With Albertans facing higher dental fees than people in other provinces, benefits plans are particularly helpful when it comes to paying their bills. But at Calgary-based tax services provider H&R Block Canada Inc., many employees still found the company’s dental plan’s inadequate for covering the bulk of their dental expenses. “People wanted to see if they still […]
Forget the standard eight-hour workday. An employer in Victoria lets employees work in the office for only five hours a day. Employees at digital marketing agency RingPartner Inc. must be in the office from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but they’re free to decide where, when and how they’ll work the rest of the workday. While […]
Sun Life Financial will be offering plan members on short- and long-term disability leave for depression or anxiety the chance to take part in a study on the impact of pharmacogenetic testing. The insurer is participating in a study that examines the effectiveness of the technology in partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental […]
Benecaid Health Benefits Solutions Inc. is introducing a new online health benefits platform this month. The online app, Honeybee, allows employers to offer their health benefits package through a health-care spending account and allowance account. Under the platform’s defined contribution model, employers allocate funds for each account, allowing employees to choose their own benefits. Honeybee […]
With research showing that Canadian women are at greater risk of experiencing poverty during their senior years, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan is asking policy-makers to address pension risks that leave the group vulnerable to financial instability in retirement. As part of a research series that examines senior poverty in Canada, the pension plan […]
Last February, Vancouver-based iQmetrix Software Development Corp. gave employees a weeklong all-expense paid vacation to Hawaii. Adopting a theme of personal development, the company created a vacation itinerary that incorporated activities for the mind, body and spirit, says Krystal Ho, director of corporate relations. Staff members attended team-building workshops and took part in activities such […]
Canada’s system of parental leave is about to undergo major changes next year as the government moves to allow new parents to take employment insurance benefits for 18 months. But what does parental leave look like in Sweden, a country often praised for offering generous income replacement and encouraging fathers to take an active role […]
An 18-month strike by staff at the Halifax Chronicle Herald is over after the paper and unionized workers reached an agreement that provides for an eight-year employment contract. Following a tentative deal reached last Saturday with the help of a provincially appointed mediator, 94 per cent of the workers voted in favour of ratifying it. The vote came […]
As U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to keep trying to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, how would any change affect employer benefits costs, including Canadian businesses with U.S. operations? Canadian employers that decide to set up shop in the United States will notice a big difference when it comes to benefits costs. In the […]
As several provincial governments seek feedback on their legislative framework for recreational cannabis, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is raising industry concerns about how pricing, taxation and distribution of the drug will work. In letters to the governments of Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario, the organization suggests higher taxation and pricing of recreational cannabis […]