Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR January 26, 2015 FeAtures 25 Credit: Alina Ku-Ku/Shutterstock ontario goes it alone on pensions When the provinces and ottawa couldn't reach a deal to expand the Canada pension plan (Cpp), ontario announced it was going it alone — creating a supplementary pension plan. and it wasn't bluffi ng. in december, the province unveiled a consultation paper inviting feedback on key details and designs of the plan. e plan isn't yet signed, sealed and delivered — but it's close, and the prime minister has made it clear ottawa has no appetite for a larger Cpp. BBC's head of hr confesses Lucy adams, former head of HR at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), called her emails to staff "crap" after she left the job. " ey seemed pompous and sterile, lacking any humanity or humility. i had adopted the royal executive 'we' and, in an eff ort to be accurate, i had 'lawyered out' any personality." aoda compliance any organization with employees in ontario had aoda on the brain in 2014 — that's the acronym describing the accessibility for ontarians with disabilities act. aoda's customer service standard took eff ect in 2012, but many organizations still weren't fully compliant by 2014. e legislation will continue to be on the minds of employers, with building code changes beginning Jan. 1, 2015, that apply to new construction and major renovations. e goal of the legislation is to make the province completely accessible by 2025. Quebec's pay equity law struck down a Quebec judge declared portions of the province's pay equity legislation to be invalid, giving the government up to one year to fi x the legislation. e court had a problem with sections of the law regarding the lack of retroactivity to compensation changes that could have signifi cant impact on wages and retirement benefi ts. alberta versus Canada in april, we ran the headline "a tale of 2 labour markets." ere was alberta, and there was everyone else — with a booming economy, labour shortages and low unemployment, recruitment was nearly impossible in Wild Rose country. But falling oil prices may mean the party is coming to an end. Bank of Montreal chief economist doug porter said alberta's growth rate will be cut in half for 2015, meaning ontario and British Columbia will duke it out in a "race of the turtles" for the title of fastest-growing economy. doctors, hr clash over sick notes e president of the ontario Medical association made waves in February when he called on employers to stop asking workers for sick notes and to encourage staff to stay home when they're sick. Scott Wooder said he sees about two patients every day who are there for the sole purpose of getting a doctor's note. " at's two extra patients crowding my waiting room, possibly spreading mars needs recruits in February, we examined the ultimate recruitment challenge — fi nding the right people to send to Mars on a one-way trip. after all, you can't really fi re the person once she's past the moon. While the hiring criteria had yet to be fi nalized, experts agreed personality was going to trump pretty much everything else. Health workers rest outside a quarantine zone at a Red Cross facility in the town of Koidu, Kono district in Eastern Sierra Leone on Dec. 19. Credit: Baz Ratner (Reuters) ebola concerns ebola made headlines around the world following an outbreak in West africa, leading some Canadian employers and employees to adopt or call for changes. For example, air Canada fl ight attendants were given the green light to wear gloves and alberta nurses raised concerns about proper training and preparation for an outbreak. mars needs recruits in February, we examined the ultimate recruitment challenge — fi nding the right people to send to Mars on a one-way trip. after all, you can't really fi re the person once she's past the moon. While the hiring criteria had yet to be fi nalized, experts agreed personality was going to trump pretty much everything else. adopt or call for changes. For example, air Canada fl ight attendants were given the green light to wear gloves and alberta nurses raised concerns about proper training and preparation for an outbreak. Credit: alice-photo/Shutterstock don't pee in the cup Random drug and alcohol testing among unionized employees at Suncor was struck down by an arbitrator. in 2012, the company announced it would randomly test employees in safety-sensitive positions — which described about 82 per cent of its unionized workers in the oilsands operations. Between 2003 and 2012, 216 unionized employees had tested positive. e company also found devices used to defeat drug tests and pointed to the deaths of three contract workers. But the arbitration board said there was simply not enough evidence of a rampant drug and alcohol problem to justify testing of the workers. Credit: FILATOV ALEXEY/Shutterstock alberta versus Canada