With the Delta variant leading the coronavirus pandemic in a renewed surge, employers continue to have a surplus of challenges, regardless of whether or not they’re planning a return to the workplace. I discussed this latter challenge in my Editorial last month, but at the risk of heaping on more doom and gloom, it may […]
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ottawa Community Housing Corp. battened down the hatches and focused on addressing any absence management issues before they occurred. Now, Cindy Newell, the company’s director of human resources, says OCH is expecting to see fewer disability leaves post-pandemic, thanks to a proactive absence and disability management strategy […]
As the country began shutting down to focus on beating back the coronavirus at the height of the pandemic in March 2020, people with chronic health conditions fell to the back of the health-care line. “While all Canadians probably faced — to some extent — a negative impact due to some of the public health […]
Employees are prioritizing workplace benefits plans amid an increasingly competitive job market, according to a new Ipsos survey for RBC Insurance Inc. The survey, conducted among more than 1,000 working Canadians aged 18 and older, found 68 per cent would take a job with a good benefits plan over another that pays more but doesn’t […]
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, mental health was viewed as a workplace challenge waiting in the wings, but it’s moving to centre stage for many employers as companies across the globe prepare to mark a second World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10 in the clutches of this public health crisis. “The pandemic has created […]
At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, Julie Gaudry and her colleagues in the industry braced themselves for a surge in disability claims that never came to fruition. “We didn’t know what the prevalence of this virus would be . . . and how significantly it would make people ill,” said Gaudry, head of group […]
While the rates of drug and disability claims are returning to their pre-pandemic levels, employers are still contending with the impact of the coronavirus crisis on their benefits plans. Following the declaration of the pandemic in March 2020, there was a subsequent surge in drug claims attributed to medication stockpiling, said Frédéric Leblanc, strategic advisor […]
Data collected over the last decade suggests that differing eligibility requirements for provincial disability benefits programs affected caseloads in the provinces that offer them, according to a new report by the University of Calgary. It found that as incidences of disability were similar in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan, variations in caseloads per 1,000 […]
The coronavirus pandemic has significantly increased plan members’ willingness to seek help for their mental-health concerns and to access video or telephone counselling, said Julie Gaudry, senior director of group insurance for RBC Insurance, during Benefits Canada’s 2020 Mental Health Summit on Nov. 12. An RBC Insurance survey of plan members found two-thirds (67 per cent) […]
On average, one in three Canadians will be disabled for 90 days or more at least once before they reach age 65, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. Therefore, income protection is important, but it’s not always fully understood and cost is sometimes perceived as too high. As a result, some groups […]