An article on how the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System has contributed to the province’s gross domestic product was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the week: 1. OMERS pension benefits accounted for 9.3% of Ontario retirement income in 2023: report […]
Any employer focused on attracting and retaining great people understands the importance of providing a competitive benefits program that supports employees through all stages of their health and well-being. The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan’s annual Canadian employer pension survey found a growing number of businesses are opting to improve benefits as a means to […]
By March 2021, nearly half a million Canadian women who lost their jobs during the pandemic still hadn’t returned to work by the beginning of that year, according to data from the Royal Bank of Canada. It also found more than 200,000 women had slipped into the ranks of the long-term unemployed, a threefold increase […]
When Jessica Charbonneau decided to have a child through assisted reproduction a few years ago, it wasn’t cheap, but her employer helped shoulder some of the costs. Charbonneau, a 36-year-old student affairs case manager at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus, started with intrauterine insemination, spending a total of $15,000 for six rounds. The university’s […]
Amazon is expanding its family-building support program outside of Canada and the U.S., making it available to full-time, part-time and hourly employees in 50 additional countries across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. In partnership with Maven Clinic, a virtual clinic for women’s and family health, the organization will give employees and […]
Though still a fairly new concept, pet benefits are becoming a more common consideration when employers are expanding their offerings and looking to stand out. In August 2022, Talk Shop Media introduced a ‘pawrental’ leave policy, which allows employees to take time off around the adoption of a new pet to focus on ownership duties, […]
U.S. employers are increasing their family and caregiving benefits in 2023, according to a new survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. The survey, which polled more than 4,000 employers, found a quarter (25 per cent) said they cover infertility treatments and in vitro fertilization, while five per cent cover egg freezing for non-medical […]
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 […]
Thomson Reuters Corp. is introducing a minimum 16-week paid leave for all employees who are welcoming a new child, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or family role. The global policy is part of a wider Thomson Reuters initiative to promote a healthy work-life balance through its Flex My Way program, which also […]
Tonya Johnson, age 39, is single, happy and freezing her eggs to buy a little more time before she starts a family. The procedure is costly — as much as $15,000 for one egg freezing cycle with medication — putting it out of reach for many. But Johnson works for one of a growing number of companies in Canada offering egg freezing as […]