Workers in B.C. will be eligible for “fair and balanced” sick leave pay that provides a minimum of five days a year starting Jan. 1, 2022, according to Labour Minister Harry Bains. The new sick leave policy affects all workers covered by the province’s Employment Standards Act, including part-time workers, he added. “I firmly believe that […]
Employees at several Indigo Books & Music Inc. stores across Canada are unionizing, as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has “highlighted the precarity of retail work in general and how little say workers have in rapidly changing work environments. “Joining [United Food and Commercial Workers Canada] provided security and gave workers a voice without fear of retaliation,” […]
A majority (75 per cent) of U.S. organizations said the coronavirus pandemic has influenced how they approach absence management as a whole, according to a survey by Hub International Ltd. The survey, which polled more than 500 small- and mid-sized employers, found about 40 per cent of respondents acknowledged their time-off policies need to be […]
A third term for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau means some significant promises with the potential to impact employers and employees may soon become reality. During its campaign, the Liberal Party pledged to support workplace coronavirus vaccination mandates, a national childcare program, expanded public mental-health offerings and a right-to-disconnect policy. On vaccination mandates, the Liberals promised […]
Germany is stopping sick pay for unvaccinated people who have to go into quarantine because of the coronavirus. Previously, Germans could claim for income lost due to having to go into quarantine after returning from abroad or coming into contact with a positive case. Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn says the move was a matter of […]
Ontario is extending a temporary paid sick leave program for workers until the end of this year. Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced that the coronavirus pandemic program set to expire on Sept. 25 will be extended to Dec. 31, 2021. He said the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant prompted the move to give more […]
Ontario’s temporary paid sick leave program is receiving less uptake than initially expected. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday that, as of July 21, a total of $13.2 million in claims have been made to the program, which is retroactive to April 19 and ends on Sept. 25. When the program was first launched this […]
The 830 locked-out employees at Reliance Home Comfort sites in Ontario are heading back to work after their union ratified a new contract with the company on June 30. The new collective agreement includes two new paid sick days, improvements to the extended health benefits cost-sharing and a one per cent increase to the matching […]
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is giving its staff more paid sick days until the end of the coronavirus pandemic or for the duration of respective collective agreements. The OPSEU is extending its annual paid sick leave from seven to 10 days and will give all of its temporary workers 10 fully paid sick […]
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Canadian employers are balancing the need to reduce benefits costs while focusing on employee well-being, according to a new survey by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Just over half (55 per cent) of respondents said controlling costs is their top benefits-related challenge this year, with many considering measures such as variable cost […]