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Changes to employment status, high-risk jobs affecting Canadians’ anxiety levels: survey

Changes to employment status, high-risk jobs affecting Canadians’ anxiety levels: survey

A quarter (26 per cent) of Canadians indicated moderate to severe anxiety levels, 23 per cent said they felt lonely occasionally or most of the…

  • By: Staff
  • June 2, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:15
MPAC supporting staff mental health during pandemic with leader chats

MPAC supporting staff mental health during pandemic with leader chats

The Municipal Property Assessment Corp. is hosting a series of virtual leader chats to help its employees manage the mental-health challenges of the coronavirus pandemic…

Ontario amending employment standards to make temporary layoffs part of new emergency leave

The Ontario government is amending the Employment Standards Act to make temporary layoffs which occurred after March 1, 2020, part of new emergency leave provisions…

How to energize employees using virtual wellness

How to energize employees using virtual wellness

There’s no question that COVID-19 has disrupted usual work-life routines. The need to work from home, self-isolate and quarantine can have significant impacts on the…

PMPRB to publish new draft guidelines, open up final consultation

PMPRB to publish new draft guidelines, open up final consultation

The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board will publish a new draft of its guidelines on June 15, followed by a written consultation period for 30…

  • By: Staff
  • June 1, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:30
How will health practitioners reopening affect benefits plans?

How will health practitioners reopening affect benefits plans?

The Ontario government is giving health-care providers, including dentists, massage therapists, optometrists and psychologists, the green light to gradually reopen their practices. The order from the province’s chief…

Employees still in work with reduced salaries highest on mental-health index

Employees still in work with reduced salaries highest on mental-health index

While Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s latest mental-health index had the same score — a negative 12-point decline from the pre-coronavirus pandemic benchmark of 75 — as…

  • By: Staff
  • June 1, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:00
U.S. employers maintaining health benefits, considering other cost-cutting measures: survey

How the coronavirus pandemic’s new normal is shaping total rewards

In the group benefits world, the first rumblings of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic came when plan sponsors started asking, as early as January,…

Sun Life adding mental-health navigator for benefits plan members

Sun Life adding mental-health navigator for benefits plan members

Sun Life is making a mental-health navigator available to plan members, aiming to help them find support during the coronavirus pandemic. The navigator, provided by Teladoc…

  • By: Staff
  • May 28, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 09:00
Google to pay work-from-home allowance to all global employees

Google to pay work-from-home allowance to all global employees

With the expectation that most of its workers will be working from home for the rest of 2020, Google is giving all of its global…

  • By: Staff
  • May 27, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:15
Manulife giving 35,000 staff day off as thank you

Manulife giving 35,000 staff day off as thank you

Manulife Financial and its subsidiary John Hancock are giving their more than 35,000 employees a day off on Friday to say thank you for all…

  • By: Staff
  • May 27, 2020 November 12, 2020
  • 15:00
Employers can’t use SUB plans to top up employees laid off due to pandemic

Employers can’t use SUB plans to top up employees laid off due to pandemic

Employers with registered supplemental unemployment benefit plans aren’t able to use them to top up laid-off employees who are receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.…

Green Shield Canada investing in pharmacogenetics company

Green Shield Canada is investing in Canadian pharmacogenetics company GenXys Health Care Systems. The two companies will be collaborating on new pharmacogenetic products, which are…

  • By: Staff
  • May 26, 2020 November 24, 2020
  • 15:20

Top 5 HR, benefits, pensions and investment stories of the week

An article on the Ontario Court of Appeal’s affirmation of a $1.5 million punitive damages award was the most-read article on BenefitsCanada.com this week. Here are the…

  • By: Staff
  • February 9, 2024 February 8, 2024
  • 09:00

Court of Appeal upholds $1.5 million punitive damages award in LTD claims case

The Ontario Court of Appeal’s affirmation of a $1.5 million punitive damages award — reportedly the largest award of its kind in a Canadian long-term…

Manulife, Loblaw deal to deliver specialty drugs sparks access, competition concerns

Some pharmacare policy experts are raising concerns about competition and patient access to much-needed medication after Manulife Financial Corp. announced its coverage of certain prescription…

2024 Workplace Benefits Awards now open for entries

Is your organization leading the way in transforming policies and programs to meet the evolving needs of employees? Are you stepping up your financial wellness…

  • By: Staff
  • April 30, 2024 April 30, 2024
  • 09:00

Expert panel: How employers can support neurodiverse workers through benefits, workplace policies

Canadian employers have taken important steps forward on a range of diversity, equity and inclusion matters. That work continues, particularly in the context of neurodiversity,…

Editorial: Turning challenge into opportunity

As I write this column, I’m reflecting on the spectrum of weather I’ve witnessed this past winter. From my office window in southwestern Ontario, I…

New incentives could boost satisfaction with in-person work, but few employers are making changes

Justin Ryan Horton has two jobs. When he’s not working 24-hour shifts as a firefighter, he’s working as an administrative assistant for a local community…

U.S. government launching initiative to encourage more employee ownership

The U.S. Department of Labor is launching an employee ownership initiative to encourage more employers and employees to take advantage of these opportunities. The new…

  • By: Staff
  • July 26, 2023 July 25, 2023
  • 09:00

Report finds DEI increasingly important in talent attraction, retention efforts

While more than two-thirds (69 per cent) of employers say the macroeconomic environment is negatively impacting recruitment, three-quarters (74 per cent) say it hasn’t reduced…

  • By: Staff
  • April 11, 2023 April 10, 2023
  • 09:00