Category: Blog Posts

I received this offer from GreenShield and thought it should be shared.

If you, or a woman you know, needs some help, please pass this along.  There is no cost (for the offer below). Although not a substitute for long term counselling, it may be a great start for those that do not have benefit plan with paramedical benefits, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or a Mental Health HSA.

When you sign up for GreenShield Cares’ Women’s Mental Health Program, you’ll receive two free hours of culturally sensitive talk therapy sessions and a complimentary subscription to online coach-assisted therapy (iCBT). We know that one-size therapy does not fit all. Talking to someone who understands unique needs of women – especially those from marginalized and/or racialized communities ­– can be immensely helpful for one’s healing journey.

Our program offers a personalized counselling matching tool with over 50 matching options, including culture, race, language, and religion, to ensure you can find a mental health professional who shares and/or can relate to your identity and lived experiences. Hundreds of our certified practitioners identify as a person of colour, Indigenous or Black so you can find the support that’s right for you.

https://www.greenshield.ca/en-ca/cares/womens-mental-health

I am requesting that all my clients support this initiative.

I’ve taken on many challenges to improve the industry for our clients and their employees (Such as the Maternity Leave, the NEM initiative, the EAP Integration projects and more).  This time one of my Canadian group insurance Broker Members is doing something even more worthy of our support.  Gavin Mosley identified an important gap that occurs and needs to be corrected. 

I am asking my clients and their employees (if willing) to please sign & share his petition to make this positive change.

A Call to Action

There is a major problem with how Canadian group Dependent Life insurance contracts define eligible children, and it is time to come together as industry stakeholders to ensure we properly take care of young families.

It’s time to bring outdated legacy definitions up to modern standards, and to ensure that no one in the Canadian insurance industry going forward should ever need verify the number of hours or days lived to determine if an infant death qualifies for coverage under a Dependent Life benefit. We can do better.

https://www.change.org/p/modernizing-group-dependent-life-insurance-coverage-for-children

I just received this notice and thought it may be of interest if you use recruiters or temporary help / staffing firms.

In short… These firms need to be licensed effective January 1, 2024.  To be safe, make sure any you work with are licensed.

Ontario Regulation 99/23 Licensing – Temporary Help Agencies and Recruiters under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) came into force July 1, 2023.

Generally speaking, the Regulation establishes a system for the licensing of temporary help agencies and recruiters in Ontario. To implement the system, the legislation will be rolled out in two parts: 

1. Effective July 1, 2023, temporary help agencies and recruiters will be able to submit their licensing application. A fee of $750 and is payable at the time the application is submitted and must be submitted by no later then December 31, 2023.
2. Effective January 1, 2024, temporary help agencies and recruiters will not be permitted to operate unless they hold such license, and it will be considered a violation of the ESA to knowingly use a temporary help agency or recruiter who does not hold a license.

A “recruiter” is defined as any person who, for a fee, finds, or attempts to find, employment in Ontario for prospective employees or any person who, for a fee, finds, or attempts to find, employees for prospective employers in Ontario.

A “temporary help agency” means an employer that employs persons for the purpose of assigning them to perform work on a temporary basis for clients of the employer.

Two other Ontario Regulations have been amended in respect to the above:

• Ontario Regulation 288/01: Termination and Severance of Employment has been amended to include that if employment is terminated because the Director has refused to issue or renew, or has revoked or suspended, a license to operate a temporary help agency or a licence to act as a recruiter, the contract of employment has not become impossible to perform or been frustrated by a fortuitous or unforeseeable event or circumstance
• Ontario Regulation 289/01: Penalties and Reciprocal Enforcement has been amended to include the penalties for violating the ESA with respect to the new rules.

Come January 1, 2024, it will be imperative for businesses to ensure they are engaging with temporary help agencies and recruiters who are licensed in accordance with the new rules. To assist employers, the Ministry of Labour will publish a public record of information with respect to licensing.

As always, if you have any questions regarding a specific situation, please do not hesitate to reach out to speak with an e2r™ Advisor.

ORIGINAL POST

As a member of CFIB, I often get e-mails about the products and service they offer small business.  This one caught my eye and thought it might be of interest to clients.  It appears that non-members can attend by using GUEST at the registration as noted.

If you are interested but can’t attend? Register and you’ll receive a link to the recorded webinar.

Employee Management Series 1:  Hiring? Let us help you get started.

As an employer, one of your many roles is finding the right people for your business. In this multi-part series, we’ll begin by exploring the hiring process.

