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© Copyright 2000 Rogers Media. The following article first appeared in the April 2000 edition of
BENEFITS CANADA magazine.
Bringing up baby
The federal government's decision to extend parental leave is a bonus for Canadian families.
Employers, meanwhile, have challenges ahead.
By Andrea Davis
Joan Wade is preparing to leave her job for six months. In fact, as you read this, she is probably cradling
the little bundle of joy that is the reason for her absence--her second child. As a mother and the manager
of employee benefits, occupational health and safety and wellness at the Town of Richmond Hill in Ontario,
Wade is in a unique position to understand the effects on Canadian employers of the federal government's
recent decision to extend employment insurance benefits for maternity and parental leave to one year.
"In the absence of any top-up benefit that an employer might be making while a woman is on maternity leave,
there are no real extra costs in a woman being off for a year, other than continuity," says Wade. "Whether
you're finding a replacement for six months or 12 months, you're still going to have to go through your
training and transition costs."
Wade believes the societal benefits of the extra six months far outweigh any costs to employers.
Physically, emotionally and psychologically, both the baby and mother are better prepared for separation
after one year than after six months, she says.
Mom and baby might be better prepared for separation, but the loss of intellectual resources in the
workplace concerns Michael Makin, president of the Canadian Printing Industries Association (the industry
association representing Canadian printers) in Ottawa. Many of the employers that make up the association's
membership are small businesses, a sector of the economy that Makin believes will be adversely affected by
the changes.
"For larger companies, and certainly the federal government, universities and larger entities with human
resources departments, it's just another six months," says Makin. "But if you have a 10-person shop and 10%
of your workforce is gone for a year, you can just imagine the impact."
Over at FedEx--a large employer with a Canada-wide workforce of about 4,500--employees are already entitled
to 10 months leave. "Another couple of months is not going to make that much of a difference in how we
operate as an employer," says Donna Brazleton, vice-president of human resources with FedEx in Mississauga,
Ont.
FedEx, however, is among the approximately 10% of companies that operate under federal labour laws. Most
employers and their employees in Canada fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial labour legislation in
their province. It's unclear at this stage whether the provinces will amend their labour legislation to
bring it in line with federal rules.
Considering that workers brought in to replace employees on maternity leave are likely to be either
contract workers (and therefore probably not eligible for benefits) or other employees from within the
company, the financial costs of the extended leave will be small. In addition, not all employees will
choose to take a whole year off to spend with their child. But those who do might need assistance to make
the transition back to work a little easier.
Proactive employers will develop strategies so that when employees do return to work following a year-long
leave, it's a smooth transition. Offering an orientation program for returning employees, for example, or
creating a parent networking group are two low-cost ways of reintegrating plan members who've been off for
a year.
We're pleased to announce that Kathryn Dorrell has joined BENEFITS CANADA as associate editor. Watch this
space next month for her first Benefits Trends column.
Andrea Davis is assistant editor with BENEFITS CANADA.
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CONFERENCES
National Symposium on Aging
Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto
May 1 and 2, 2000
Hosted by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Association for Canadian Pension Management, this
two-day event will address how coming generations will deal with the increasing demands of aging baby
boomers. For more information, contact (613) 236-8196 or visit www.actuaries.ca.
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