Canadian HR Reporter

PM40065782 RO9496 February 6, 2017 INSIDE Transforming people To provide employers with the right people capabilities to pivot or transform, HR must diagnose the deep, underlying needs of the workforce Facebook jobs Social network tries out jobs tab for employers page 2 Bad faith Harassed employee faces further abuse with dismissal page 5 What's facing HR? Roundtable looks at top trends and challenges page 10 page 13 Credit: Kevin Lamarque (Reuters) UNCERTAINTY AHEAD U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a meeting with business leaders at the White House in Washington on Jan. 23. Trump has said he plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) along with making changes to pipeline and manufacturing deals, creating uncertainty for Canadian employers and the labour market. STAY UP TO DATE AND OUT OF COURT Emplo y ment Law Today Canad a ian Find out more... Discount Program Providers Proud Winner Discount Program Provider Instant mobile and online access to exclusive discounts on everything from tickets and dining to shoes and travel. An award-winning core element of a complete compensation and benefi ts strategy. © Copyright 2017 Venngo Inc. All rights reserved. WorkPerks ® is a registered trade-mark of Venngo Inc. V1_20170112 .com/perks 1.866.383.6646 ext.202 the original perks company TM Alberta clarifies LTIP bonus upon termination Appeal court reverses 'surprising' Styles decision BY SARAH DOBSON WHEN the Oct. 5, 2015, decision came out, it caused quite a stir. A dismissed employee was awarded damages of $444,205 when the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta decided his employer breached the employment contract and long- term incentive plan agreement. But in reversing that ruling on Jan. 4, the Court of Appeal of Alberta has set things straight, according to legal experts — and provided relief to many employers with such plans. "Most employers' counsel were shocked when they saw (the 2015) decision and weren't happy… be- cause it really took the principles of good faith and extended them really far, and it also went in di- rect contrast to the plain language drafting of the long-term incen- tive plan, so that was very scary," said Sheena Owens, an associate at Gowling in Calgary. e lower court decision put a MEANING > pg. 12 Ottawa politicians put outplacement in spotlight Despite sticker shock, transition help makes sense BY MARCEL VANDER WIER CAREER transition experts are defending the use of outplacement services for outgoing employees after the Canadian government came under fire for racking up a bill of more than $4 million for outplacement and other forms of personal coaching in the past year. e federal Conservative party was scrutinized for amounts au- thorized by outgoing ministers looking to help their political aides' transition back into the pri- vate sector. Three former Conservative ministers — Chris Alexander, Steven Blaney and Peter MacKay — collectively spent more than $100,000 to provide outplacement to members of their department, with Alexander's bill alone com- ing in at $74,314, according to the National Post. "I saw this as the only honour- able and professional course of action, as well as an option that represented genuine value for taxpayers' money," said Alexander. "It is, in my view, the first re- sponsibility of a good manager to ensure the well-being and career advancement of staff who have toiled long hours over months and years of dedicated service, es- pecially when that service comes to an end abruptly." But while Canadians may be alarmed by the total bill in- curred for outplacement, that sticker shock should dissipate quickly with a better under- standing of what the service actually achieves, said Ken Krupat, GAINS > pg. 8 Do Canadians need 'right to disconnect'? France introduces new regulation BY JOHN DUJAY ON Jan. 1, France enacted a "right to disconnect" law that gives work- ers the right to ignore corporate communications after they leave the office. e new law compels compa- nies with more than 50 employees to negotiate email guidelines with workers. As well, employers are required to regulate email usage, allowing employees to break free from the office after hours. LEADERSHIP > pg. 17

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