workplace
April 26, 2013 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Training and Development,
It’s been a month marred by violence and disruption. In recent days we have witnessed the troubling arrests of alleged terrorists in Toronto and Montreal, the heinous Boston Marathon Bombing, a violent takeover robbery and double-shooting at a Toronto bank, the assault of a Port Coquitlam, BC security guard, and sexual assaults at a Toronto community college to name a few. Each of these incidents had (or would have had) an impact on the workplace.
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March 26, 2013 Stringer LLP Conferences, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development,
You are an employer that has just received a harassment complaint from an employee. The complaint is against a valued employee who you do not want to lose. But you are also worried that you will be faced with an expensive human rights complaint or lawsuit. What do you do?
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January 23, 2013 Michele Glassford Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation,
The New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board recently decided that an employee was entitled to a paid lunch break because he was working on a boat which not only prevented him from leaving the “worksite” for his lunch break, but also left him operating the boat during his lunch and effectively, under the [...]
employer-controlled, employer’s degree of control during the break, employment law, Employment Standards legislation, job responsibilities, Lunch break, lunch breaks are paid or unpaid, Meal break, meal break policies, Rest breaks, specific working conditions, workplace
November 26, 2012 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development,
Just this past month, the acclaimed Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2013 list was released and an editorial was featured in the Globe and Mail. (You can see the full list here) Among the ranks were 3M Canada Co., Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada, Loblaws Cos. Ltd., and Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc. The list is diverse, awarding honours to a mixed bag of firms, from Technip Canada Ltd (124 employees) to Toronto-Dominion Bank (43, 850 employees). While the nature and size vary significantly, one factor remains constant across every organization: employee engagement. Human resource development is at the core of every listed organization’s values, and for good reason; human capital is considered their greatest asset.
Academic scholarship program, boost productivity, Canadas Top 100 Employers, charities, commitment to their employees and their families, employee birthday parties, employee engagement, employees to volunteer and donate, environmental technologies, flexible work hours, human capital, in-house chefs, low-cost perks, Matching donations, On-site daycare, organization’s values, Pensions and Benefits, Perks, post-secondary education, post-secondary institutions, profit sharing program, Promoting health and wellness, provide staff with perks and benefits, recruit and retain top talent, retention, solar energy to a rainwater recovery system, subsidized meals, the best employers, turnover, workplace, workplace culture
October 30, 2012 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources,
Since 1994 The Learning Partnership, a national charitable organization which promotes a strong public education system in Canada, has spearheaded the Take Our Kids to Work (“TOKTW”) program, which is now a Canada-wide program with more than 200,000 Grade 9 (or equivalent) students and over 75,000 employers taking part in 2011. The 2012 TOKTW Day is scheduled for November 7, 2012.
2012, charitable organization, experience real-life workplaces, explore career options, health and safety considerations, importance of staying in school, November 7, parents’ work, public education system, safeguards, Take Our Kids to Work, The Learning Partnership, TOKTW Day, workplace
June 15, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Privacy and Security
Open-plan offices were first introduced in the 1950s and quickly became a popular way of arranging workspaces. Businesses have implemented the open-plan office to save space and money, to foster communication and collaboration, to allow for creative thinking among workers, and for some, to remove the imposed hierarchy (status implications of office type, e.g., the corner office) created by closed office spaces. However, it turns out that sometimes an open plan office means too much communication and a loss of privacy, leading to undesirable effects.
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February 7, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights, Standard for Employment
A January 25, 2012, British research study indicates that people who work 11 or more hours a day have double the odds of becoming depressed compared with those who don’t work overtime. But why is this important for us as employers to know?
depression, employment law, Excessive overtime doubles depression risk, lost work days, mental disorders, mental health issues, Mental illness, overtime, short- and long- term disability, substantial work impairment, work-related stress, working excessive hours, workplace, workplace stress
January 18, 2012 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources
In some cases, business leaders fail to recognize that employee travel falls within the physical scope of workplace activities. In other cases, decision-makers believe that only those travelling to international high-risk destinations require any type of security protection. In most organizations, there is also a gap in knowledge when it comes to travel security, contributing to a lack of risk awareness and fragmented ownership of the function within the organization.
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September 13, 2011 Andrew Lawson Health and Safety, Human Resources
Nova Scotia is a wondrous place full of amazing–and dangerous–places. I visited “Canada’s Ocean Playgound” this summer and came home with a renewed appreciation for labour history and the reality that occupational health and safety missteps often cost workers their lives.
Accidents, Due diligence, employment law, health and safety standards, Miners, Mining, Mining operations, Nova Scotia, occupational health and safety, occupational health and safety act, occupational health and safety missteps often cost workers their lives, policies and procedures, policy, workplace
September 7, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Human Resources
First Reference just had its annual picnic and a good time was had by all. There was lots of food, chats and amusing repartee, and a mean game of croquet! This event, among others,which in practical terms might be characterized as activities to build the culture of the organization or team-building activities, have helped create a community at our workplace and not just a workforce.
communication activities, Corporate culture, corporate events, culture of the organization, employee engagement, HR policies, Leadership development, reward programs, team building activities, workforce, workplace
July 28, 2011 Andrew Taillon Human Resources, Human Rights
On July 7, 2011 the New Brunswick Court of Appeal handed down a decision regarding an employer’s alcohol testing policy. In Irving Pulp and Paper Limited v. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada Local 30, 2011 NBCA 58, the Court found that the random alcohol testing policy in the case was reasonable.
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July 22, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
In a recent Globe and Mail video, author Juliet Schor discusses how reducing work hours might be the answer to some of the problems facing Canada’s workforce. Schor mentions that having employees work shorter hours decreases unemployment rates, lowers greenhouse emissions, and improves quality of life.
career advancement, conflicts between jobs, decreased unemployment rates, employee burnout, financial collapse, Germany, higher quality of life, hours of work, HR, job sharing, lower carbon emissions, minimum wage earners, Netherlands, reduced hours of work, second jobs, time affluent, work-life balance, workforce, working more hours, workplace
July 19, 2011 John Proctor Health and Safety, Human Resources
When an organization gives one of their human resources a task, how often is a risk assessment done? The answer is: it depends. When firefighters are asked to enter a burning building, the person in charge first assesses the risk to his people. When the engineers at the Japanese nuclear plant had to re-enter the facility to prevent a meltdown, a risk assessment was also completed before that. However, when most organizations fly their sales guy to South Africa, or get the young clerk at the gas station to close up the shop at night, rarely do they consider all the risks.
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July 13, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights
Aggression sometimes occurs in the workplace. That is a fact! And when conflicts are left unresolved, employers have employees resigning or taking tremendous amounts of sick leave to deal with these issues, or the aggression crosses the line into assault or battery, or you receive a human rights or occupational health and safety complaint.
aggression, bullying, discrimination, employment law, gender, harassment, harassment free workplace, hostile work environment, Human rights complaint, occupational health and safety complaint, policy and procedures, racial, religious or sexually charged discrimination, training, workplace
I believe smoking (i.e., nicotine) is recognized as an addiction, as Simon mentions, which would engage the question of discrimination. – Jun 18, 9:40 PM
Even though as a non-smoking employer I support the actions of Momentous Corp, I am surprised they have even attempted to take this position, given... – Jun 17, 5:46 PM
Where in Human Rights does it say that smokers are now protected under one of the grounds and if so which ground are they protected... – Jun 17, 3:28 PM
