communications emphasis on mental-health and behavioural health offerings in the past two years, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. In addition, the survey found 90 per cent of employers said they offer employee assistance programs, 86 per cent […]
The Ontario government is extending its paid sick leave program to March 31, 2023 to ensure employees don’t lose pay if they miss work due to a coronavirus infection. Eligible workers will continue to receive up to $200 a day for a maximum of three days if they need to get tested, vaccinated, receive booster […]