The Senate gave quick approval Thursday to a new round of coronavirus pandemic aid after federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland made a pre-holiday plea to rubber-stamp the help and promised that benefits would flow quickly to employers and employees in need. Bill C-2 would provide targeted aid to businesses that are ordered closed and to […]
The government is open to amending legislation that would provide 10 days of paid sick leave for federally regulated workers. Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan acknowledged that at least two provisions in the legislation, Bill C-3, could undermine the objective, which is to ensure ill workers don’t have to choose between going to work sick or staying home without […]
The federal Liberal Party is following through on an election campaign promise by introducing legislation that would provide 10 paid sick days per year to employees in the federally regulated private sector. In a press release, the government said it will consult with federally regulated employers and workers toward the implementation of this legislation. Prime […]
On the first day of her period, Amy Saunders says she’s often stuck in bed with a hot water bottle, downing painkillers and drinking tea. “I’ve always had painful periods,” she says. “I’ve definitely had to use sick days or vacation days in the past,” says Saunders, the communications director for Diva International Inc., who […]
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 […]
With the coronavirus pandemic exposing gaps in sickness and caregiving leave provisions across Canada, the Institute for Research on Public Policy is calling for permanent reforms to provide access to short-term paid and protected leaves for all employees. In the study, co-authors Eric Tucker, a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, and Leah Vosko, a […]
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 […]
As Canadians head to the polls today, Benefits Canada takes a look at how the federal parties’ campaign promises could impact the human resources, benefits and pension industries. Read: Conservatives, NDP pension promises include super-priority for members The Conservative Party is proposing a plan that would put pension plan members first when the company sponsoring […]
Eighteen months into the coronavirus pandemic and counting, one of its hottest topics is still up for debate. Jim Stanford, economist and director of the Centre for Future Work The lack of adequate and consistent paid sick leave constitutes a gaping hole in Canada’s public health and social security response to COVID-19. As public health […]
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 […]