Rural and suburban postal workers across the country celebrated Thursday after an arbitrator ordered Canada Post to pay them more — much more — as part of a long-awaited pay equity decision. For a majority of the Crown agency’s mostly-female rural and suburban carriers, known as RSMCs, the ruling translates into a 25-per-cent pay hike, plus some increased […]
An Ontario court is allowing a terminated employee to continue with an action for long-term disability benefits despite signing a document that released such claims. When Joe Swampillai was terminated, he was pursuing an appeal for the denial of his benefits against his employer, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co. of Canada, and against Sun Life […]
A lack of benefits, including medical, dental and disability, is the biggest challenge of working in the gig economy, according to a new survey by BMO Wealth Management. Among 1,000 Canadian small business owners surveyed, 69 per cent said a lack of medical, dental or disability benefits is the largest financial downside to working in the gig economy. Broken down by age group, 87 […]
Federal officials overseeing billions in benefit payments to millions of Canadians are hoping artificial intelligence can resolve ongoing snags in the system. The government is looking to “push the boundaries” of what artificial intelligence can do to improve a variety of services, including the pace of benefit decisions to Canadians applying for disability pensions, say […]
Novus Health is partnering with iA Financial Group to provide employers with health and wellness tools for their plan members. “For many Canadians, health literacy remains a challenge: it can be overwhelming to navigate Canada’s complex health-care systems and understand their options,” said Novus Health in a press release. “What’s more, when searching online for answers to […]
The Great-West Life Assurance Co. has partnered with Morneau Shepell Ltd. to offer web-based cognitive behavioural therapy to plan members receiving disability benefits for a mental-health condition. The program became available on June 4 to employers in Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Halifax, St. John’s and those cities’ surrounding areas, with plans expand the offering to the rest […]
Alongside its financial impact, extreme weather takes a toll on absenteeism, mental health and disability claims, according to a new study by the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo. The research, funded by Manulife Financial Corp. and Intact Financial Corp., looked at homeowners in Burlington, Ont., after a storm in August 2014 left […]
A new review by the Institute for Work and Health has found that while generic cognitive behavioural therapy can help employees with symptoms of depression remain at work, it doesn’t have an effect on helping them return to their jobs. The review found, however, that work-focused cognitive behavioural therapy can help depressed employees both stay […]
Less than half of working Canadians have disability coverage provided through their workplace benefits, according to a survey by RBC Insurance Services Inc. The survey, which queried 1,505 working Canadians, found the percentage of people who had disability coverage through their work has dropped to 48 per cent from 57 per cent in 2015. Read: 48% […]
How can employers better address conditions, such as migraines, that are among the factors contributing to illness and absenteeism? With rates of illness and disability on the rise, absenteeism is a significant and growing concern for Canadian employers. Statistics Canada figures for 2017 show rates of absenteeism have been on an upswing in recent years, […]