Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR april 6, 2015 18 INsIGht bonuS in baGelS BeRLin — earlier this year, Ger- man Chancellor angela Merkel introduced the fi rst nationwide wage fl oor of 8.50 euros per hour. But German employers are com- ing up with resourceful ways to avoid paying the new minimum wage, according to Reuters. ese include compensating staff with tanning salon vouchers and not paying for overtime. e nGG food and catering union is fi elding up to 400 calls per day from frus- trated employees. "We're seeing some employers display an awful lot of creativity to get round pay- ing the minimum wage," said Bur- khard Siebert of the nGG. Butch- ers have complained they must pay up to 100 euros per month to use knives they need to cut meat while bakers said they are being paid in buns and bread instead of cash. people have had their holiday entitlement reduced or premiums for working nights, holidays and Sundays slashed. muGGinG For tHe camera JoHanneSBURG — Johannes- burg has an unenviable reputa- tion as a crime-fi lled, violent city. But that reputation reached new heights — and brazenness — when a tV reporter preparing for his live report was mugged on camera. Vuyo Mvoko was standing with a mic in front of a hospital, ready to talk about zambian president edgar Lungu's hospital treatment. But then two men walked by, pac- ing around the reporter, and a scuffl e ensued, with Mvoko heard shouting off -camera, "Hey, we're being mugged." e man was look- ing for the reporter's phone and when he was refused, he called the other mugger, who had a gun, say- ing, "'Shoot this dog' or something like that," said Mvoko, who works for the national broadcaster. "So i gave him the phone." not eXactly model beHaviour VoRonezH, Russia — anger management courses might be in order for employees at a local beauty salon in Russia, judging by a recent incident. Model Ma- ria Lomovskikh went to have her nails done but after she criticized the manicurist about the quality of service, calling it "shoddy and un- professional," anastasia Kretova fi led the woman's nails so fi ercely they began to bleed and swell. "i was in absolute agony," said Lo- movskikh in the Mirror. e model eventually went to the hospital and was diagnosed with acute purulent infl ammation of two nails, which had to be removed. "it is diffi cult to say if they will ever grow again," said head surgeon igor Korotkiy. e model is now suing the beauty salon. "i have lost three jobs be- cause of the deformity caused by this woman... i want her and the salon punished for this." But the sa- lon didn't seem overly concerned, with a spokesman saying, "We understand the lady's complaints and we have accepted responsibil- ity and punished the beautician concerned by deducting £30 from her pay." public SHaminG QataR — Coming into work hungover is often punishment enough for an employee after a night out, but one fl ight attendant was publicly shamed by her boss after a drunken stupour. e Qatar airways crew member fell asleep in the hallway of a staff accom- modation and had to be carried upstairs by co-workers, according to the Mirror. When she awoke the next morning, she found out the airline's senior vice-president, Rossen dimitrov, had included the photo in an email to crew members with a stern warning. "attached, please see a photo of a CSd who had returned heavily in- toxicated to her accommodation," he said. "i am so ashamed and dis- turbed by this behaviour displayed by a tenured member of our team, an adult who had been with the company for over nine years. How can we change rules when we do not behave as mature individu- als. i am very disappointed." e email has since gone viral and in confi rming the email was genuine, the airline said staff must respect the cultural values of Qatar, where the fi rm is based — drinking by foreigners is frowned on in the conservative islamic nation. W EIRD orKplace tHe Vol. 28 No. 6 – April 6, 2015 puBLisHed BY Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2015 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. Canadian Hr reporter is published 21 times a year. 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Address changes and returns: Send changes and undeliverable Canadian addresses to: suBsCriBer serViCes Canadian HR Reporter One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ❑ From time to time, we make our subscriber list available to companies and organizations whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you do not want your name to be made available, please check here and return with your mailing label. CustoMer serViCe call: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5082 (Toronto) (877) 750-9041 (outside Toronto) email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Letters to tHe editor todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com CHRR reserves the right to edit for length and clarity. todd Humber eDitor's notes WHat GoeS around comeS around toRonto — When it comes to retail, there's always that last person responsible for closing up at the end of the day. But when one of the owners of a tire store in toronto failed to lock up or set the alarm, amazingly, there was no burglary, according to the Toronto Sun. For the three hours it remained "open," the store's security cameras showed fi ve people came into the business, and no one took anything. " ey could have taken a set of tires, rims, batteries," said diego Catala, who