Join us for this important session and learn how to best position yourself in this tight labour market:

– Learn the value of a clear and compelling job ad and how to create a competitive compensation package that candidates want.
– Discover where to post your ad to best connect you with candidates.
– Learn how to think outside the box to access a larger labour pool.
– Choose the best candidate to fit your needs and learn why a solid employment contract is a must.

Thursday, June 29, 2023      1pm – 2pm ET   (10am – 11am PT)
Register now

WATCH VIDEO

We’ve seen client rate increases be higher in 2023 than we’ve seen in decades and  higher than I’ve seen in the 17 years I’ve been tracking and sharing on my website. 

With drugs trending up about 6.3%, dental fee guides (in Ontario) up 8.5%, the aging effect on pooled benefits (life and LTD) at 8% or more, it’s really no wonder.  Add in the fact that many people are still playing catch up on getting work done (dental, vision and parameds), that was delayed due to the pandemic, and it was almost expected.  The article below (from January) identified this before the year even started.

Most clients are glad to see staff making use of the plans.  Many are increasing their core benefit offerings, some are adding Health Spending Accounts (HSA’s) and others are increasing existing HSA’s to keep up with inflation.  If times are tight and you’re looking to trim costs, or are interested in looking at cost effective ways to enhance plans, please reach out.

I was not aware that the CPP premiums employers pay have risen so much (this and next year), This is a result of the federal governments 2016 announcement to enhance CPP benefits. The change is intended assist those unprepared for retirement and without access to a workplace pension.

During the pandemic (and since), we’ve had many of our clients move to remote working arrangements.  On a one to one basis we’ve discussed many of the problems of employees working out of the province/country.  From losing provincial health coverage, to benefit eligibility failing, to tax and residency issues, employers really need to do their homework before allowing employees to work out of Canada.

For employees working remotely within the province, there are still many considerations that could be covered through a well worded policy.  The article below has a good checklist of sorts that you may find useful.

Aird & Berlis LLP’s Workplace Law Group recently presented a webinar entitled Work From Home: The New Normal? which focused on the continuation of work-from-home (“WFH“) arrangements beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work policies and key considerations for employers when administering such arrangements.

 In this bulletin, we address some of the major themes set out in the questions.

The following list sets out the essential elements of a WFH policy:

READ HERE

We have published blog posts on the change in Employment Insurance (EI) extension from 4 to 6 months that took effect at the end of 2022, as well as an article in our newsletter, but wanted to close the loop as there has been questions from clients.

Our advice is to keep all plans STATUS QUO and make no changes.  Here’s why…

• Clients that have no Short Term Disability (STD or WI) or Long Term Disability (LTD) need not do a thing.  The EI sick benefit provided by the federal government has now been extended to 6 months and their staff will benefit from that.  STATUS QUO
• Clients that have an LTD plan with a 120 day waiting period, should keep it as-is, even with the EI sick benefit extending to 180 days.  Here’s why…
  • Delaying employees benefit payment in the case of disability, creates a financial hardship for those claiming due to 2 more months at a reduced, taxable EI benefit, until LTD so stay STATUS QUO
  • Employers that have SUBP plans (that top up EI sick benefits) would incur much higher costs for their top up (as 50% longer) so stay STATUS QUO
  • Employees are better served by early intervention by insurers.  This can help with earlier return to work accommodations and less malingering, so stay STATUS QUO
  • Some insurers are actually increasing LTD rates due to a lack of early intervention.  Rates are high enough so stay STATUS QUO

The one caveat to all of this staying STATUS QUO is that the employee needs to stop the EI benefit at 120 days in order to get the higher LTD benefit (without double dipping).  Only they can do so, and most insurers have told us they will remind the employee (to stop the EI claim) when the LTD claim is approved.  Even if the disabled employee forgot and collected both EI and LTD benefits for the 2 months (overlapping), they would only have to pay back the EI benefit (which is less than the LTD benefit payable, so no financial issue).

If you or an employee has any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Pay transparency legislation is not in Ontario (YET), but it is working its way into law in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador. 

Generally this legislation prohibits an employer from asking about a prospective hires wage history.  The article provides more below, but be aware as this may affect you if hiring remote workers in other provinces…

Pay transparency became the topic of much discussion when the province of Ontario tabled legislation in 2018. While this legislation never came into effect (still to this day) other provinces have enacted pay transparency laws and others are considering doing so.

READ ARTICLE