Canadian HR Reporter

PM40065782 RO9496 October 3, 2016 INSIDE 4 MYTHS DEBUNKED Everything is not what it seems in the disability management industry — vested interest has a significant influence Travel is down But in-person meetings are still considered valuable page 2 Disputing wages Federal Court looks at foreign worker calculations page 5 Mobility numbers A look at the top 5 factors driving change page 16 page 13 Credit: Todd Korol (Reuters) Venngo — an award winning core element of a complete compensation and benefi ts strategy. more ways to save — mobile, in-store and online. the original perks company TM the original perks company TM venngo.com/perks 1.866.383.6646 ext.202 20160913_hrReporter_earLug_oct1_001.indd 4 2016-09-13 4:20 PM Salary caps hit Ontario's broader public sector But critics question logic behind framework BY SARAH DOBSON LOOKING to ensure execu- tive compensation in the broader public sector is "accountable and transparent," the Ontario gov- ernment is implementing a new framework that includes sal- ary caps and performance-related payments for hospitals, universi- ties, colleges, school boards and government agencies. But the move is receiving mixed reviews, with experts questioning the impact on boards, compensa- tion strategies and recruitment. "Do we need it? Honestly, I don't think so because I think this kind of regulation is sold as an answer to high-profile scandals… with the underlying assumption there is a systemic issue in top executives in public institutions in Ontario related to their compensation. And I think this is wrong — there is no evidence of any systemic is- sue," said Bertrand Malsch, asso- ciate professor and distinguished faculty fellow in accounting at the Smith School of Business at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. "I tend to believe that there are only a few bad apples." And the change seems to ques- tion the expertise of boards. "Theoretically speaking, con- ceptually speaking, organiza- tionally speaking, the board is in charge of determining the com- pensation of top executives, so when you have this kind of regu- lation, the signal which is sent is that the board has done a relatively poor job in the design of compen- sation policies," said Malsch. It's all the more worrying since some board members were ap- pointed by the government, he said. "If we are really unhappy with the compensation policies, it means we are unhappy with the work performed by directors and it means we should remove them… or at least change the way we hire them or train them differ- ently… Otherwise, this is just the government saying it doesn't trust EMPLOYERS > pg. 8 Recruitment, retention keep HR up at night: Poll BY SARAH DOBSON FOR all the growth and develop- ment HR has seen through the years, it's still the basics that pre- occupy the profession, as seen in a recent survey by Canadian HR Reporter. e top challenges HR professionals face in their role are recruitment and retention, found the survey of 157 respondents. It's obviously a supply and demand issue, with challenges around education, according to Debby Carreau, CEO and founder of Inspired HR in Calgary. "e expertise and the human capital assets that businesses are looking for today don't exist how we need them to, especially in Canada. I think we lost a lot of brain trust right now to the U.S. Also, post-secondary education has been a little bit slow in terms of offering what we need for where businesses are going. All the STEM careers, for example, it's much more challenging to get HR > pg. 10 Phoenix woes for federal workers highlight challenges for payroll Despite glitches, staff must be paid on time: Lawyer BY SHEILA BRAWN WHILE PAY woes for federal civil servants dealing with the new Phoenix payroll system have made headlines in recent months — as glitches have seen tens of thou- sands of workers being paid too much, too little or nothing at all — potential payroll problems lurk for any employer making payroll- related changes. "There is a whole bunch of things that can go wrong," ac- cording to Gilles Champagne, owner and principal consultant of the Mosaic Advisory Group in Ottawa. Whether an employer is imple- menting a new in-house payroll system, outsourcing its payroll, switching providers or moving to a different pay period, change can lead to problems. If this happens, payroll profes- sionals have to be ready to not only identify and fix the problem, but also find a way to meet payroll obligations in the meantime, said Champagne. "You can't fool around with that side of it, number one, from an employment standards perspec- tive; and, number two, (it's about) making sure you've got proper de- ductions being remitted on time," he said. "Otherwise, you can get your- self in a whole bunch of other problems." Employment standards laws across the country require em- ployers to pay employees regularly within a specified time. "It's not possible just to say, 'You can work for me and I'll pay you when my system is up and running or when money is available.' ere has to be a regular payday and the obligation is to make a payment," said lawyer Sean McGee of the firm Nelligan O'Brien Payne in Ottawa. "What flows from that is that anytime there is a payment that is missed, it's a breach of the con- tract that an employer has with the employee. ere are legal conse- quences to that, one of which is the employment standards legislation in the province is going to say that a failure to pay is a violation of the particular statute and so (an) enforcement mechanism can be brought to bear," he said. "It's also a violation of the BUSINESS > pg. 12 SERVING UP HIGHER WAGES Alberta Premier Rachel Notley flips pancakes during the Calgary Stampede. The premier recently confirmed the province's minimum wage will rise to $15 by 2018, though business groups and opposition critics have urged the government to rethink the move.

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