Sun Life Financial Inc. is supporting employees working in a hybrid arrangement with its new activity-based, people-focused workspace in Waterloo, Ont. “We’ve been on a journey of rethinking work since before the [coronavirus] pandemic,” says Helena Pagano, executive vice-president, chief people and culture officer at Sun Life. “We knew with changing employee expectations, increasing competition for […]
Yukon is the first jurisdiction in Canada to provide government-funded paid sick leave with a program targeting workers who are most likely to suffer from taking unpaid time off. Retroactive to April 1, 2023, employees without paid sick leave through their employer and who are making less than or equal to $33.94 per hour, will […]
More than four in 10 (42 per cent) global employees consider the availability of fertility benefits through their employer a ‘deal breaker’ in accepting a job, according to a new survey by Carrot Fertility. The survey, which polled 5,000 people across Canada, India, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S., also found two-thirds (65 per cent) of […]
The annual spend per private drug plan member increased by 6.3 per cent in 2022, according to Express Scripts Canada’s annual drug trends report. Across both traditional and specialty drugs, the increase was primarily driven by a 5.4 per cent rise in plan members making a claim, which reversed the trend seen in 2020 and […]
A 2023 federal budget proposal to require employers to report dental coverage as part of the national dental-care program will be onerous on plan sponsors and still leaves more questions than answers, says Pam Martin, vice-president and senior consultant at Baynes & White Inc. Since dental benefits are important to an individual’s mental health, the federal government […]
By focusing on cancer as part of a wider chronic disease management strategy, employers can support employee health while reducing benefits costs, said Chris Bonnett, founder and principal at H3 Consulting, during a webinar hosted by the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute. While long-term disability plans pay out, on average, $3,500 per month, cancer patients […]
Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of U.S. employees who are caregivers for dependants with mental-health challenges wish their employers would offer more mental-health benefits, according to a new survey by the New York Life Insurance Co. The survey, which polled 1,000 employees, found mental-health benefits play a key role in employee satisfaction. The vast majority of […]
President Joe Biden’s order that federal employees in the U.S. get vaccinated against the coronavirus has been blocked by a federal appeals court. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has rejected arguments that Biden, as the nation’s chief executive, has the same authority as the chief executive officer of a private corporation to require […]
Although a majority (83 per cent) of U.S. employers say their employees are satisfied with their current benefits offerings, fewer than two-thirds (61 per cent) of workers agree, according to a new survey by MetLife Inc. The survey, which polled more than 2,800 employers and more than 2,800 full-time employees, found the No. 1 reason […]
Three years ago this month, the world was grappling with the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Even then, with very little information available, people were beginning to turn their attention to the anticipated long-term ramifications of the public health crisis. With everyone experiencing this once-in-a-century moment simultaneously, no one had a response for how […]