© Copyright 2000 Rogers Media. The following article first appeared in the January 2001 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.

Taking leave

Ontario's 10-day family crisis leave for employees presents new challenges for plan sponsors in the province.

By Kathryn Dorrell

Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre prides itself on being a progressive plan sponsor. Many of its workers' compensation packages are governed by collective agreements, and the Toronto-based centre relies on benefits to give it an extra edge over competing healthcare institutions.

The centre was planning to implement a new family leave benefit that would give members several days off a year to tend to a sick child or relative. But, unfortunately, the Ontario government has stolen the thunder away from this initiative.

In late November--to the surprise of most organizations--the Ontario government proudly declared that it was the first province to offer 10 days of job-protected family crisis leave a year. The benefit (which had not been passed at press time) allows employees at organizations with 50 or more workers to take a maximum of 10 days off unpaid for personal medical reasons, or the death or illness of a child, spouse, same-sex partner or other specified relatives.

B.C. is the only province with a legislated benefit that compares to this proposal. It offers workers five days off for a family responsibility leave, and is currently deciding whether to lengthen this period.

Most employers wouldn't dispute the need to support employees caring for their own health or that of ailing family members. But the reform couldn't come at a worse time as organizations like Sunnybrook and Women's College are looking to their total compensation and benefits packages as a crucial tool to differentiate themselves from the competition in this tight labour market.

What's most frustrating for employers is that the move takes a big leap into plan sponsor territory, yet leaves organizations to sort out the repercussions. "Historically this [family leave] is an employer benefit--it's their jurisdiction. But the voluntary aspect of this type of benefit has now been removed," says Barry Noble, director of managed care at Manulife Financial in Toronto.

The proposed legislation poses several headaches for plan sponsors. Cost is one. Marilyn Reddick, director of human resources at Sunnybrook and Women's College, says that her organization was considering three to four days as a benefit.

"Ten days is very high," says Reddick. "And to insinuate it doesn't cost the employer is simply wrong. If we have to replace workers who are off for this period, such as nurses, it can cost more [than if the individual was here]."

Forward-thinking plan sponsors that already have family leave policies will also want to rethink the feasibility of maintaining them, particularly now that employees can 'double-up' and take advantage of both the province's and their employer's leave. Meanwhile, national employers have to determine whether to extend Ontario's generous leave to employees in other provinces to create an even benefits offering in the company across the country.

All employers in the province must also decide if they want to play big brother, looking out for potential abuse of a benefit that isn't of their own making. Will Ontario employers find themselves seeking out medical validations of little Johnny's 10-day bout with the flu or dear aunt Thelma's dreadful arthritic condition--at a time when new privacy legislation is kicking in?

Jane Petruniak, a consultant with Watson Wyatt Canada in Toronto, is a strong believer in organizations assisting employees with personal issues. But she says Canadian organizations are grappling with high absenteeism rates and the government certainly won't help matters by carving a 10-day leave into stone. "There are not a lot of safeguards around how it [the leave] is to be used," says
Petruniak. "And there's a track record that if you give Canadians something as a benefit, they tend to use it."

Kathryn Dorrell is associate editor with BENEFITS CANADA.
kdorrell@rmpublishing.com.

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CONFERENCES

Reorganizing the Continuum of Care in Canada
Jan. 24 to 26, 2001
Toronto Colony Hotel

Topics include the vision for homecare in an integrated healthcare system. Tel. (800) 941-9403.

The Romanow Commission has released its final report on the future of healthcare in Canada.

For Commissioner Romanow's recommendations, click here.

Click here for Senator Michael Kirby's report, "The Health of Canadians – The Federal Role: Recommendations for Reform."