Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER February 24, 2014 February 24, 2014 2 NEWS NEWS ACROSS CANADA Sick leave policy for public servants outdated: Treasury Board president Potential changes would address long-term health issues such as mental illness Surfi ng the net, socializing biggest time-wasters at work: Survey Meetings also a signifi cant drain Ottawa announces funding to help skilled newcomers land jobs in their fi elds Funding to help up to 5,000 international workers gain employment Heenan Blaikie shuts down Largest failure of a law fi rm in Canadian history Canadian economy gains 29,400 jobs in January, unemployment falls: Statistics Canada Numbers positive sign after December's unexpected drop AROUND THE WORLD For migrant workers, Olympic dream turns to nightmare in Sochi Migrant workers forced to work illegally, paid fraction of promised wage Bangladesh garment factories intimidate workers over unions: Human rights group Intimidation, mistreatment, threats against workers involved in setting up unions U.S. health-care law could mean millions fewer people working full-time: Report Millions might opt to reduce their hours to stay eligible for health- care subsidies Millions of Londoners brace for chaos as tube workers strike Series of strikes snared commute for 3.5 million Brits Domestic violence a workplace concern Barbara MacQuarrie, community director at Western University's Centre for Research and Education on Violence against Women and Children, discusses warning signs and how to respond hrreporter.com FEATURED VIDEO Recent stories posted on www.hrreporter.com. Check the website daily for quick news hits from across Canada and around the world. WEB O N T H E You are invited to a free HR Seminar 7HO_+RXU_)D[_ZZZVKHUUDUGNX]]FRP DATE: :HGQHVGD\0DUFK²DP EUHDNIDVWDWDPSURJUDPDWDP VENUE:0LVVLVVDXJD&RQYHQWLRQ&HQWUH +LJKZD\:HVW9DXJKDQ21/.= COST: &RPSOLPHQWDU\ RSVP: %\)ULGD\0DUFKDW ZZZVKHUUDUGNX]]FRPVHPLQDUVSKS presented by /DZ6RFLHW\RI8SSHU&DQDGD&3'&UHGLWV7KLVVHPLQDUPD\EHDSSOLHGWRZDUGJHQHUDO&3'FUHGLWV +53$2&+53GHVLJQDWHGPHPEHUVVKRXOGLQTXLUHDWZZZKUSDFDIRUFHUWLÀFDWLRQHOLJLELOLW\JXLGHOLQHVUHJDUGLQJWKLV+5HYLHZ6HPLQDU (PSOR\PHQW6WDQGDUGV²:KDW\RXQHHGWRNQRZ 2013 RANKED In recent years Ontario employers have responded to many new regulatory requirements. Yet, the legislation that consistently exposes employers to some of the greatest liability - and headaches - is the Employment Standards Act, 2000 - the "ESA". To help your organization better understand and comply with its ESA obligations, including how to prepare for a Ministry of Labour inspection and/or audit, this HReview will address: • ESA Tips, Traps and Hurdles • Hours of Work and Overtime: o How much time off is required? o Who is exempt from overtime? o How to minimize liability using hours of work, overtime averaging and lieu time agreements. • Public Holidays: o Who is entitled? o How to calculate public holiday pay and premium pay. o How to minimize liability when you need employees to work on a public holiday. • Vacation and Vacation Pay: o How are they calculated? o Do they accrue even when an employee isn't working? o How to minimize liability in the context of leaves of absence. • Canada Labour Code: A quick comparison. • ESA Inspections and Audits • Who, what, where, when and why? • Employer obligations. • What can be done to prepare? Minimum wage debate rages on Minimum wage debate rages on Ontario's rate rising 75 cents to $11 per hour – but can employers aff ord it? Ontario's rate rising 75 cents to $11 per hour – but can employers aff ord it? BY LIZ FOSTER A TEENAGER fl ipping burgers at the local fast food joint — that image is most often evoked by or- ganizations arguing about a raise in minimum wage. For the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), this teen represents the typical minimum wage earner. He lives at home with his parents, is upgrad- ing his education and will only work a minimum wage job for a fi xed period of time. And while a wage hike will have no lasting ef- fect on his life, it will have a sig- nifi cant impact on his employer. For Unifor — the largest union in the private sector represent- ing more than 300,000 Canadian workers — this teen is just a small part of the bigger picture. He is now competing for minimum wage jobs with university gradu- ates who are moving back home when they fail to fi nd a job in their fi eld. On Jan. 30, the Ontario govern- ment announced the minimum wage will rise by 75 cents from $10.25 per hour to $11 per hour. e change will take eff ect on June 1, 2014. While the CFIB is worried the increase will have a negative im- pact on employers and the job market, Unifor is calling for an even larger raise. It seems that in the aftermath of the announce- ment, praise for the province is only coming from