managing absenteeism

No perfect attendance bonus to employee on workers’ compensation leave of absence

May 5, 2014 Employer Advisor, McCarthy Tétrault LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

Managing absenteeism and dealing with the associated costs are among the most difficult things employers face. Accordingly, many employers try to incentivize employees to improve their attendance by providing bonuses based on meeting attendance thresholds. Seems simple enough. However, what if an employee is off work on a disability leave? That employee is off work through no fault of his/her own yet otherwise had perfect attendance. Should such an employee be able to claim the attendance bonus?

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

November 14, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, HR Analytics, HR Policies and Procedures, HRMS, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with expanding their disability management programs; a zero tolerance approach to a grievance arising from a case of sexual harassment and assault; and the Canada Pension Plan 2014 contribution rates,

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Return to work and the duty to accommodate in non-WSIB cases

September 27, 2013 Marcia Scheffler Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Training and Development

So your employee is off work again for the third time this year, you have no idea when they are coming back and their physician’s note is a vague cipher. It is not a work injury, so you know you don’t have to worry about WSIB, but it is a staffing issue for your organization and a serious concern. What should you do?

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

September 26, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with the legal implications in drafting a bonus plan, understanding public-private sector differences in work absences and updated rules for electronically filing records of employment.

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

December 13, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Source Deductions and Reporting, Standard for Employment

The three most popular HRinfodesk articles this week deal with managing short-term absences, what’s new for payroll 2013, and alleged termination for expressing religious and political views.

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Sick days or personal days?

November 3, 2011 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

Employers are often at a loss as to how to ensure employees who take sick days are really sick and not simply abusing the system. They are often scared to ask for doctor’s notes, but also scared that if they don’t, the abuse will become rampant. I often encourage employers to consider abandoning the notion of sick days altogether, and simply provide a fixed number of “personal days”, which eliminates the implicit or explicit requirement that an individual be sick in order to have time off.

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Disability management: Ignoring employee absences may prove costly for organizations

July 7, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor HRMS, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits

A while back, the Conference Board of Canada came out with a study that found while workplace absenteeism continues to rise, Canadian employers take a “relaxed” approach to tracking employee absences and measuring their cost. According to the study, the absenteeism rate has been increasing steadily in the past decade, rising to 6.6 days per full-time employee in 2008–09 from 5.7 days in 2000–01, the most recent fiscal year. This is the highest point since the board began surveying employee absences 20 years ago.

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Last chance to register for the 11th Annual Employment Law Conference

May 28, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Conferences

Last chance to register for the First Reference 11th Annual, Ontario Employment Law Conference, on June 2, 2010…

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Managing absenteeism – Learn the latest!

May 17, 2010 Christina Catenacci Conferences, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights

The third session at First Reference’s Ontario Employment Law Conference on June 2, 2010, covers managing absenteeism. When dealing with absenteeism, employers must respect the protected leaves under the Employment Standards Act, as well as the accommodation rules found under the Human Rights Code and Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.

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