As part of efforts to add to its mental-health training for staff and faculty, the University of British Columbia is in the process of rolling out a mindfulness program from technology giant Google Inc. The Search Inside Yourself program, an effort launched internally at Google in 2007, follows the research of leading experts in the fields of mindfulness, neuroscience and […]
While some workplaces may find it difficult to accommodate flexibility for employees with caregiving responsibilities, employers should be creative, according to one human resources consultant. “To me, I feel like it’s not that difficult to do,” Helen Patterson, a consultant at Life Works Well, told an audience at the Human Resources Professionals Association conference in Toronto on Friday. “Flexibility is not […]
The average medical marijuana patient likely uses less of the drug than prescribers think, according to an industry participant whose company has experience with coverage under its benefits plan. Speaking at an event held by Aon Hewitt in Toronto on Wednesday, Jonathan Tafler, senior director of product and operations for employer health solutions at Shoppers […]
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 561 in Coquitlam, B.C., have voted to transfer active employees from the School District No. 43 non-teaching pension plan into the British Columbia Municipal Pension Plan. Terms of the deal include a four per cent wage increase to cover the difference in pension contributions between the two […]
When it comes to issues such as medical marijuana, it’s important to draft tightly worded benefits plans, according to a Toronto lawyer. Ross Gascho, a partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, was one of the speakers at the firm’s pension, benefits and litigation seminar in Toronto on Thursday. Gascho looked at two case studies involving coverage of medical […]
Since Ontario rolled out its new pharmacare program for youth on Jan. 1, multiple media reports have detailed the challenges faced by some people in transitioning to public drug coverage from their private plan. The examples include a mother who, according to the Brantford Expositor, found that while the provincial program doesn’t cover Fluoxetine, a medication for her child’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, […]
Keeping workplace stress in check is a job perfectly suited to the four-legged set, or at least that’s the hope of a few enterprising petting zoos and some companies. Organizations such as Squeals on Wheels, a mobile petting zoo in Potomac, Md., bring animals into workplaces for employees to cuddle, pet and hold as a break from […]
The month of January takes its toll on the mood of Canadian workers, according to new research by staffing firm Accountemps. More than half (56 per cent) of survey respondents said winter weather negatively affects their mood and 25 per cent said January is the least happy month of the year. In terms of the seasons, 51 per cent […]
An Ottawa labour council has set up a hotline to allow employees to report on companies that are cutting paid breaks and other benefits following Ontario’s minimum wage hike on Jan. 1. Sean McKenny, the president of the Ottawa and District Labour Council, says the council started the hotline after hearing about two Tim Hortons franchises in Cobourg, Ont. that […]
New labour law changes, particularly enhanced leave provisions in Ontario, are likely to increase costs and administrative challenges for employers, according to one expert. Amendments in Ontario’s Bill 148, which took effect on Jan. 1, include 10 days of personal emergency leave, two of which are paid; a new domestic violence leave of 10 days, five […]