workplace policies
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.
Due diligence, employee handbook, employment law, HR policies and procedures, HR policy manual, informal policies, legal compliance, legally required policies, workplace policies
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.
average day’s pay, Day off with pay, employment law, Family day, Family Day in British Columbia, floater day, Public Holiday, Statutory Holiday, Time off with pay, workplace policies
November 9, 2016 Lisa Stam 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.
benefits upon termination, Employee vs. independent contractor, employment contracts, employment law, employment standards act, HR issues, HR resources, online HR resources, termination letters, workplace policies
September 2, 2016 Stuart Rudner 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.
address employee misconduct, dismissal using contextual approach, employment law, justify summary dismissal, Laws v. London Chronicle, McKinley v. BC Tel, R. v. Arthurs, summary dismissal, Turner v. Mason, workplace policies, “zero-tolerance” policy
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.
accessibility, accessibility in the workplace, accommodation, definition of disability, Disability, disability and accessibility needs, employment law, human rights, OHRC, Ontario Human Rights Code, Ontario human rights commission, universal symbol for accessibility, workplace accommodation, workplace policies
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.
average day’s pay, Day off with pay, Family day, Family Day in British Columbia, floater day, Public Holiday, Statutory Holiday, substitute day off with pay, Time off with pay, workplace policies
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.
company policies and procedures, employee handbook, employee handbook vs employment contract, Employee policy manual, employmee handbook vs operations manual, enforceability of employee handbooks, HR policies and procedures, HR policy manual, Human Resources PolicyPro, workplace policies
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.
Blanket punishment, company policy, Corrective measures, Disciplinary measures, discipline, employment law, Labour Law, let the punishment fit the crime, Ontario labour arbitration, workplace policies, workplace violence
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.
cumulative just cause, Disciplinary measures, employee has engaged in misconduct, employee’s use of profanity, employer's policy manual, employment law, employment relationship, last-straw incident, performance evaluations, profanity, progressive discipline, terminations, workplace policies, wrongful dismissal
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”.
bullying, employment law, grieving his termination, HR policies, human resources policies, labour arbitration, legal pitfalls, Policy makers and bureaucrats, racism, verbal harassment, workplace harassment, workplace policies, workplace violence, zero tolerance, zero tolerance policies
May 20, 2014 Yosie Saint-Cyr 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.
Bill 21, Crime-related child death or disappearance leave, critically ill child, EI benefits, employee leaves of absence, Employment Insurance Act, employment insurance compassionate care benefits, employment law, employment standards act, Family Caregiver Leave, Federal Income Support grant, Helping Families in Need Act, HR policies and procedures, job-protected leaves, Leaves of absence, Leaves to help families, medical certificate, policies and procedures, qualified health practitioner, statutory leave, Statutory leaves, the Employment Standards Amendments Act, workplace policies
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.
canadian employment law, Collective Bargaining, employee dissatisfaction, employee handbook, employment law, HR Law, HR policies, human resources policy manual, Human Resources PolicyPro, management, policies and procedures, union organization, union organizing campaign, working conditions, workplace policies
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.
2013 Employment Law Conference, assessment and control of the risks in the workplace, Bureau de Normalization du Québec, Canadian Standards Association, duty to accommodate mental disabilities, employment law, employment lawyer Landon Young, hazards in the workplace, health and safety management system, HR conference, implementation of structures and practices to facilitate psychological health, Mental Health Commission of Canada, policies and procedures, psychological well-being, psychologically healthy and safe workplace, Reporting and investigations process, Risk mitigation, voluntary workplace mental health standard, workplace policies
March 19, 2013 Simon Heath 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).
appropriate policies, appropriate training to managers and employees, Bill 168, breached the OHSA, Conduct risk assessments, employer liable, employment law, grievance, internal complaint, investigation procedure, occupational health and safety act, Ontario Labour Relations Board, physically assaulted, policies and procedures, prevent workplace violence and harassment, threatened physical violence and death, union, violence and harassment policies, Violence and Harassment Programs, workplace policies, workplace violence and harassment provisions
November 2, 2012 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources
With the holiday season fast approaching, employers are consistently reminded of the additional risks and liabilities which may result from an employer-sponsored holiday event. Nevertheless, holiday parties and events are often considered to be an essential “benefit” expected by employees.
Alcohol in the workplace, company sponsored event, conduct and behaviour, employer serves alcohol at an employer social event, employer social functions, employer-sponsored events, employer-sponsored social event, employment law, harassment, holiday parties and events, HR issues, Human Resources PolicyPro, Policy and procedure, policy manual, Responsibilities of employers during a company hosted party, risk of liability, risks and liabilities, The do's and don'ts of company-sponsored events, workplace harassment, Workplace holiday parties, workplace policies
