Vacation time is an entitlement to employees across all provinces in Canada. Apart from being an entitlement, it is also considered to be a benefit in attracting and retaining employees.  Each provincial employment standards set a minimum vacation time to be provided to employees – most of which outline a minimum of two weeks’ vacation per year to start. However, 62% of employers in Canada offer more than the minimum requirements to new employees[1]. New executives may be offered a minimum of four weeks of vacation time[2]. The amount of vacation a company chooses to offer will often be considered as part of the total compensation plan. Once...

Absenteeism costs Canadian employers over $16.6 billion per year. Add into this, productivity losses and other indirect costs, and that number actually increases to $37 billion.* Employee absenteeism is a costly and disruptive problem to any organization. To ensure that a company is successful, it relies on its employees to be punctual, present and actively engaged. Employees should be held accountable for their attendance habits; however the employer does have an obligation to determine culpable and non-culpable absenteeism, and to deal with each type appropriately, providing accommodation for non-culpable absences where applicable. What is the difference? A culpable absence is an absence that occurs as a result of...

As Human Resources professionals we have all been subjected to the stigma that HR = “The Grim Reaper”, has been kept around to deliver the bad or worst news.  In order to challenge the status quo and have a paradigm shift in the thought process of our client groups, it is important to provide our services without the negative connotation and have a more positive and strategic approach. It is imperative that we, as HR, build our relationships with our client groups, internal or external, with professionalism, credibility, and trust. Get to know your client groups and determine what makes them tick, both positively and negatively. What are...

Layoff becomes a default answer for companies to address economic recession or tough financial times. This means cost cuts and temporary lay-off while the salary of the remaining employees stay relatively high. With Western Canada, specifically Calgary, Alberta feeling the effects of the change in the oil and gas market, many companies have been faced with layoffs. Reduction in salary can be seen as an alternative to layoffs as the employers may be able to retain their best talent in bad times while they wait for the market to change once again in their favour. While companies are happy to raise prices and employees are happy to receive...

When a fellow HR director calls asking for a post-employment reference about one of your former employees, it’s a dilemma—especially when you don’t have anything positive to say about the former employee. Your ethical side cries out to warn your fellow traveler from HR that this guy is bad news and shouldn’t be hired. But your professional side knows that bad-mouthing a former employee can get you into a heap of legal trouble and that the last thing your company needs is to be sued for defamation. So what should you say? This article will give you a strategy to resolve the dilemma.   Damned If You Do...

It’s the start of a new year, new plans, new budgets…where are you planning to invest your company dollars this year? Have you considered training for your employees? In this current economic climate, ensuring the key people in your organization have the skills to carry your business is critical. When cost cutting leads to a reduction in work force, the employees which you will retain need to bring value in the key areas in which their responsibilities lie. Often, the concern goes beyond budgets to having the investment walk out the door. Zig Ziglar addresses this stating that “the only thing worse than training employees and losing them, is...

Attendance management seems to have become a more complicated issue these days as a more flexible and contingent workplace smashes up against an employer’s ability to manage the presence of their employees and the increase in employee absenteeism. How does an organization enforce an employee attendance policy when workforces are comprised of part-time, contract, temporary and flex employees who work different hours and have different expectations? Add into this situation legislated leaves and the requirement for accommodation for disability and family situation and there are a lot of layers to consider. Yet, it does remain that an organization has the right to expect employees will perform their duties...

Every person working in Canada is required to have a Social Insurance Number (SIN). The SIN is a 9 digit number used to properly administer government benefits and must be verified by the employer. When gathering the initial employment information from new employees it is the employer’s responsibility to verify accurate SIN information has been provided. As of March 2014 the Government of Canada no longer issues plastic SIN cards and has switched to a paper copy of the SIN. Employees are required by law to provide proof of their SIN in the form of a card (issued before March 2014 that has not expired) or the paper...

Hiring on a probationary basis is supposed to limit your legal commitments to new employees. The problem is that mishandling the probationary employment process can actually increase the risk of grievances, lawsuits and liability. The following are seven things about probationary employment every HR department needs to know to implement effective and legally sound probationary employment arrangements.   What is Probationary Employment? Probationary employment involves hiring employees on a trial basis for a predetermined trial period before deciding whether to offer them a permanent position. The probationary period is like an audition that gives employees the chance to prove their worth and employers a chance to evaluate the...

Thanks to the popular song from the very popular movie, Frozen, there’s a new popular catchphrase being thrown around: ‘Let it Go’. In the grocery store line last night, I flipped through a few women’s lifestyle magazines to find article after article telling us to “let it go” and how to go about doing so. These articles were speaking to busy working women and even busier working moms about how to say ‘no’ to extra activities that we often do not have time for and how to let go of our perfectionist attitudes, in order to save our sanity and health. Now, while some of the tips and...