in april, we ran the headline "a tale of 2 labour markets." ere was alberta, and there was everyone else — with a booming economy, labour shortages and low unemployment, recruitment was nearly impossible in Wild Rose country. But falling oil prices may mean the party is coming to don't be like ray domestic violence found a new face in 2014 thanks to former nFL running back Ray Rice (above), who knocked his wife unconscious with a punch in an elevator at a hotel in atlantic City, n.J. e high-profi le incident was showed the challenges employers face when dealing with the ramifi cations of domestic violence in the workplace. Credit: Mike Segar (Reuters) the fl u to pregnant women and cancer patients. and for what? in 28 years, i've rarely denied anyone a sick note." But employers didn't jump on his bandwagon — the toronto transit Commission, for one, implemented a policy requiring a note within 72 hours for even just one sick day. as a result of the change, absenteeism rates slipped from 8.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent. how not to run an hr department toronto Community Housing provided a perfect blueprint for how not to run your human resources department. a scathing report from the city's ombudsman found executives had been promoted with little process or screening; promotions and raises were handed out with no competition or process; fundamental changes were introduced into employment contracts without approvals or notice; and senior executives were in confl ict of interest when hiring. internships under fi re an exclusive Canadian HR Reporter/Human Resources professionals association survey found nearly two-thirds of HR professionals in ontario feel unpaid internships should be illegal, unless they are part of a school curriculum. Firms across the country scrapped unpaid internships as stories in the media spread about employers allegedly taking advantage of free labour from recent grads desperate for experience. mind the benefi ts gap Spending on private health insurance in Canada has more than doubled since 1991, and a recent analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal questioned how much bang employers and individuals are getting for their buck. e gap between premiums paid in and benefi ts paid out rose to $6.8 billion in 2011, a number that has increased threefold over the past 20 years. Background checks British Columbia's privacy commissioner called for tougher rules for pre-employment criminal background checks. e commissioner cited numerous stories, including a woman who had a suicide attempt disclosed — which led to an uncomfortable conversation with her prospective employer. Lawyers reminded employers they couldn't discriminate for things like mental disabilities, and others called for a prohibition against the disclosure of mental health information. B.C. ditches B.C. e British Columbia Human Resources Management association (BC HRMa) became more effi cient with its name in 2014, dropping the B.C. and just becoming HRMa. Good people practices aren't bound by provincial or even national boundaries, said Christian Codrington, senior manager, professional practice at HRMa in Vancouver, about the change. it also rolled out a new logo. Pregnant workers, unsafe work e Supreme Court of Canada reinforced the right of pregnant workers to refuse unsafe work. e ruling involved a supply teacher in Quebec who was told by a doctor her classroom was an unsafe working environment because she was susceptible to a number of harmful viruses children commonly carry. e court agreed, saying the woman was entitled to legislated protections. While the law in Quebec is slightly diff erent than the rest of Canada, it still serves as a reminder for employers to make every reasonable attempt to accommodate pregnant employees. No musical chairs for jobs Contrary to popular belief, employees aren't on the move. a CiBC World Markets report found there is a 60 per cent chance a worker will stay on the job after completing his fi rst year, a number that rises to 95 per cent for workers with fi ve years' tenure or more. unpaid internships should be illegal, unless they are part of a school curriculum. Firms across of mental health information. workplace violence edmonton stabbings: in February, a 29-year-old worker allegedly went on a stabbing rampage at a Loblaw warehouse in edmonton, killing two colleagues and injuring four others. Vancouver island shootings: a 47-year-old former employee at Western Forest products in nanaimo, B.C., was charged with murder and attempted murder after killing two people and injuring two others in a shooting at a mill. Violence hits hr: a 47-year- old employee at Ceridian, who was being terminated, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after stabbing and injuring four employees on april 9. Credit: RTimages/Shutterstock

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