Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER November 16, 2015 22 INSIGHT NOT QUITE THE SNUFFLEUPAGUS LONDON — Most people are familiar with the loveable Wookies from Star Wars, but the British government has introduced a new character it also hopes will attract fans: Workie. Meant to be a physical embodiment of workplace pensions, the large fl uff y, colourful creature has large blue eyes and small horns. TV ads feature him trying to alert people to the importance of workplace pensions, but he is largely ignored. " is is a fun and quirky campaign but behind it lies a very serious message. We need everyone to know they are entitled to a workplace pension — and we need all employers to understand their legal responsibility to their staff ," said Pensions Minister Baroness Altmann. Automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has been rolling out across the United Kingdom since 2012 and over the next three years, every employer will have to enroll eligible staff into a pension scheme. WHAT ABOUT THE NEXT 100? BUFFALO, NY — Anyone who works 11 hours a day, six days a week, is impressive. But what if she's 100 years old? Felimina Ro- tundo hit the centennial mark in August — and says she has no plans on quitting, according to the Associated Press. She puts in long hours at a Buff alo laundromat and likes being out and working be- cause it "gives her something to do." Rotundo fi rst started working dur- ing the Great Depression and she now works from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, washing clothes and handling dry cleaning at the College Laun- dry Shoppe. But she has no plans for retirement and says too many people retire too soon. FREEZING FOR LIFE LAS VEGAS — In a tragic twist, an aesthetician who praised the merits of cryotherapy ended up freezing to death in such a cham- ber just days later, according to the Washington Post. Chelsea Ake-Sal- vacion, a 24-year-old employee at Las Vegas beauty salon Rejuvenice, was among several who told the Las Vegas Review-Journal how the process worked. Days later, she entered the machine alone and died within seconds — though her body wasn't found until 10 hours later. e Nevada Department of Business and Industry has since shut down two Rejuvenice loca- tions in Las Vegas, including the one where Ake-Salvacion died, and offi cials said the businesses were operating without appropri- ate licences or worker's compen- sation policies. "We didn't even know who they were," said Gary Landry, executive director of the state cosmetology board, which fi ned the salon owners US$1,000. " ey had never approached us." KETCHUP HAS SO MANY USES LONDON, U.K. — On a more positive note, a Subway sandwich store worker in London, U.K., managed to survive a night in a cooler room — but only because the temperatures weren't that bad. Karlee Daubeney was putting milk away in the refrigerated room when the door slammed shut behind her, according to Reuters. e room is kept a couple of de- grees above freezing and since the worker could not fi nd a way out, she wrote "HELP ME" in ketchup on a piece of cardboard and slid it under the door, hoping someone would see the message on the se- curity monitor. Nobody did, but Daubeney survived until the next morning — though her muscles became so cold, she could no lon- ger bang on the door. e hospital said she was close to having hypo- thermia and the franchise owners are reportedly facing health and safety off ences. W EIRD ORKPLACE THE Vol. 28 No. 19 – November 16, 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 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 Sex sells, making for awkward HR S ex sells. at's something the advertising industry has known for decades — a Pearl Tobacco brand advertise- ment from 1871 is often cited as the fi rst time sex was used to sell a product. at packaging featured a naked maiden on its cover. From that point on, it's been a proven tactic embraced by every industry, most notably tobacco and automotive, to drive sales and gain market share. Restaurants started embracing the notion about three decades ago, when Hooters burst onto the scene. It sparked a movement of "breastaurants" — where scantily clad wait staff (usually women) serve up booze and food to cus- tomers (often men.) We'll stop short of calling it the most elevated status humans have evolved to, but few would argue it's a bad business model. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to fi gure out men will probably stick around longer, thereby drinking and spending (and tipping) more, if they're enjoying the "scenery" provided by employees. And judging by the prolifera- tion and success of these restau- rants — including Milestones, Tilted Kilt and Earl's, to name a handful — the trend won't be abating anytime soon. It's a head-scratching conun- drum for HR professionals in an era where common sense — not to mention legislation — dictates employees should not be sub- jected to sexual harassment. e issue came to a head recently in Toronto at a Bier Market loca- tion. e chain has jumped on the breastaurant bandwagon, recently introducing new uniforms for staff . It was the subject of a CBC Go Public story. e chain used to have a simple gender neutral uniform — black pants and a golf shirt. But that was tossed out in favour of skimpier outfi ts — at least for the women. Men "could wear jeans, a button- down shirt and Converse run- ners," according to the CBC. Women, on the other hand, were provided with short, sleeve- less dresses. e only footwear options were boots or high heels, and jackets, sweaters and thick tights were banned. Tierney Angus, a Bier Market server, said a general manager told a colleague to wear a thong after she pointed out her underwear was showing with the new outfi ts. "I was upset that I had to squeeze my body into something that small," Angus told the CBC. "The material is almost bath- ing suit-like. It is very tight, very skimpy. I went up a size and my boyfriend commented he could see my tailbone through it." Cara, the corporate entity that owns the Bier Market — along with other restaurant chains Mile- stones, Swiss Chalet and Mon- tana's — reversed its policy after being contacted by the CBC. Angus said about 40 employees contacted HR to complain about the changes. In a statement, Cara said it listened closely to staff feedback as the new uniform was rolled out. "Based on their input, we have made additional adjustments to the uniform specifi cations includ- ing adding options for additional footwear choices, hosiery, cardi- gans women can wear when they want, and an option for a longer dress," it said. "We have now made the male uniform option a unisex option available to female staff as well. Female staff who prefer to wear the jeans, shirt and running shoe option may return the dress for a full refund." Human rights legislation clear What's interesting is some hu- man rights legislation specifi cally prohibits this kind of behaviour by employers. Ontario's Human Rights Code, for example, has text that explicitly addresses this issue. While employers can certainly have diff erent uniforms for men and women, it states "an employ- er should be prepared to prove that any sex-linked diff erences in the dress code are bona fi de oc- cupational requirements. Do not subject female employees to more diffi cult requirements than male employees, and do not expect them to dress provocatively to at- tract clients. "It is discrimination based on sex to require female employees to wear high heels, short skirts and tight tops." ere's not much room for in- terpretation between those plain- language lines. And yet it hasn't stopped the proliferation of restaurants like this, nor aff ected the dress code at countless other establishments. It all comes back to the same point — sex sells. Always has, always will. And this isn't just an issue at breastaurants — I've heard oth- erwise respectable employers say they will only hire women — and only attractive women at that — for customer-facing positions, because clients love it and it in- creases sales and engagement. For HR professionals, the end result is an awkward dance be- tween driving revenue and ensur- ing staff aren't subject to repug- nant behaviour that could lead to signifi cant fi nes or lawsuits. And there's nothing sexy about that. COME PLY WITH US TORONTO — Employers evaluating their total rewards plans might want to consider an employee perk apparently given out at Ryerson University in Toronto: Plush toilet paper. e school is said to off er two-ply paper on the fl oors housing the president's of- fi ce and other administrative departments, while giving students the one-ply option, according to CityNews and the Canadian Press. University spokesperson Michael Forbes said the practice has been in place for more than a decade: "We are examining a switch to two-ply but we need to be mindful of costs and the fact that buildings with older plumbing systems can only ac- commodate one-ply." Faculty might be happy with the comfi er ar- rangement but students tweeted their disappointment: "You mean we've been stuck with tissue paper while they hoard the plushy good stuff ?" said Lexie Hinde. "It's PLY-GATE." Credit: Blan-k/Shutterstock

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