Paid leave from work is the first financial line of defence during a crisis preventing employees from coming to work. For one, it guards against the complexities of having to navigate employment insurance, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. But as the effects of the coronavirus ripple across the […]
Ontario and Alberta are making changes to provincial employment legislation to protect workers who are affected by the coronavirus. In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton proposed amendments to the Employment Standards Act that would provide job-protected leave to employees who are in isolation or quarantine, as well as to those […]
As employers prepare to prevent against the spread of the coronavirus, issues of workplace and public safety will likely take precedent over privacy concerns. Employers have duties under provincial occupational health and safety laws to take all reasonable precautions to protect workers, communicate information about potential hazards and train employees on how to deal with […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association has been conducting weekly calls with its members since mid-January to discuss issues around the ongoing coronavirus crisis, including how insurers can develop messaging and policies to communicate to plan sponsors. “We’ve basically been facilitating weekly calls to say, ‘OK, we have a very fluid situation.’ It changes […]
IKEA Canada is giving wellness days to its employees to support their work-life balance. The wellness days, introduced in January, can be used for when employees have personal needs, such as appointments, illnesses or injuries, taking care of a family member, dealing with personal emergencies, volunteering at or taking part in a community event, weather-related events, […]
Scotiabank is expanding its maternity and parental leave top-up pay for Canadian employees and providing access to a virtual health-care program. Eligible employees will receive six weeks of parental leave top-up pay at 100 per cent of salary, which supplements employment insurance maternity and parental benefits. As such, birth mothers will receive 12 weeks of […]
A former federal government employee is launching a proposed $10-million class action lawsuit against Sun Life over how the insurer calculated cost-of-living increases on long-term disability benefits payments. The claim, filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by Ottawa law firm Connolly Obagi LLP, alleges Sun Life willfully miscalculated the cost-of-living increases incorrectly for Giulia Belec, the […]
An Ontario group benefits advisor is calling on Canadian insurers to change a long-term disability practice that adversely affects employees at small companies. Dave Patriarche, president of Mainstay Insurance Brokerage Inc. and founder of the Canadian Group Insurance Brokers, is asking Canada’s major insurers to make a small administrative change that would ensure employees at […]
Since my last two editorials have targeted issues around pension plan design and retirement readiness, I’m balancing things out this month by turning my attention to benefits. Fortunately, I have strong opinions on the topic of this month’s cover story. Since I joined Benefits Canada four years ago, I’ve noticed that paramedical benefits — and […]
Historically, Epcor Utilities Inc. provided employees with $1,000 in annual coverage for each paramedical service, ranging from massage therapists, physiotherapists and chiropractors to speech therapists, naturopaths and dieticians. But in 2018, the Edmonton-based utilities company looked at its annual paramedical costs and found its massage therapy spend had ballooned to nearly match the cost of […]