Paramedics from 40 ambulance services across Quebec are striking to lower the required retirement age for their defined benefit pension plan and for pay equity with their emergency services colleagues. The Fédération des employés du préhospitalier du Québec union — which has nearly 2,500 pre-hospital members, including paramedics — went on strike July 1. Currently, the members’ […]
BNP Paribas in Canada is expanding its employee benefits offering with up to $10,000 lifetime coverage for gender affirmation and fertility treatments. The bank is also adding eight weeks of paid paternity leave for new dads, as well as increasing its mental-health practitioner benefits to $1,000 and increasing the number of paid personal days from two […]
Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of Canadian employees aged 18 to 34 and 69 per cent of workers aged 35 to 44 say they’re significantly more likely to leave their current employer for another role offering better benefits, according to a new survey by RBC Insurance Services Inc. The survey, which polled more than 1,000 […]
The shift to remote working is tamping down wage growth by two per cent over two years, shrinking — by more than half — employees’ expectations of real-wage catchup amid rising inflation, according to a report by the Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago. It found while U.S. consumer prices rose 8.6 per cent […]
Employers can help employees achieve an optimal work-life balance by embedding a right-to-disconnect policy into their overall business practices, says Lidia Pawlikowski, associate vice-president of Hub International Ltd. Last month, Ontario’s right-to-disconnect legislation took effect, requiring employers with 25 or more workers to have a written policy for employees to disconnect from their job at […]
Shopify Inc.’s 2021 Workplace Benefit Awards win is helping the company build on the most successful elements of its employee wellness programs, with an emphasis on trauma-focused care. “We’ve been able to dive a bit deeper into that and better understand the different employee groups across the organization and help them [address] their wellness needs,” says […]
Long before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe in early 2020, a massive transformation of the workplace was well underway. Advanced technologies, growing demand for better work-life balance and rising commercial real estate costs forced many organizations to reimagine the traditional way of working and, more broadly, the relationship between employer and employee. The pandemic […]
A third (34 per cent) of Canadians say their employer doesn’t provide training or support to deal with workplace conflict, while another 20 per cent say they’re experiencing increased aggression at work, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest mental-health index. The survey’s respondents reported an overall mental-health score of 64.9, up slightly from 64.8 in April. […]
Benefits Canada is extending the deadline for entering the 2022 Workplace Benefits Awards to Friday, July 8 at 5 p.m. EST. The annual awards recognize employers and plan sponsors that are leading the way with their approaches to supporting the mental, physical and financial well-being of their employees. Enter the 2022 Workplace Benefits Awards today. This year’s […]
As the coronavirus pandemic recedes, employers planning a return to the office have several legal issues to consider. Hugh Christie, a Toronto-based managing partner at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, suggests employers first ensure their offices are properly set up for each department, as well as the personal situations of employees, such as workers with […]