workplace policies

Just Cause – Workplace policies remain an important consideration in judicial decision making

August 14, 2018 Devan Marr Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Training and Development

Several factors worked against the employer in this case of just cause termination, but most significantly was the lack of robust written policies and procedures on discipline and proper employee training on harassment.

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11 HR policies you need right now for legal compliance

April 27, 2017 Adam Gorley Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Standard for Employment, Wages and Compensation

I learned a new way of looking at policies recently. The standard ways that you do things at your workplace, how you treat and manage your employees, your day-to-day practices—these are your HR policies and procedures, regardless of whether you’ve written them down or not.

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Family Day in British Columbia, February 13

February 10, 2017 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

In British Columbia, Family Day is a statutory (public) holiday that is celebrated the second Monday in February each year. On Monday, February 13, 2017, British Columbians will be celebrating their fifth Family Day.

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Online HR resources: Tips for more effective use

November 9, 2016 Lisa Stam, Spring Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR and Technology, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Training and Development, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

Why reinvent the wheel? Drafting employment contracts, policies, termination letters and releases based on a past precedent is often a good place to start. It is usually both time and cost efficient, and for someone unfamiliar with the document, it’s a great learning opportunity. When using a precedent or online resource, here are the top 3 tips to ensure the document is legally enforceable in your workplace.

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Little judicial tolerance for zero tolerance policies

September 2, 2016 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Training and Development, Union Relations

Employers often adopt zero tolerance policies and assume that doing so will give them the right to immediately fire someone for a breach. These are often used for transgressions that are considered particularly egregious, such as harassment. Although we consistently advise employers to address misconduct such as harassment and make it clear that such behaviour is unacceptable, the reality is that courts will not be bound by zero tolerance policies and will conduct their own assessment of whether summary dismissal is warranted. Saying that “we have a zero tolerance policy” will not be the end of the story.

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Definition of disability and the Ontario Human Rights Commission

July 29, 2016 Christopher Lytle MA CDS Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Recruiting and Hiring, Standard for Customer Service, Standard for Employment, Standard for Information and Communications, Training and Development

When creating policies that make statements about accessibility, attempts should be made to view disability as a social system instead of a schedule of impairments in order to align an organization’s forward movement with principles of Human Rights. Also, the time is long past due for an evaluation of how intersecting identities can create unique accessibility and accommodation needs.

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February 8 deemed Family Day in British Columbia

February 4, 2016 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

Family Day is a statutory (public) holiday that is celebrated, in British Columbia (BC), the second Monday in February each year. In 2016, Monday, February 8 has been deemed Family Day in BC.

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Putting employee handbooks in their proper organizational context

August 18, 2015 Marcia Scheffler Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Union Relations

Does your organization have an employee handbook? Are you thinking about creating one? Do employees and managers have questions or conflicting beliefs about your current handbook? The following overview discusses what an employee handbook is not, highlights the key purpose of an effective handbook and outlines some tips for effective employee handbooks.

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Differentiated discipline in the workplace

June 9, 2015 Devry Smith Frank LLP Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Union Relations

In a recent decision in an Ontario labour arbitration, at issue was a fight that broke out amongst a few employees. The employer terminated all of those employees that were involved in the fight citing that they had violated the company policy by participating in such aggressive behaviour.

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Terminated casino dealer twice lucky in court

March 31, 2015 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation

Mike Majewski’s profane outburst at his co-worker John Maracle was not sufficient cause for termination on its own or as a cumulative event, Ontario’s Small Claims Court recently decided—for the second time.

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Zero tolerance for zero tolerance policies

November 3, 2014 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Union Relations

Rarely has a phrase been so well-intentioned yet so fraught with pitfalls as “zero tolerance”.

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New leaves coming under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act

May 20, 2014 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

On April 29, 2014, Bill 21, the Employment Standards Amendments Act (Leaves to Help Families), 2014, received royal assent and will come into force six months after assent, on October 29, 2014.

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HR policies as prevention

August 7, 2013 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Union Relations

At a conference a few years back, there was a session about steps an employer can legally take to oppose a union organizing campaign. I recall my initial reaction to the topic was once a union organizing campaign begins, “it’s too late”. I believe that most union organizing is borne of long-time employee dissatisfaction and insecurity regarding working conditions and management. While there may be some workplaces where union organization results from a political ideology, in most cases, few employees would sign up for the paying of union dues if they did not see the union as an answer to substandard or uncertain workplace policies.

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Learn the latest! — What you need to know about the new voluntary workplace mental health standard

June 3, 2013 Stringer LLP Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Integrated Accessibility Regulation, Privacy and Security, Standard for Employment, Training and Development

The Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace – Prevention, promotion and guidance to staged implementation was released by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the Bureau de Normalization du Québec and the Canadian Standards Association on January 16, 2013. The Standard provides employers with a framework to develop and sustain a psychologically healthy and safe workplace, through the identification and elimination of hazards in the workplace, the assessment and control of the risks in the workplace, the implementation of structures and practices to facilitate psychological health, and the fostering of a workplace culture that promotes psychological well-being.

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OLRB rules that Ontario employer liable for failing to comply with Bill 168

March 19, 2013 Simon Heath, BA, MIR, LLB, Heath Law Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Union Relations

The Ontario Labour Relations Board has recently found a Company to be in breach of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to comply with its duties under the workplace violence and harassment provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (section 32) (formerly Bill 168).

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