one place — that teen fl ipping burgers. e increase came on the heels of a report and recommendations made by the Minimum Wage Ad- visory Panel (MWAP). Panel members represented various organizations includ- ing the Retail Council of Canada and the Ontario Federation of Labour. In its report, the MWAP made several recommendations to create a more transparent and predictable process for raising the minimum wage. Based on these recommenda- tions, the new rate refl ects the rise in Ontario's consumer price index (CPI) since the province's last minimum wage increase four years ago. Proposed legislation would tie future raises to the CPI, with in- creases announced by April 1 and coming into eff ect on Oct. 1. e MWAP also recommended an ongoing research program be established by the province to continue gathering and analyzing information to address issues sur- rounding increases in the mini- mum wage. "We want to make sure that we depoliticize the manner in which minimum wage is determined in the province," said Ontario La- bour Minister Yasir Naqvi. "In the past, it has been a politi- cal decision and minimum wage has been determined (on) an ad hoc basis. We wanted to ensure that the manner in which we de- termine minimum wage is fair for Ontarians who live on mini- mum wage and predictable for businesses that create jobs in our economy." A raise in the minimum wage has a huge impact on employers, said CFIB senior policy analyst Nicole Troster, and making the changes predictable is crucial to their success. "It's hugely important for em- ployers to have adequate notice and to have some predictability in the system so that they can adjust their costs and their operations accordingly," she said. When the wage is raised, col- leagues who earn more also ex- pect an increase, said Troster. With wages for all employees pushed up by minimum wage rates, employers are faced with additional payroll taxes as a result. " e amount of money that's available for all of this is basically the same, but all of a sudden you have these additional costs," she said. Employers often compensate for the additional costs by reduc- ing the number of positions avail- able, so hikes in minimum wage "actually hurt the people it's sup- posed to help," said Troster. But this line of thinking is non- sense, according to Jerry Dias, Unifor's national president. "It doesn't matter what is hap- pening in the economy," he said. "Employers will never, ever sup- port workers getting an increase. at's just inherent in their phi- losophy. But the only way we can have an economy that works is when everybody can contribute." In order to accomplish that, a more meaningful increase in minimum wage is needed, said Dias. While he agreed tying future increases to the CPI would ben- efi t both workers and employers, Dias said an increase of 75 cents is not enough to lift minimum wage workers above the poverty line. "Employees that are working today at $10.25 an hour are work- ing and living well below the pov- erty levels," he said, suggesting minimum wage be raised to $14 per hour. "Fourteen dollars an hour is nothing wonderful by any stretch of the imagination, but at least it'll take you above the poverty level." A hike to $14 per hour would make Ontario's minimum wage the highest in the country by more than 27 per cent. e raise to $11 brings Ontario's minimum wage in line with the current Canadian leader, Nunavut. (See table above.) e increase does not bode well for the province's ability to com- pete, said Troster, who predicted a raise to $14 per hour would prove disastrous for employers. "Ontario lost 39,000 jobs last December," she said. "Minimum wage hikes will do nothing to ad- dress those lost jobs or to continue creating new ones. ere are bet- ter mechanisms out there to help low-income earners." Instead, Troster suggested raising Ontario's basic personal exemption for income tax, which would allow employees to keep more of what they make, or in- vesting in skills training to allow workers to leave minimum wage jobs behind on a more permanent basis. For now, the only thing that teen fl ipping burgers can count on is an extra 75 cents an hour and the guarantee he'll be brought up by both sides as the debate on minimum wage wages on. ACROSS CANADA Minimum wage rates (as of Feb. 1, 2014) Alberta $9.95 British Columbia $10.25 Manitoba $10.45 New Brunswick $10 Newfoundland and Labrador $10 Northwest Territories $10 Nova Scotia $10.30 Nunavut $11 Ontario $10.25 Prince Edward Island $10 Quebec $10.15 Saskatchewan $10 Yukon $10.54 "It's hugely important for employers to have adequate notice and to have some predictability in the system so they can adjust their operations accordingly." Credit: Brian Snyder (Reuters) Credit: AG-PHOTO/Shutterstock

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