Pensions and Benefits

Negligent misrepresentations during the interview process

January 16, 2019 De Bousquet PC Barristers and Solicitors Employee Relations, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, 0

The BC Court of Appeal decision in Feldstein v. 364 Northern Development Corporation provided employers with a reminder that negligent misrepresentation during the hiring process can prove to be a costly mistake.

employment law, hiring, interviewing, negligent misrepresentation, Pensions and Benefits, recruiting

Wrongful dismissal in Ontario: how do we calculate the value of lost benefits?

December 14, 2018 Vey Willetts LLP Employee Relations, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation, 0

When an employee is fired and not given sufficient notice, a common point of dispute becomes how to properly calculate the lost value of non-monetary benefits.

employment law, lost benefits, non-monetary benefits, pay in lieu of notice, Pensions and Benefits, severance

HRTO: Terminating benefit plans for employees 65 and over is unconstitutional

July 31, 2018 De Bousquet PC Barristers and Solicitors Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation

Talos v Grand Erie District School Board involved an employee whose extended health, dental and life insurance benefits were terminated by his employer, Grand Erie District School Board, when he turned age 65, although he continued to work on a full-time basis.

age discrimination, benefit plans, employment law, group benefit plans, Pensions and Benefits, workplace discrimination based on age

Employee benefits: Government health insurance and employer benefit plans

March 7, 2018 Lisa Stam, Spring Law Payroll, Pensions and Benefits

Health and Dental Benefits are valuable to employees, even in the land of free health care. This is especially true for those employees who have dependants, as benefit plans will typically insure the employee’s family.

employee benefits, employer benefit plans, employment law, government health insurance, Pensions and Benefits

Don’t take a chance on it: The uncertainty of ESA-only termination clauses

July 11, 2017 Occasional Contributors Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

In January 2017, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its decision in Cook v. Hatch upholding a less than perfect termination clause that failed to reference statutory severance pay or provide for continued health benefits during the statutory notice period. A month later, the Court of Appeal responded with its decision in Wood v. Fred Deeley Imports Ltd. where it overturned a motion judge’s ruling upholding a similar termination provision. And so, the age old debate about the enforceability of ESA-only termination provisions rages on.

contract, employment agreement, employment law, ESA entitlements, ESA requirements, Pensions and Benefits, recruiting and hiring, Severance pay, statutory notice period, termination, termination clauses, terms of employment

EI benefits: New parent, more time off and more money?

April 19, 2017 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations

To implement these measures, Budget 2017 proposes to amend the Employment Insurance Act. The Government also proposes to amend the Canada Labour Code to ensure that workers in federally regulated sectors have the job protection they need while they are receiving caregiving, parental or maternity benefits. Workers in provincially regulated sectors will have to wait and see if provincial legislation will also be changed to extend job protection for 18 months. Without job protection, the flexibility to receive EI benefits over a longer period of time will be meaningless.

Budget 2017, Canada labour Code, Caregiving benefits, EI benefits, EI maternity benefits, EI parental benefits, Employment Insurance Act, employment law, Pensions and Benefits

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

August 25, 2016 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Privacy and Security, Training and Development, Union Relations

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: an employee who described their workplace as a “sh*t hole” on Facebook was found to be justly terminated; how to prepare for marijuana legalization in Canada; and a pension and benefit plan provider who breached privacy law, causing an employee to lose life insurance coverage.

drug and alcohol policy, employee conduct on social media, employee personal use of social media, employment contract, employment law, facebook, marijuana legalization, negative comment on Facebook about employer, negative Facebook comments about workplace, Pensions and Benefits, Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, PIPEDA, PIPEDA principles, policies and procedures in the workplace, privacy law, termination, workplace accommodation

Ontario Court of Appeal suggest deference to trial judge in interpretation of termination clause

July 14, 2016 Simon Heath, BA, MIR, LLB, Heath Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Wages and Compensation

