Taking a varied and thorough approach to employee health helped Niagara Casinos take home the award for best health and wellness program for an employer with more than 1,000 employees at Benefits Canada‘s 2018 Workplace Benefits Awards in Toronto on Oct. 11. The variety of wellness offerings and activities included kickboxing, paddle boarding, bath bomb workshops, an onsite […]
Promoting health and wellness as a business priority and effectively communicating this to the workforce was the Town of Richmond Hill’s recipe for success at Benefits Canada’s 2018 Workplace Benefits Awards. The organization took home the award for best health and wellness program for a company with less than 1,000 employees at a ceremony in Toronto on Oct. 11. […]
Last year, Ceridian HCM Inc. began allowing its Canadian and American employees to take two hours off for any reason without manager approval. The program was introduced as a pilot, initially covering the period between late May and Labour Day, says Lisa Sterling, chief people and culture officer at the organization’s U.S. headquarters in Minneapolis. […]
Dental benefits accounted for $7.9 billion of the $32.5 billion spent on extended health services by group or individual insurance plans in 2016, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s most recent data. And dental spend is rising significantly, from $4.1 billion in 2006 and $2.3 billion in 1996. But these figures tend […]
Controlling costs on both the employer and employee side of benefits plans is a top concern for human resources professionals, according to a new survey by Hub International Ltd. The survey, which polled nearly 200 benefits decision-makers at Canadian organizations, found 36 per cent of respondents said employee costs are a concern and 32 per cent said employer […]
The majority (80 per cent) of Canadian executives in the finance industry would be willing to provide tuition reimbursement or professional development for new employees without a degree, according to a survey by Robert Half Canada Inc. The survey, which polled 270 Canadian finance leaders, found 81 of small organizations and 67 per cent of larger […]
Depression and alcoholism are the leading mental health and substance abuse conditions covered by employers, according to a report by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey, which polled nearly 300 Canadian and American organizations, found 84 per cent of employers cover depression and 82 per cent cover alcohol addiction. Anxiety disorders (78 per cent), […]
Green Shield Canada is launching a new benefits product, which will focus on drug coverage and mental-health support and eliminate coverage for massage therapy. The new plan, called SMARTspend, will include a managed drug formulary with 100 per cent coverage and no dollar caps, digital mental-health support options, health coaching from pharmacists and dietitians and vision […]
Indigo Books & Music Inc. is the first national employer to pilot the Great-West Life Assurance Co.’s student debt savings program. Employees in the program will receive a matching contribution, up to a maximum, to their retirement savings account within Indigo’s group retirement plan for every payment they make to their Canadian or provincial government student loan. […]
Manulife Financial Corp.’s short-term disability claims related to mental health have decreased since it boosted its benefits to employees last year. In January 2017, Manulife increased its mental-health benefit, from $1,000 to $10,000 per person per year, including coverage for family members. “Really the goal of that was to remove any financial barriers, real or […]