Lauren Bailey

Dental-care program’s employer reporting requirement may cause barriers to care: experts

A 2023 federal budget proposal to require employers to report dental coverage as part of the national dental-care program will be onerous on plan sponsors and still leaves more questions than answers, says Pam Martin, vice-president and senior consultant at Baynes & White Inc. Since dental benefits are important to an individual’s mental health, the federal government […]

  • April 6, 2023 January 17, 2024
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Humi supporting workers with employer RRSP match, fertility drug coverage

Humi is supporting employees with an annual $500 employer match to its group registered retirement savings plan and fertility drug coverage. Andrea Bartlett, the human resources software company’s vice-president of people, says Humi hopes to change the match to a percentage of employees’ contributions in the near future. After announcing the match, the company saw […]

  • March 10, 2023 March 9, 2023
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AIMCo closing gender equity gap through equitable parental leave, flexible working policies

The Alberta Investment Management Corp. is adjusting its parental leave and flexible working policies to make them more equitable for women employees. Earlier this year, the AIMCo changed its corporate incentive plan, to no longer prorate performance pay during the supplemental employment benefits period for parental and maternity leave. Prior to the change, employees who took […]

  • March 8, 2023 March 17, 2023
  • 09:00

MVF supporting employees’ financial wellness needs through new cost-of-living benefit

MVF is supporting its multinational workforce amid rising inflation with a new cost-of-living benefit. The U.K.-based marketing company introduced the new benefit last October, after an employee pulse survey revealed the most helpful financial support would be cash lump sums to help pay for big bills such as rent and utilities, said Hannah Meredith, the […]

  • March 1, 2023 March 1, 2023
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Employers can leverage choice, education to help close pension gap among BIPOC workers

Employers can leverage choice and financial education to help close the retirement gap among the Black, Indigenous and people of colour community, says Janice Holman, a principal at Eckler Ltd. A 2021 study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which analyzed data from the 2016 census, found racialized seniors were most reliant on public […]

  • February 14, 2023 February 13, 2023
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Converting private sector pension plans to public sector model would yield lifetime income for retirees: expert

Private sector pension plans could realize higher rates of return and produce lifetime income if they followed a model similar to their public sector counterparts, said Keith Ambachtsheer, executive in residence at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a senior fellow at the National Institute on Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University, during a […]

  • February 9, 2023 February 8, 2023
  • 09:00

Telus training managers to recognize signs of employees experiencing mental-health struggles

Telus Communications Inc. is training its people leaders to recognize when employees are experiencing mental-health struggles. The organization provides leaders with scripts to refer to when they recognize an employee needs help. The scripts guide managers through broaching the conversation, directing employees to the appropriate company support tools, following up with the individual and maintaining confidentiality. Company […]

  • February 1, 2023 February 1, 2023
  • 09:00

BNP Paribas expanding talent pool by hiring, supporting neurodiverse employees

BNP Paribas in Canada is expanding its talent pool by recruiting neurodiverse employees through a new talent attraction program. Sonja Volpe, chief executive officer at BNP Paribas in Canada, says the program — a partnership with EY Canada — is providing the financial company with an opportunity to broaden its talent base by tapping into […]

  • January 23, 2023 January 20, 2023
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B.C.’s amended PfAD to provide more flexibility to target-benefit pension plans: experts

British Columbia’s amended definition of provision for adverse deviation will provide additional flexibility to the province’s target-benefit pension plans, according to experts. The changes to the PfAD’s definition lowers the minimum funding requirement to 7.5 per cent and allows a supplementary percentage identified by the target-benefit plan administrator or board as appropriate to achieve the […]

  • January 20, 2023 January 19, 2023
  • 09:00

Employers can use ‘Blue Monday’ to reset workplace mental-health strategies

The third Monday in January, also known as ‘Blue Monday,’ is considered to be the saddest day of the year, as people contend with frigid weather and higher-than-normal credit card bills from the holiday season. Employers can use this occasion to check in with employees and plan their mental-health strategies for the year, says Janet […]

  • January 16, 2023 December 5, 2023
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