With the adoption of new regulations in 2022, Australia is leading the way in the global movement to enhance rules around psychosocial hazards in the workplace to align with physical safety hazards. The movement is driven by escalating benefits costs and lost productivity since psychosocial risks — defined as causing psychosocial or physical harm — […]
The construction services company’s director of mental health discusses bringing psychological health and safety to an industry she grew up in, women’s health and road trips with her senior dog. Q: What new programs or initiatives are you looking to implement? A: At the end of 2025, we launched company-wide mental-health compliance training to raise […]
While more than half (57 per cent) of Canadian women agree that International Women’s Day initiatives can have a meaningful impact in the workplace, 64 per cent believe employers treat the day as a celebration rather than an opportunity to assess how they support women, according to a new survey by Benchmark Benefits Solutions Inc. […]
London Drugs is supporting employee well-being through several mental-health training programs. Through a mobile app, the pharmacy chain offers employees group and individual learning sessions that focus on resilience in the workplace. Kristi Loewen, manager of employee relations, says the decision to offer the program was inspired by the challenges that employees faced during the […]
Glucagon-like peptide-1 therapies remain a major cost driver of employer-sponsored drug plans and will further contribute to costs as they become approved for uses beyond managing obesity and diabetes, according to a new report by Alberta Blue Cross. The report, which reviewed more than 440 new drug and supplemental submissions made to Health Canada in […]
Alberta’s recently-passed Bill 11 allows employers to offer employees access to private health services through their benefits plans and protects older employees from losing employer-sponsored health benefits solely based on age. Under the legislation, physicians and surgeons are now allowed work in both the public system and private-pay market. The legislation won’t apply to primary […]
An article on the impact of a discrimination lawsuit against a bureau of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. was the most-read article on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. Discrimination lawsuit underscores reputational, accommodation risks for employers: expert 2. Heated rivalry […]
Nearly three-quarters of employers (73 per cent) say their day-to-day human resources responsibilities have increased over the past few years, prompting them to seek streamlined benefits solutions, according to a new survey by the Hartford. The survey of 500 U.S. employers found 64 per cent of HR professionals said managing multiple benefits carriers is challenging. […]
GreenShield Canada is acquiring Kii Health’s Canadian mental-health services segment. The acquisition encompasses Kii’s employee assistance program, student assistance program, cognitive behavioural therapy associates and internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy services. Read: 2025 Healthy Outcomes Conference: How payor, provider integration can improve plan member health outcomes In addition to expanding its mental-health offerings, GreenShield will also expand […]
An Ontario court approved Wednesday the creation of a $250,000 hardship fund for former employees of Hudson’s Bay Co. as well as $5 million in collective payments to ex-HBC staff who were set to lose their long-term disability benefits. The hardship fund is targeted at workers and retirees who have been having trouble paying expenses […]