As we move into 2011 most companies are starting a new vacation year. This often is when companies realize that their vacation policies may not be properly defined and their employee’s previous year vacation entitlement has not been used. Each province has minimum vacation entitlements that employers must provide to their employees. If an employee does not use their full entitlement by the end of the year, it must be rolled into the next year, or paid out. Although many companies would like to have a use it or lose it policy, this is not legal as per employment standards. Vacation time taken by employees must be tracked...

How can you tell if your team is engaged? Is it any different from your spouse or kids or friends? You have to be engaged! You have to use the tools you have been given as a leader to have the conversations with your team to keep them engaged. You have to build a vision of possibilities so that each team member can reach their goals in the context of the corporate goals. This is critical! You will know if your team is engaged by their energy levels. You will know by their input to improve their role or goals either on a one to one meeting or...

In June 2010 PEO Canada distributed the “Employer’s Guide to Compliance” outlining the necessary requirements for Bill 168, which came into affect on June 15, 2010. Over the past few months the Ministry of Labour has conducted numerous workplace visits to determine whether or not organizations have complied with the new regulations. During this time over 1,500 orders issued in regards to non-compliance. The article below was taken from © Morneau Sobeco, October 14, 2010 | Volume 7, Issue 10 newsletter regarding implications of not complying with Bill 168. Earlier in the year, News & Views provided an overview of Bill 168, an Act to amend the Occupational...

Last Chance Agreements (“LCAs”) can be useful tools for employers faced with the difficult decision of whether to terminate an employment relationship. Available in both unionized and non-unionized contexts, LCAs give employers flexibility in responding to misconduct that has continued notwithstanding previous disciplinary measures. For instance, LCAs are effective for dealing with misconduct such as chronic absenteeism or for imposing discipline on employees with disabilities such as drug and alcohol dependencies. Additionally, LCAs can be effective in addressing situations where an otherwise dedicated and valued employee uncharacteristically engages in a form of more serious misconduct. The LCA allows the employer to give the employee one last chance to...

The government of Canada announced that it is implementing stricter regulations with the aim of further improving the working conditions for temporary workers and live-in caregivers in Canada. According to the federal government, consultations held over the past two years revealed that employers were exploiting some live-in caregivers because the system made them vulnerable. To address this, the federal government is tightening the regulations affecting live-in caregivers and temporary foreign workers, as well as the people who hire them. "The government is taking action to protect temporary foreign workers, including live-in caregivers, from potential abuse and exploitation," said Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney. Employers found...

What happens at home affects people’s performance at work. What happens at home can affect the safety and work climate of your workplace. Family violence can affect everyone in the workplace – employers, employees, co-workers and clients. If an otherwise valuable member of your team has become less productive, late or absent more frequently, it could be that something at home is causing the problem. It is in the best interest of any organization to be able to recognize the signs of domestic violence. The following is a list of some signs that may be noticed in the workplace. The victim may: Try to cover bruises; Be sad,...

July 1st is not just Canada Day for residents in British Columbia and Ontario; it is the first day of the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in both provinces. So what is all the fuss about and how will it affect employers? What is in effect now? There are currently two forms of sales tax in both provinces: Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and the Goods & Services Tax (GST). The GST is federally regulated and applies to all Canadian provinces at a rate of 5%. PST is provincially regulated and is 7% in British Columbia and 8% in Ontario. There are many tax-exempt goods and services and many...

The world’s airlines are feverishly working on contingency plans for travelers due to the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. In total, more than 60,000 flights have been cancelled as a result of the ash cloud. Meteorologists around the world cannot predict how long this eruption may last and now it seems that travelers on the Canadian East Coast may be affected as the cloud spreads. In light of this event, companies should consider creating a contingency plan for employees who may be stranded because of a natural disaster or unforeseen events. Whether you have employees who travel regularly or who work in remote locations, having an...

The Benefits Canada web site posted an interesting article about the attitude change in employees after the recession towards their career paths. After a Global Workforce Study involving interviews with 20,000 employees in 22 markets around the world, the “job for life” employment model is showing signs of becoming an increasingly popular trend. The study found that approximately 80% of employees polled had a desire to ‘go steady’ for the long-term, while 43% want to work for one company during their entire career. There seems to have been a shift during the ‘Great Recession’ from the ‘free agent’ employment model into a more long-term outlook for stability and...

Most individuals are not natural born leaders. Most have to work at acquiring and fine tuning their leadership skills. Often times when new managers/team leads are brought into a leadership position, they try to do everything in order to prove why they belong in that position, when instead they should be surrounding themselves with good people who specialize in specific areas. A leader’s role should be to provide direction and coordinate the expertise of the teammates allowing the team to function effectively. It is no different than in sports. The best hockey, soccer or baseball player is not usually going to be the best coach, and more times...