More than two-thirds (70 per cent) of U.S. small- and medium-sized employers that offer parental leave are providing the same leave option to all employees, according to a new survey by Hub International Ltd. The survey, which polled more than 500 employers, found 26 per cent provide paid parental leave, up from 23 per cent […]
More than half (54 per cent) of Canadian benefits plan members currently live with at least one diagnosed chronic health condition, according to the 2023 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. It found the top current diagnoses were a mental-health condition such as depression or anxiety (18 per cent), high cholesterol (12 per cent), arthritis (12 per […]
Every time I sit down to write my editorial for our annual Women’s Issue, now in its sixth year, the themes these issues highlight for women feel extremely personal to me. This year is no different. In this year’s Cover Story, on page 14, six women between the ages of 22 and 53 shared how […]
An article on the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ new risk management guideline was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. CAPSA’s risk management guideline adaptable to changes in cybersecurity, ESG: webinar 2. How hybrid workplaces and employees can navigate flu season 3. Canadian employers say competing […]
After years of viewing diversity, equity and inclusion as a side-of-the-desk issue, Canadian employers are increasingly considering it a top priority and integrating their organizational DEI goals into their benefits plans. While employers have been introducing DEI initiatives for years, incorporating these goals into benefits plans had been neglected, according to multiple panellists during Benefits Canada’s […]
By March 2021, nearly half a million Canadian women who lost their jobs during the pandemic still hadn’t returned to work by the beginning of that year, according to data from the Royal Bank of Canada. It also found more than 200,000 women had slipped into the ranks of the long-term unemployed, a threefold increase […]
When Jessica Charbonneau decided to have a child through assisted reproduction a few years ago, it wasn’t cheap, but her employer helped shoulder some of the costs. Charbonneau, a 36-year-old student affairs case manager at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus, started with intrauterine insemination, spending a total of $15,000 for six rounds. The university’s […]
While many workplaces have shifted to hybrid arrangements coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, employment experts say workers should be cautious about using that added flexibility to work from home when feeling sick. It’s a situation that some observers of remote working trends predict could become more prevalent as companies increasingly make their hybrid arrangements […]
Roughly half of online gig workers across the globe don’t have a retirement plan, a percentage that increases among Venezuelan (73 per cent) and Nigerian (75 per cent) workers, according to a new report by the World Bank Group. The report, based on surveys across 17 countries, found online gig work is growing globally, particularly in the developing world, creating an important […]
The union representing 3,700 frontline grocery workers at 27 Metro Inc. stores across the Greater Toronto Area has ratified a collective agreement that includes pension and benefits gains. The agreement was reached following a month-long strike by workers at the 27 stores. It includes an enhanced future service pension credit for full-time workers, increasing by $2 to […]