On occasion, I’ve been critical of the group insurance business. I’ve used the term lethargic to describe the pace of change and have been critical of what I thought was a far too rigorous embrace of the status quo. There has been some innovation over the years, but it has paled in comparison to the […]
As U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to keep trying to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, how would any change affect employer benefits costs, including Canadian businesses with U.S. operations? Canadian employers that decide to set up shop in the United States will notice a big difference when it comes to benefits costs. In the […]
Employers in the United States are increasingly requiring employees with same-sex partners to legally marry in order for their partner to receive health-care benefits, according to data from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The organization compared data from two surveys, one published in 2016 and one in 2015, following the June 2015 U.S. […]
Royal Bank of Canada, the Toronto Transit Commission and Telus Communications are among Canada’s 25 best places to work, according to a new ranking published by job search website Indeed Canada. The ranking, based on employee reviews, lauds employers for leading corporate cultures, work-life balance and great pay and benefits, among other factors. “Companies that are […]
As Saskatchewan’s move to levy the provincial sales tax on insurance premiums takes effect next week, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association says the policy “should be immediately reversed.” “CLHIA believes that Saskatchewan’s imposition of sales tax on insurance products is not good public policy and should be immediately reversed,” said Ron Sanderson, director of […]
Facing a number of challenges not experienced by their larger counterparts, medium-sized employers must leverage their strengths when it comes to employee recruitment, according to a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The report examines the hiring challenges faced by medium-sized companies in Australia, Britain, Canada, France and the United States. In Canada, medium-sized […]
Sears Canada’s plan to pay out millions in bonuses to keep executives and key staff on board while not paying severance to laid-off workers is being met with shock and disbelief. “It definitely should not go to them,” said Marinella Gonzalez, who worked as a planner at the retailer’s head office for 18 years before […]
For legal software company Clio, employee engagement is crucial — so much so that it has revamped its five administration roles as employee engagement specialists. “Ultimately, [engagement] pays dividends,” says Rian Gauvreau, co-founder and chief people officer at Clio. “I think that people nowadays have a lot of options in terms of where they choose […]
The University of Saskatchewan will be reducing 75 senior employees’ salaries and benefits in an effort to address a funding shortfall. “Following the substantial cut in our provincial grant, we must make strategic, deliberate decisions that provide sustainable answers to the serious financial challenge we currently face,” said university president Peter Stoicheff in a news […]
Despite all of the worries over costs, more than half of employers surveyed by Benefits Canada expect benefits to be more generous 20 years from now. The research, undertaken by Benefits Canada as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, found 51 per cent of 191 executives at Canadian companies surveyed this spring hold that view. Another 37 per cent of […]