corporate social responsibility

Supreme Court of Canada cracks open the door for international human rights tort claims in Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya

April 3, 2020 Employer Advisor, McCarthy Tétrault LLP Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, International HR Law, 0

Although the majority decision in this case does not definitively establish the existence of torts based on international human rights violations in Canadian courts, the reasons represent a significant leap in judicial thinking on the responsibilities and liability of Canadians corporations who operate internationally in jurisdictions where human rights abuses may occur.

act of state doctrine, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, corporate social responsibility, crimes against humanity, customary international law, employment law, international human rights, violation of international norms

Fostering a culture of gender diversity through human capital practices

March 6, 2017 Marcia Scheffler Employee Relations, HR Analytics, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation

Is your organization using the best human capital practices to harness the value of gender diversity at senior leadership levels, including on boards and executive committees? If you are an HR professional or a senior leader in your organization, use this information to #BeBoldForChange on International Women’s Day 2017! Put gender on your agenda!

corporate social responsibility, employment law, female leadership, female leadership in the workplace, gender biases, gender diversity, gender diversity in the workplace, gender equality in the workforce, gender metrics, gender parity in the workplace, human capital, human capital practices, International Women's Day, women in leadership

Earth Day and Water Day 2016: Ensuring corporate social responsibility when it comes to protecting the environment

April 21, 2016 Cristina Lavecchia Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development

In light of Earth Day (celebrated annually on April 22) and World Water Day (celebrated annually on March 22), we thought we would provide employers with a background on the internationally observed days, as well as discuss what can be done to ensure their business is operated in an economically, socially, and environmentally responsible way.

corporate social responsibility, CSR, Earth Day, employment law, environmental issues, Farming, Paris Agreement on Climate Change, UN, United Nations, World Water Day, World Water Development Report 2016

Fostering gold medal performances in your organization

February 24, 2014 Marcia Scheffler Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation

It’s been hard to miss the Olympics, and face it, who would have wanted to miss the exhilarating, elegant and extreme gold medal performances of the 2014 Sochi Olympics! Canadian athletes came out on top of the podium in multiple events including the nail-biting women’s gold medal hockey final and Alex Biloudeau’s flawless repeat gold medal run in moguls skiing. Russia had some incredible performances in figure skating from both an aging star and an emerging one in the team skate event. Both Canada and Russia performed very well in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

2014 Sochi Olympics, Broad human resources issues, compensation plan, Corporate culture, corporate social responsibility, Corporate Values, culture of the organization, Fostering transformation at the organizational level, HR issues, leadership, organizational behaviour, organizational development, organizational practices, performance, performance management, sustainable business initiatives, training and development, workplace culture, workplace organizational behaviour

Could these counterintuitive policies work for your company?

July 11, 2012 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources

Flexible scheduling, telecommuting, broad benefit plans, and so on can hardly be considered unorthodox anymore. But what about increasingly creative efforts to make and keep employees happy? It’s old news that Google’s offices feature games, free food and massages in a casual and comfortable atmosphere. Many others have followed suit. Take a look at these counterintuitive employment policies.

alternative work arrangements, babies and work, community service, corporate social responsibility, counterintuitive policies, CSR, employee retention, employment law, employment policies, flexible scheduling, flexible work arrangements, Google, horizontal hierarchy, maternity buddies, no vacation policy, open source, paying employees to quit, sabbatical, telecommuting, tuition reimbursement, unlimited sick days

Summertime, social committees and corporate social responsibility

June 12, 2012 Marcia Scheffler Employee Relations, Human Resources

Summer weather is here and as a human resources manager or a front-line manager you may be asked to be responsible for coordinating social or charitable activities, such as the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Big Bike, the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life teams, the summer strawberry social or an employee barbecue. How important is good management of social committees or charitable activities? What are the associated risks and rewards for an organization?

charitable activities, control over work, corporate social responsibility, CSR, employee empowerment, employee morale, employment law, ESG, inappropriate conduct, negative perception, negative publicity, social committee, social media, workplace events

Make AODA training count for more than compliance

April 18, 2012 Marcia Scheffler Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Human Resources, Integrated Accessibility Regulation, Standard for Customer Service, Training and Development

The best employers and proactive HR managers will go beyond just meeting the AODA training requirements. You can make the greatest impact for your employees and for your organization by using your AODA training as tool for increasing employee engagement. One way to do this is to carefully design and promote your organization’s AODA program as socially responsible corporate behaviour rather than simply as a compliance-driven reaction…

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, AODA Compliance, AODA standards, AODA training, best practices, corporate social responsibility, CSR, employee engagement, employment law, return on investment

Introducing guest blogger Marcia Scheffler

March 20, 2012 Adam Gorley Announcements and Administration, Human Resources, Payroll

We are happy to welcome Marcia Scheffler to our roster of regular bloggers at First Reference Talks.

best practices, business strategy, change management, corporate social responsibility, CSR, HR issues, Marcia Scheffler, organizational development

Slaw: Federal government launches workplace mental health standards initiative

June 23, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights

Since the economic burden of mental disorders in Canada has been estimated at $51-billion per year, with almost $20-billion of that coming from workplace losses, the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has launched a collaborative project with the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ) and the standards division of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA Standards) to create a voluntary national standard for mentally healthy workplaces. The standard aims to…

Bureau de normalisation du Québec, Canadian Standards Association, corporate social responsibility, Disability, Employers facing a perfect storm of mental illness liability, employment law, Health Canada, HRSDC, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, mental health, Mental Health Commission of Canada, Mental Injury and the Law in Canada, national standard, psychological health and safety, Public Health Agency of Canada, Stress at Work, workplace mental health, workplace mental health standards initiative

New guide to CSR for small and medium businesses

January 13, 2011 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Human Resources

A business research centre at Cardiff University, Wales, has teamed up with the British arm of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to release a new guide on corporate social responsibility (CSR) for small and medium-sized businesses, called The ABC of CSR for small and medium enterprises. If you don’t mind the Welsh, and can handle reading “programme” instead of “program”, then you might find this guide offers some valuable lessons.

Absenteeism, corporate social responsibility, CSR, efficiency, employee retention, motivation, reputation, strategy, sustainability

Employer branding: a hot topic?

December 3, 2009 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring

I recently read an interesting blog post on Brand For Talent. The author, Libby Sartain, says that organizations across the globe are struggling with their reputations as employers. Those employers need to engage their workers as fans, while reaching out for new workers as the economy begins its turnaround. She also asks: is there a difference between corporate branding and employer branding? Well, according to Sartain, there is. While companies such as Apple and Nike are able to rely on the power and strength of their corporate brand to attract talent, this is not the case for companies with less powerful brands.

50 best employers in canada, best diversity employers, brand for talent, communicating, communication, compliance, Corporate branding, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, employee engagement, employee retention, Employer brand, Employer branding, employer of choice, employment law, great place to work, human capital, Human Resources, Internal Controls, productivity, recruiting, recruitment, Top 100 employers, worker engagement