The Liberal Party announced a number of campaign promises this week, including making maternity and parental benefits tax-free, introducing a 15-week leave for adoptive parents, strengthening the old-age security benefit and increasing the Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension Plan survivor’s benefit. If re-elected, the Liberal government said it will work to establish guaranteed paid family […]
With the federal election about a month away, Canada’s political parties are rolling out their election platforms, making a host of promises to improve health care, employment insurance, the minimum wage and pension legislation. If elected, the Liberal Party of Canada, New Democratic Party and Green Party of Canada are all promising to implement a national pharmacare program. […]
The federal Conservative Party is promising to make employment insurance maternity and parental benefits tax-free. The party is proposing a 15 per cent tax credit for any income earned under the two EI programs. “Parents should be able to put their energy toward those critical first few months, and not have to worry so much […]
Sweden, Norway and Iceland offer the most family-friendly policies of all 41 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and European Union countries, according to a report from Unicef’s Innocenti Research Centre. The report ranked the countries on the duration of their paid maternity, paternity and parental leave. It also measured the share of children under […]
The Pensions Policy Institute and U.K. consumer advocacy group Which? are teaming up to recommend to the U.K. government that working mothers should receive a top-up to their pensions in an effort to close the pension gender gap. The groups’ analysis found a woman in the U.K. who took time off for childcare responsibilities would put an average […]
The ways that Canadians partner up is changing, leading to questions about how different types of families access parental benefits. “When we think about Canada, and we think about families, we think about diversity,” said Nora Spinks, chief executive officer of the Vanier Institute of the Family, in a webinar on Tuesday. “And we want to make sure […]
Members of the United Association Local 721 union in Prince Edward Island went on strike last week after being unable to reach a new agreement with their employers over wages and benefits. The union, which represents more than 130 plumbers, pipefitters and welders in PEI, began negotiations with four employers in December. Its previous contract expired […]
Employers are increasingly including diversity and inclusion objectives in their benefits, compensation, workplace culture and well-being initiatives, according to new research by Willis Towers Watson. The survey, which polled 535 U.S. employers, found 55 per cent of employers have promoted diversity and inclusion initiatives relating to workplace policies and culture to their employees in the last three […]
Today’s corporate culture of always being on and available has led to higher levels of work-life conflict where men are struggling to balance their new roles in society, according to a study by Deloitte’s Doblin human-centred design and human capital consulting practices. According to the study, men are now facing backlash when stepping outside traditional […]
Starting in 2019, Etsy Inc. employees will be allowed to trade in up to 14 weeks of parental leave for a cash payment to help with childcare or other family-friendly support as they return to the workplace. The e-commerce company is also introducing access to back-up childcare services, extending paid family leave to all global staff and is providing the option […]