Canadian HR Reporter

PM40065782 RO9496 November 27, 2017 page 21 INSIDE Getting employees back to work LTD coverage provides valuable nancial protection, but many employers feel the ability to offer coverage is being eroded by factors beyond their control Women wanted Action plan hopes to get more women into manufacturing page 2 Discrimination B.C. tribunal says employer should have seen illness page 5 Finding the light HR's important role as AI disrupts the workplace page 10 Credit: Mario Zanuoni (Reuters) Why is sexual harassment not going away? Recent revelations highlight important role of HR, managers BY MARCEL VANDER WIER REVERBERATIONS from the fall of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein on charges of sexual harassment continue to be felt across the continent, with head- lines and allegations piling up by the day. The subsequent social media hashtag of #metoo saw many vic- tims sharing their personal stories of sexual abuse. If employers aren't yet taking notice, they should be, according to experts. For one, the Canadian govern- ment has moved to update its sexual harassment legislation, at- tempting to give federally regulat- ed organizations clearer courses of action to deal with allegations. Consultations completed by the federal government found that incidents continue to go under- reported, while reported claims are often handled inappropriately. And with the media spotlight trained squarely on sexual harass- ment, victims are becoming more willing to come forward with claims, said Andrew Monkhouse, employment lawyer at Monk- house Law in Toronto. "It's really taken the lid off of a lot of complaints that would nor- mally otherwise not have been raised because people felt that it might damage their career or hurt their situation," he said. "Increased knowledge has led to an increased number of com- plaints about sexual harassment, specifically in the workplace… e right things are happening in THE > pg. 8 Changes to EI benefi ts come into force Dec. 3 HR should review agreements, contracts, benefi ts BY MARCEL VANDER WIER A REVIEW of collective bargain- ing agreements, employment con- tracts and benefi t plans is in order at Canadian organizations, follow- ing a federal announcement that changes to employment insurance (EI) benefi ts will take eff ect Dec. 3. The updates to EI caregiv- ing benefi ts will apply across the country, while the alterations to maternity and parental benefi ts will apply everywhere but Quebec, which follows the Quebec Paren- tal Insurance Plan, said Andrew Brown, acting director of general EI policy at Employment and So- cial Development Canada (ESDC). While all provincial and terri- torial jurisdictions currently align with the federal maternity and pa- ternal benefi ts, the new changes will require adoption under each's respective employment standards legislation, he said during a webi- nar hosted by the Vanier Institute of the Family in November. "It can take some time. ere is one province that so far has announced that it will be making changes, and that's Ontario, where they introduced changes to their employment standards legislation to refl ect the changes to this new parental benefi ts option." Parenting redefi ned Three principles are guiding the changes to EI benefi ts, said Brown — fl exibility, accessibility and inclusion. "We're providing more choice around the timing when the ben- efi ts can be taken to help families balance work and family responsi- bilities," he said. "Parents will have more fl exibility in how to take the parental benefi t weeks, with more weeks available to share." " ere will also be more fl exibil- ity in terms of who can receive EI OPTION > pg. 20 Looking for a better way Employer alliance touts benefi ts of providing decent work BY SARAH DOBSON WITH all the talk of disruption in the workforce — whether because of technology, legislative changes, multiple generations or the gig economy — the news is often fi lled with employers complaining about rising costs and a scarcity of top talent. But one group of employers — the Better Way to Build the Econ- omy Alliance (BWA) — is taking a diff erent stance. It's about making a commitment to decent work because it makes good economic sense, according to Amanda Terfl oth, researcher, co-ordinator and producer at the BWA in Toronto. That includes providing an hourly wage of $15, a preference for providing full-time over part- time work, paid sick days and se- cure scheduling. " ere's clearly a growing pub- lic appetite for decent work condi- tions, not only on the worker end but on the employer end for this kind of model, in looking at things LOW-WAGE > pg. 9 Canadian actress Rachel McAdams recently joined a chorus of women accusing U.S. screenwriter James Toback of abuse. Despite efforts to eradicate sexual harassment from the workplace, it remains a major problem. payroll-reporter.com LEGISLATION PAYROLL NEWS, AND TIPS

• Cover