Canadian HR Reporter

PM40065782 RO9496 February 8, 2016 INSIDE BLEAK BUSINESS OUTLOOK Hiring, investment intentions have dropped to their lowest levels in 6 years Changes to creed The OHRC announces sweeping changes to its policy page 5 De ning violence Federal court clari es role of public sector employers page 6 Psychopaths Could they be lurking in your boardroom? page 13 page 2 Taxi drivers protest in front of Toronto City Hall against the Uber ridesharing car service in December. The sharing or "gig" economy presents various challenges — and potential benefits — to employers, say the experts. The CANADIAN OUTPLACEMENT COMPANY Since 1981 Scaff olding fatalities lead to 3.5-year jail term 'Sends very clear message to employers, supervisors': Lawyer BY SABRINA NANJI AN ONTARIO judge has sen- tenced a project manager to three- and-a-half years in prison after a deadly scaff olding collapse in To- ronto on Christmas Eve in 2009. Vadim Kazenelson, a project manager at Metron Construction, was found guilty of four counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negli- gence causing bodily harm in the Jan. 11 decision. The landmark sentencing is precedent-setting, said Nadine Zacks, an associate lawyer who fo- cuses on labour and employment at Hicks Morley's Toronto offi ce. "It goes beyond what we've seen the courts do in the past when it comes to health and safety off enc- es, in terms of the jail time that was imposed," she said. "It sends a very clear message to employers and supervisors and individuals with responsibility for the health and safety of workers that there are very serious indi- vidual consequences — that they can be personally held liable." There have been eight cases where employers have been charged under the revised PRIMARY > pg. 17 Downsides to diversity Initiatives can be met with fear, skepticism by some groups: Report BY SARAH DOBSON THESE days, it's rare to fi nd an employer without a policy or initiative around diversity. But do these programs really work? And how exactly do they aff ect employees? A January paper in the Harvard Business Review suggests a focus on diversity can be seen as threat- ening to majority groups — white men in particular — while being met with skepticism by minority groups. rough experiments, the three SOME > pg. 8 Credit: Chris Helgren (Reuters) Welcome Mary Location Favourites Settings search français sign out admin tools Nissan view details GoodLife Fitness view details The Last Minute Club view details Choice Hotels view details Tommy Hilfiger view details • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Apparel Auto Beauty Business Services Computers & Electronics Dining & Food Education Entertainment Financial Services Flowers & Gifts Health & Wellness Home & Living Insurance News, Mags & Books Professional Services Shoes & Accessories Specialty Sports & Recreation Travel perks nearby distance recently updated display perks by SoftMoc SoftMoc is a one-stop footwear retailer carrying a huge selection of name-brand, lifestyle footwear. 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V1_20160121 Instant access to valuable discounts on everything from tickets and dining to shoes and travel. www.venngo.com/perks 1.866.383.6646 ext.227 Contact us for a demo and to learn more... 20160121_hrReporter_9-75x1-75_jan2016_001.indd 4 2016-01-21 2:10 PM Sharing economy brings complications for employers Companies like Uber disrupt labour landscape BY LIZ BERNIER THE RISE of the sharing or "gig" economy and non-traditional em- ployment models such as Uber have complicated the labour land- scape. And while these changes will undoubtedly spill over into human resources, the question is how? "It's such a difficult question to even ask," said Chris McNelly, CEO of the Human Resources Institute of Alberta (HRIA) in Calgary. "You have individuals working almost as an agent on behalf of these respective organizations. And they themselves become a micro-business themselves." e terms of the employment relationship are obviously much more ambiguous, he said. "When an employee works within a traditional framework, the terms and condition are much more explicit, the policies of an organization are much more ex- plicit, whereas when you're in the sharing economy… those terms and conditions may not be as explicit." ere are numerous questions to be asked — such as, how does HR ensure it adheres to legislation and best practices? How is a con- tract set up? "Even 'employee' is a bit of a misnomer because they're not an employee in the traditional sense," said McNelly. "It begins to blur the lines of what we consider to be a traditional employee." And while recruitment may be easier, it could become somewhat diffi cult for HR to enforce regula- tions and policies, he said. "You can no longer enforce to the same magnitude those terms and conditions or those policies on those individuals," said McNelly. "It may be easier to recruit but HR > pg. 12

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