owns the store along with his mother and father. " ey could have just helped themselves. But no one did." e potential cus- tomers wandered around, confused, and then left. e last man, however, apparently tried to look for a way to contact the owners and — after fl ipping the sign to "CLoSed" —drove to the local police station to alert them about the shop "next time he comes in, he gets a free set of tires, right off the bat, no problem," diego said. offi cers arrived around 7 p.m. and alerted the family. Credit: AXL/Shutterstock Recognizing the best safety practices I t's hard to imagine anything more important in the work- place than ensuring every- one goes home safe at the end of the day. unions, employers, liberals, conservatives — we're all on the same page here. ere aren't many areas these days where that happens. at's why, in addition to my role with Canadian HR Reporter, I'm proud to be the associate pub- lisher for Canadian Occupa- tional Safety magazine. Not only does that magazine feature great editorial content — see www.cos- mag.com — but it also puts on the most prestigious competition for health and safety practices in the country. Canada's Safest Employers is entering its fi fth year of recogniz- ing organizations across the coun- try that excel at keeping workers safe. Nominations are now open for the national competition which, for 2015, is bigger and bet- ter than ever. is year, we're adding two new awards to the mix — honouring young worker safety and the orga- nization with the best health and safety culture in the country. Young worker safety It's a sad fact but young work- ers under the age of 25 are much more likely to be injured on the job. The statistics are disturb- ing — more than 30,000 young Canadians were seriously injured on the job in 2013, and 30 were killed, according to the federal government. It's easy to gloss over statistics as just numbers, but not when it comes to worker safety. at's 30,000 lives impacted, and 30,000 families who lost loved ones. It's heartbreaking. Because of this, we decided to launch a new category for 2015 to recognize employers for the best health and safety practices and leading initiatives specifi cally for young workers. Health and safety culture Canadian Occupational Safety has partnered with Workplace Safety and Prevention Services to launch a new award for 2015. Canada's Best Health + Safety Culture is the top prize of the night. It will go to the organiza- tion with the strongest health and safety culture in the country — a culture that not only permeates the workplace but extends into the employer's community, networks and areas of infl uence to make health and safety a priority for all. We're still working on fi nalizing the criteria, which we are set to unveil on April 28 at the Partners in Prevention conference in Mis- sissauga, Ont. For this award, we are choosing three fi nalists — and we will announce the winner live on stage during the event. This award is to safety what the best picture category is to the Oscars. If your organization has a safety culture that starts at the very top and cascades eff ectively through all levels of the company, you should seriously consider ap- plying for this prestigious award. Nominations for this special category open on May 4. Psychological safety Another award that will be of special interest to HR profes- sionals is the Psychological Safety Award. 2015 is the second year we are presenting this award, in partnership with the Great West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace. We know the staggering toll attached to mental health in the workplace — we've quoted the fi g- ure many times in the pages of this publication. Mental health issues are expected to cost employers nearly $200 billion in lost pro- ductivity over the next 30 years, according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Nominate your organization You can nominate your organiza- tion, and fi nd more information about all the other awards, by vis- iting www.safestemployers.com. In addition to the three awards I have mentioned here, there are industry-specifi c awards. Awards will be handed out in the follow- ing categories: •Building and Construction •Health Care •Mining and Natural Resources (includes fi sh and forestry) •Transportation (land, sea and air) •Hospitality •Manufacturing •Oil and Gas •Public Sector / Non-profi t •Retail and Services •Utilities and Electrical ere is also a wellness award for organizations with strong healthy workplace programs. Nominations are open now for every category except for Canada's Best Health + Safety Culture. e deadline to apply is June 1, 2015. Winners will be celebrated at a special gala dinner held on Oct. 28, 2015, at the Arcadian Court in downtown Toronto. We hope to see you there. — When it comes to retail, there's always that last person responsible for closing up at the end of the day. But when one of the owners of a tire store in toronto failed to lock up or set the alarm, amazingly, there was . For the three hours it remained "open," the store's security cameras showed fi ve people came into the business, and no one took anything. " ey could have taken a set of tires, rims, batteries," said diego Catala, who owns the store along with his mother and father. " ey could have just helped themselves. But no one did." e potential cus- tomers wandered around, confused, and then left. e

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