Expanded leave of absence entitlements in British Columbia, including parental and compassionate leave, took effect at the end of May. The changes to the province’s Employment Standards Act allow mothers to start their maternity leave as early as 13 weeks before their expected due date, which is up from the previous 11 weeks. The province also […]
Life doesn’t always happen outside of business hours. Everyone experiences the challenges of managing elements of their personal lives while being physically and mentally present at work. Employers understand the importance of helping their workers manage work and life obligations, and many have policies and practices in place to help them attain that balance. In many ways, […]
The #MeToo movement may have given national prominence to the issue of sexual misconduct on Parliament Hill, but some of the responses to a recent Canadian Press survey suggest bullying and exploitation of those who work for political bosses are largely unexamined problems. “Sexual harassment happens and is devastating to those that experience it, but […]
Though Canada has only two statutory religious holidays, Christmas Day and Good Friday, some Canadian employees may be seeking to take time off for other religious holy days. So how are employers required to accommodate them? Ontario’s Human Rights Commission notes “employers have a duty to accommodate an employee’s creed to the point of undue hardship, […]
The province of Ontario is tackling pay transparency by introducing legislation that requires employers to track and publish information about compensation in their organizations. The proposed legislation, if passed, will require all publicly advertised job postings to include a range or rate of salary, prohibit employers from inquiring about a job candidate’s past compensation and prohibit reprisals against employees who […]
The new five-week parental sharing benefit announced in the 2018 federal budget is causing some concern among employers. Commenting on Benefits Canada’s website, Asha Mohammed, director of human resources and payroll at Centennial College’s Tribute Communities, asked: “Why a new leave again? This is such an expense to employers who are already stressed with all the leaves.” Dan Kelly, […]
In its 2018 budget on Tuesday, the federal government confirmed it would introduce a new five-week incentive for second parents to take parental leave. The use-it-or-lose-it employment insurance parental sharing benefit, which will take effect in June 2019, will be available to eligible two-parent families, including adoptive and same-sex couples, to take at any point following the arrival of […]
The upcoming federal budget will include a five-week, use-it-or-lose-it incentive for new dads to take parental leave and share the responsibilities of raising their young child, The Canadian Press has learned. In recent days, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has mused about just such an additional parental leave for the second parent. Read: How to bridge the […]
The Liberal government wants its proposed stricter rules to crack down on harassment in federal workplaces to reflect the fact that colleagues no longer restrict their interactions to daytime hours at the office. “We know that those boundaries are very blurry and especially in workplaces like ours,” Labour Minister Patty Hajdu said Monday after appearing […]
A recent court decision in Ontario serves as a reminder to employers to tread carefully when it comes to mass terminations. In the recent decision, Wood v. CTS of Canada Co., the Mississauga, Ont.-based employer was permanently closing a facility and provided a lengthy working notice of termination to 77 affected employees. However, the Ontario Superior Court […]