Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER January 25, 2016 FEATURES 21 Credit: Stephen Lam (Reuters) No room for haggling Ellen Pao (left), former interim CEO of Reddit — and a former plaintiff in a high-profi le Silicon Valley gender discrimination lawsuit — announced salary negotiations would be banned for new employees, in an eff ort to create greater pay equity. $1-million lawsuit brews Recalling the well-known 2012 case of Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp. — in which an employee was initially awarded $1 million in punitive damages, later dropped to $100,000 — Starbucks faced a similar hurdle. A former barista fi led a statement of claim against her supervisor and the coff ee chain looking for general and special damages for $1 million, and punitive and exemplary damages for an unspecifi c amount. e United States chain also faced controversy when it launched a social campaign meant to "stimulate conversation, compassion and action around race in America." e initiative saw the chain's baristas writing the words "Race Together" on customers' cups in an attempt to spark discussion, but it suff ered from public backlash and questions around a lack of diversity in Starbucks' senior leadership. HR metrics lacking trust Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of senior fi nancial executives do not regularly use HR analytics to better understand the costs associated with their workforce, according to a survey by the Canadian Financial Executives Research Foundation. Why? Trust could be an issue — just one-third said they fully trust the data while another third "somewhat" trust the numbers. Dismissing without cause clarifi ed A Federal Court of Appeal decision eight months in the making overturned almost 40 years of arbitral law. In Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., the court held that federally regulated employers may dismiss employees without cause. Previously, the general consensus was that employees governed by the Canada Labour Code could only be terminated for just cause. 1 voice, 1 designation, 1 standard e Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA) announced it had changed its structure signifi cantly, with a redesigned philosophy, a new set of core principles and new bylaws — along with rumours Quebec was boosting its involvement. Interview process drags out even more e average interview time — from the moment a person applies to when he fi nds out he got a job — has increased globally in length by 3.3 to 3.7 days since 2010, according to Glassdoor. But there's good news: Of the six countries surveyed, Canada had the quickest timelines, averaging 22.1 days in 2014, compared to 22.9 in the United States, 31.9 in France and 28.6 in the United Kingdom. Privacy breaches in health care Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford (right), suff ering from stomach cancer, saw his health records breached twice by several staff at health-care centres treating him, as have other patients across the country. While the reasons why may not always be clearcut, more needs to be done to avoid further violations, say the experts. Credit: Nick Turchiaro (USA TODAY Sports) Credit: David Ryder (Reuters) Credit: Jason Lee (Reuters) Rise of the robots By 2025, the adoption of advanced robots will boost business productivity by up to 30 per cent in many industries, according to Boston Consulting Group. e automation will also lower labour costs by 18 per cent or more in countries that are early adopters, including the United States, Japan, China and Germany. Constructive dismissal clarifi ed e issue of constructive dismissal was further clarifi ed in the Supreme Court of Canada decision Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission. e court decided David Potter had been constructively dismissed from his job as an executive director after he was put on indefi nite — but paid — suspension after nearing the end of a sick leave. Potter had been told he "ought not" to return to work but was given no reason. No cure-all for sick notes e plague that is doctor's notes came to the forefront when the Federal Court of Appeal, in Western Grain By-Products Storage Ltd. v. Donaldson, ruled the employer was entitled to a more detailed sick note than the original two- liner that stated the employee was "now capable of returning to his job." e worker, absent for 25 weeks, was required to present a better doctor's note "as to his fi tness level in relation to his duties and the work environment" before he could return to work. 'Take care of me' Four in fi ve Canadian workers expect their employer to help support their physical and psychological health, according to a study by Sun Life Financial. Millennials in particular feel employers have a key role to play, found the study of 2,404 Canadians. FEATURES 21 Corporate espionage on the railroads Canada's two major railways were engaged in a feud over alleged corporate espionage when CN said one of its former employees shared secret customer information with CP. While restrictive covenants can add protection for employers, they're not foolproof, say legal experts. Credit: Olga Gabay (Shutterstock) Ghomeshi report highlights bad behaviour A report looking at former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi and allegations of sexual harassment was fi lled with examples of a workplace challenged by bad behaviour, lack of trust, inept leadership, egoism and faulty processes. e situation should not be written off as unique, said one lawyer, because many workplaces have problem employees who are also star employees. Manitoba eases PTSD process Calling it a fi rst for Canada, Manitoba announced it planned to amend workers' compensation coverage around post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). e legislation would be based on presumption, so claims would be incident-based instead of occupation-based, for all workers, not just fi rst responders. is would simplify the adjudication process by eliminating the need to draw a causal connection between certain facts, according to the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba. Credit: Chris Wattie (Reuters) Misjudging fi t common Nearly six in 10 (58 per cent) HR managers have misjudged a candidate's fi t with their company's work environment, while nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) have lost employees because they were not suited to the work environment, according to an Offi ceTeam survey. Employment standard changes Alterations to Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA) meant major changes for employers when it comes to areas such as ESA claims and wage recovery, working with temporary staffi ng agencies and record-keeping. Longer hours = less productivity Long working hours — in excess of 50 hours per week — may seem designed for productivity gains but, in practice, they produce just the opposite eff ect, according to a study out of Stanford University, which found workers who put in 55 to 70 hour per week are producing almost nothing during those additional hours. Credit: Lightspring (Shutterstock) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (right) greets Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger in November. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in March.

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