The Ontario Court of Appeal weighed in, to some extent, on the hot issue of enforceability of termination clauses in a recent decision. In this case, the clause at issue was written in French. The Applicant argued that the Motion Judge’s interpretation of the clause only referred to “notice” and not “severance” and therefore the termination clause was an unlawful attempt to contract out of the Employment Standards Act because it did not expressly provide for the payment of severance and there are a number of cases suggesting such clauses are void.

employment agreement, employment contract, employment law, employment standards act, enforceability of termination clauses, Notice, Pensions and Benefits, Severance pay, statutory severance pay, summary judgement, Termination clause

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

May 19, 2016 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Training and Development

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: Implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan; a human rights matter that addresses accommodation and mental disability; and a workplace safety and insurance matter that addresses modified work and entitlement to loss of earnings benefits.

accommodation, employment law, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, mental disability, modified work, Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, ORPP, Pensions and Benefits, Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, wsib

Danger ahead: Beware of changes to employment agreements

September 17, 2015 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Wages and Compensation

To appreciate the dangers of varying employment terms, we must start with the foundations of contract law. First, a contract requires that each party receive a benefit (consideration). Second, if the parties agree to a variation of contract, but consideration is not received by both parties, Courts will consider the new contract an “unenforceable unilateral variation”. Third…

compensation, constructive dismissal, employment agreements, employment contact, employment law, employment relationships, health benefits, notice period prior to termination, Pensions and Benefits, providing reasonable notice or pay in lieu thereof, Termination clause, Termination provisions, terms of employment, unilateral change of contract, vacation pay, written contract, wrongful dismissal

Five benefits of workforce analytics that will surprise and delight you

July 23, 2014 PeopleInsight Workforce Analytics Employee Relations, HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources

Today, HR Leaders make use of analytics solutions to realize deeper insight into the workforce in order to fuel evidence-based decisions and improve business outcomes. While the most obvious benefits are related to time savings, dollars saved and earned, percentage changes, and proof of ROI, there are less tangible benefits of workforce analytics that leaders often discover after they have started with their solution.

access to data, accountability and taking action for business problems, achieve business objectives, analytics solutions, and proof of ROI, business outcomes, dollars saved and earned, Empowering managers, HR initiatives and programs, HR leaders, HR metrics, organizational alignment, Pensions and Benefits, percentage changes, tangible benefits of workforce analytics, time savings, workforce analytics

Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

May 16, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with differential treatment in the workplace, how an employee’s dishonesty and breach of confidentiality during a workplace investigation led to termination for cause and how a settlement was easily characterized as a retiring allowance.

Adverse treatment, Disability, discrimination, dishonesty, dismissing for just cause, duty to accommodate, employee’s dismissal, employment law, human rights tribunal, involuntary retirement, just cause, leave of absence, long absence, Pensions and Benefits, retiring allowance, Return to work, settlement, severance payment, tax withholding, termination, terminations, Treating employee negatively, workplace investigation

Canada’s top 100 employers for 2013

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

Bill to protect workers safety at service stations

October 3, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Payroll, Source Deductions and Reporting, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation

A Private Member’s Bill, 124, An Act to amend various statutes with respect to worker safety at service stations was introduced on September 20, 2012, seeking to protect gas station attendant’s safety and their income.

denying entitlement to overtime pay, employment law, employment standards act, fuel theft, Gas and dash, gas station attendant’s safety, Highway traffic act, occupational health and safety act, offence involving the theft of fuel, penalizing employees, Pensions and Benefits, reducing hours of work, service stations, vacation, withholding or deducting wages, worker safety

HR metrics: Linking qualitative and quantitative measurement

September 12, 2012 Ian J Cook Employee Relations, HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation

Last month I promised a description of a metric which starts to take organizations deeper into the insight they need to be successful and to show real results. True to my promise here it is:

description of a metric, employee turnover, headcount, HR, hr analytics, HR metrics, HR practices, inducement, Pensions and Benefits, performance and incentive practices, promotion, qualitative measures, quantitative measures, salaries, top performers, top quartile