It’s an election year and, of course, I have a lot of opinions. But I’ll try to keep my political leanings as neutral as possible and simply lay out the facts. This issue will hit desks days before the federal election. However, as I write these words in mid-September, the main parties are just rolling […]
Even star employees shine a little less brightly after battling an hour of traffic on the way to work. Long commutes “can be very demoralizing” and can affect productivity, says Sandra Reder, president and founder of Vertical Bridge Corporate Consulting Inc. in Vancouver. Plus, a bad commute is one of the most common reasons employees […]
Epcor Utilities Inc.’s senior manager of pension and benefits talks mental-health training, volunteering benefits and whitewater canoeing. Q. What top challenges do you face in your role? A. A big challenge is employees . . . thinking the company is 100 per cent responsible for all of their paramedical [and] dental costs, and that any […]
An organization that leverages its more experienced workforce — employees aged 50 years and older — will be well-positioned for the future of work, according to a new report by Mercer. The importance of being “age-ready” is underscored for both businesses and economies, because of a rapidly aging labour force coupled with an uncertain global […]
The Ontario Court of Appeal has taken a technical approach to interpreting “termination clause” in ruling that a failsafe clause that doesn’t clearly apply to the entirety of a termination clause won’t be enforceable. “The big takeaway from Andros v. Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Inc. is that courts will pay close attention to grammar and structure in […]
Canadian employers plan to hold the line on budgeted pay raises in 2020, according to a new survey by Willis Towers Watson. It found employers are expecting no changes to their salary budgets in 2020, with salary increases projected to hold steady for technical and business support employees (2.7 per cent), as well as for workers in production […]
Hub International Ltd. is acquiring PDF Financial Group Inc., a Toronto-based brokerage that offers employee benefits, human resources and related financial advice consulting, as well as outsourcing services. Peter Demangos, the brokerage’s founder and president, will join Hub International Ontario Ltd. The deal is the latest in Hub’s ongoing strategy to acquire smaller Canadian employee benefits consulting […]
Rise People Inc. is partnering with Planswell Inc. to expand on its employee health and wellness offerings. Planswell offers employees the ability to create free online financial plans and receive personalized advice from financial planning professionals to help them grow their wealth and reduce debt. Read: Financial wellness programs must go beyond education: survey “As […]
Women in their core working years earned on average 13.3 per cent less per hour than men in 2018, marking a 5.5 percentage point improvement over the past 20 years, according to a new report by Statistics Canada. The research paper released Monday said in 2018 female employees between the ages of 25 to 54 […]
While employers want workplace cultures that make employees feel good and included, gauging and quantifying that experience can be difficult. Toronto-based company Receptiviti Inc. is aiming to help employers create and maintain “people-first” workplaces that make culture a priority, recognizing it’s a foundational part of organizational health and business performance. To do this, it’s analyzing language across […]