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 2016, leading to changes that solidified its win for best absence management program at Benefits Canada’s 2018 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 11. Working with many stakeholders, including unions, human resources […]
Whether considering age eligibility or policy wording, recent rulings for employees in a pair of Ontario cases are reminders to employers to review their long-term disability offerings. When I’m 65 Ontario employers may no longer have the option to reduce or eliminate health and life insurance benefits for employees aged 65 or older, following the […]
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, called EmployerWorks, aims to streamline and standardize the collection, communication and analysis of “physical, cognitive and psychosocial demands tied to risk assessment and return to work efforts,” according to a press […]
Among Canadians who have missed work due to disability, 30 per cent cited mental illness, according to a new survey by RBC Insurance. The survey, which questioned about 1,500 Canadians, found that while 65 per cent of respondents, respectively, view physical accidents and multiple sclerosis as disabilities, about half (47 per cent) cited depression as a disability, […]
Rural and suburban postal workers across the country celebrated Thursday after an arbitrator ordered Canada Post to pay them more — much more — as part of a long-awaited pay equity decision. For a majority of the Crown agency’s mostly-female rural and suburban carriers, known as RSMCs, the ruling translates into a 25-per-cent pay hike, plus some increased […]
An Ontario court is allowing a terminated employee to continue with an action for long-term disability benefits despite signing a document that released such claims. When Joe Swampillai was terminated, he was pursuing an appeal for the denial of his benefits against his employer, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co. of Canada, and against Sun Life […]
A lack of benefits, including medical, dental and disability, is the biggest challenge of working in the gig economy, according to a new survey by BMO Wealth Management. Among 1,000 Canadian small business owners surveyed, 69 per cent said a lack of medical, dental or disability benefits is the largest financial downside to working in the gig economy. Broken down by age group, 87 […]
Federal officials overseeing billions in benefit payments to millions of Canadians are hoping artificial intelligence can resolve ongoing snags in the system. The government is looking to “push the boundaries” of what artificial intelligence can do to improve a variety of services, including the pace of benefit decisions to Canadians applying for disability pensions, say […]
Novus Health is partnering with iA Financial Group to provide employers with health and wellness tools for their plan members. “For many Canadians, health literacy remains a challenge: it can be overwhelming to navigate Canada’s complex health-care systems and understand their options,” said Novus Health in a press release. “What’s more, when searching online for answers to […]
The Great-West Life Assurance Co. has partnered with Morneau Shepell Ltd. to offer web-based cognitive behavioural therapy to plan members receiving disability benefits for a mental-health condition. The program became available on June 4 to employers in Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Halifax, St. John’s and those cities’ surrounding areas, with plans expand the offering to the rest […]