Latest news in Absence management

Evaluating the value of employee assistance programs

The contents of employee assistance programs are growing and reflecting a wider range of services. At the same time, attitudes to pricing are also changing.…

Manulife launches opioid management program, partners with virtual health-care company

Manulife is launching a preventative opioid management program, extending its Vitality program to group benefits plans and partnering with digital health company Akira Health. The opioid…

  • By: Staff
  • May 9, 2019 November 30, 2020
  • 10:30

2019 Workplace Benefits Awards now open for entries

Does your organization’s mental health or diversity program deserve recognition? Are you leading the way when it comes to drug and benefits plan innovation? Is…

Employers including diversity objectives in benefits, culture programs: survey

Employers are increasingly including diversity and inclusion objectives in their benefits, compensation, workplace culture and well-being initiatives, according to new research by Willis Towers Watson. The…

  • By: Staff
  • April 11, 2019 November 30, 2020
  • 09:50
Shoppers Drug Mart offering coaching for staff on STD due to mental illness

Shoppers Drug Mart offering coaching for staff on STD due to mental illness

Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. is partnering with Acclaim Ability Management Inc. to offer one-on-one coaching services to employees on short-term disability leave with mental-health issues. With the…

  • By: Staff
  • March 22, 2019 September 13, 2019
  • 15:05
Improved benefits, bereavement leave in new contract for Manitoulin hotel workers

Improved benefits, bereavement leave in new contract for Manitoulin hotel workers

Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre employees will see a 55 per cent increase in their health benefits reimbursement amount and an additional day of bereavement as…

What health conditions are keeping employees from work?

What health conditions are keeping employees from work?

It’s impossible to avoid the simple truth that people get sick, which often keeps them away from work. But which specific health conditions are keeping…

New resource available to help Ontario employers address workplace mental health

New resource available to help Ontario employers address workplace mental health

Mental Health Works has developed a free resource that is now available to help employers and managers of Ontario businesses looking for ways to address…

  • By: Staff
  • March 4, 2019 September 13, 2019
  • 14:28
Mental health and substance abuse issues on the rise: survey

Mental health and substance abuse issues on the rise: survey

More than half (60 per cent) of North American workforces said their employees are facing more mental health and substance abuse issues than they were…

  • By: Staff
  • February 7, 2019 September 13, 2019
  • 10:19
Specific solutions required to move dial on mental-health treatment, costs

Specific solutions required to move dial on mental-health treatment, costs

A significant disconnect exists between the degree of mental-health problems facing Canadians today, the costs of workplace mental health and the solutions in place to address…

Mental health is everyone’s business and workplaces have role to play

Mental health is everyone’s business and workplaces have role to play

Mental health is everyone’s business and workplaces have a role to play in this conversation, according to Krista Benes, program manager of workplace mental health at…

Evolving trends in absence and disability management

Evolving trends in absence and disability management

With the start of a new year, organizations have new goals and budgets to meet. Many organizations take the new year as an opportunity to…

  • January 15, 2019 September 13, 2019
  • 08:00
Conference Coverage: 2018 Mental Health Summit Toronto

Conference Coverage: 2018 Mental Health Summit Toronto

At the annual Mental Health Summit Toronto on Nov. 12, industry experts provided insights on mental health and the workplace, including how to remove the…

Accommodation an affordable path to benefits savings

Accommodation an affordable path to benefits savings

Providing accommodation to employees with mental illness can yield major benefits savings of about $56,000 to $200,000 per employee over a five-year projection. Speaking at…

  • By: Ryan Murphy
  • December 14, 2018 September 16, 2019
  • 07:59
Doctors’ group calls out Ontario move to require doctor’s note for minor illnesses

Doctors’ group calls out Ontario move to require doctor’s note for minor illnesses

A national doctors’ group is raising concerns about the Ontario government’s move to allow employers to require workers to provide a doctor’s note to explain…

Controlling health-care spending top objective of workplace clinics: survey

Controlling health-care spending top objective of workplace clinics: survey

A large majority (89 per cent) of employers cited a better control of health-care spending as the top reason for having workplace medical clinics, according…

  • By: Staff
  • November 7, 2018 September 13, 2019
  • 09:00
Award winners discuss paths to improving employees’ well-being

Award winners discuss paths to improving employees’ well-being

These days, peace of mind is hard to come by, but the employers at the 2018 Workplace Benefits Awards roundtable centred their discussion around the…

Will the return of Ontario’s sick note add complexities for employers?

Will the return of Ontario’s sick note add complexities for employers?

As part of the Ontario government’s new bill amending the Employment Standards Act, it’s bringing back the option for employers to request a medical note from employees…

  • By: Ryan Murphy
  • October 31, 2018 September 13, 2019
  • 09:30
N.S. to broaden PTSD benefits for first responders as of next week

N.S. to broaden PTSD benefits for first responders as of next week

Nova Scotia first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder will have an easier time accessing workers’ compensation benefits beginning Oct. 26.  The province has eliminated a…

OPG wins absence management award for efforts to shift workplace culture

OPG wins absence management award for efforts to shift workplace culture

While Ontario Power Generation has had a major medical absence program in place for years, it saw an opportunity for a review and update in…

Who are the winners of the 2018 Workplace Benefits Awards?

Who are the winners of the 2018 Workplace Benefits Awards?

Benefits Canada honoured winners across 11 categories at the 2018 Workplace Benefits Awards in Toronto on Thursday. In a room at the Arcadian Loft, more than 100…

  • By: Staff
  • October 12, 2018 September 13, 2019
  • 09:01
New software aims to aid return to work from disability

New software aims to aid return to work from disability

Crawford and Co. Canada Inc. is adding a new software platform, designed to help employees return to work sooner, to its human risk service line.  The software,…

  • By: Staff
  • October 9, 2018 September 13, 2019
  • 10:21
Staples Canada focuses on mental health, pharmacogenetic testing

Staples Canada focuses on mental health, pharmacogenetic testing

As many organizations turn their focus to mental-health awareness in October, Staples Canada is reminding its employees they have help available if they need it. The company’s…

Proactively identifying people at risk next stage in mental-health awareness

Proactively identifying people at risk next stage in mental-health awareness

In the coming five years, Canadians can expect to see the next stage of awareness around mental health, according  one health expert. “Where we need to build on awareness is…

  • By: Ryan Murphy
  • September 27, 2018 September 13, 2019
  • 09:00
2018 Healthy Outcomes conference: Inspiring change for better health outcomes

2018 Healthy Outcomes conference: Inspiring change for better health outcomes

At Benefits Canada’s 2018 Healthy Outcomes conference in May, industry experts shared valuable insights and best practice tips for taking a tailored approach to employee…