SAP Canada Inc. is accelerating the expansion of virtual wellness offerings through its benefits package amid the coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic has essentially pressed fast-forward on a direction that the market was already going,” says Megan Smith, vice-president and head of human resources at the software company. “It forced the issue of remote work, causing employers […]
Hootsuite Inc. is supporting employee mental health by giving workers more time off this summer. The social media marketing and management company held its inaugural wellness week from July 5 to 12, allowing employees to recharge and make time for personal goals and activities. Claire Adams, director of learning and development at Hootsuite, says the […]
Walmart Inc. is expanding its benefits to include coverage of doula care for employees under its medical plan in Georgia. The company recently announced it was providing up to US$1,000 per pregnancy for all its employees in the southern U.S. state. For employees to obtain the coverage, the doulas must be credentialed through either DONA […]
In the last 17 months, workplaces are prioritizing their employees’ physical health above all else. But what happens when employees’ mental health falls to the wayside? “Depression is a constellation of symptoms — and one must show five out of nine symptoms with some of the symptoms in question as slight as a change in […]
Purolator Inc. is adapting its benefits plan to proactively respond to employees’ mental-health needs amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company has expanded both the dollar value and scope of its mental-health benefits offering, including access to cognitive behavioural therapy and social workers, says Anna Manocchio, senior director of total rewards and human resources technology at […]
School’s out for the summer, which means many working parents are once again juggling remote working with trying to keep their kids occupied during the second summer since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. In a bid to help, Twitter Inc. is continuing to support its working parents through its kids’ camp benefit again this […]
Group Health Group Holdings Inc. is acquiring a minority interest in CDAT Software Inc., the British Columbia-based maker of Oliver benefits administration software. In June, GroupHEALTH acquired a 75 per cent stake in Canadian Benefits Investment & Insurance Group Inc., a B.C.-based provider of group benefits and wealth management services. And in March, Germany-based Munich Re announced […]
Contract negotiations are continuing between Chartwell Master Care and the union representing employees at an Ottawa-area retirement home, after the employer proposed cuts to paid sick days and changes to bereavement leave. The proposed cuts at Chartwell Stonehaven include a reduced annual cap on sick days — from 12 to six — for full-time employees, […]
The Ontario-based engineering consultancy firm C.F. Crozier and Associates Inc. is going beyond offering typical benefits, such as eye, dental and mental-health care, and providing employees with $20,000 to use as a down payment on their first home. Nick Mocan, president of C.F. Crozier, says he’d often hear employees relay horror stories of bidding wars […]
More than 2,000 workers at a Vale nickel mine in Sudbury, Ont., are continuing their strike after their union, United Steelworkers Local 6500, rejected the company’s five-year contract proposal, which cuts health and medical benefits for existing and future employees. The June 14 offer was Vale’s second since the workers went on strike June 1, […]