Canadian HR Reporter - Sample Issue

CANADIAN HR REPORTER APRIL 2018 26 INSIGHT ROBOT RECALL PASADENA, CALIF. — Flippy, a burger-fl ipping robot, has been taken offl ine. e spatula-fi tted robot had been installed at a Cali Burger outlet in Pasadena, Calif., according to the BBC, but after just one day of work, it was turned off , apparently because the restaurant could not handle the extra orders that resulted with the new "work- er." e robot's creator, Miso Ro- botics, said it was testing the con- trols to ensure Flippy could cook quickly enough. Cali staff were also being trained to work better with the robot, as they needed to "choreograph" their movements around the motions of the robot, according to Anthony Lomelino, head of technology at Cali Burger. The restaurant chain originally "hired" Flippy to get around re- cruiting, training and turnover challenges, it said, and eventually hopes to install the robots at up to 50 outlets. GIVE ME A BREAK JAPAN — ere's often an unspo- ken resentment felt by non-smok- ers when they see their smoking colleagues heading outdoors for a smoke break, yet again. So one Japanese company decided to do something about it, according to CNBC. After a non-smoking employee submitted a complaint about the smoke breaks aff ecting productivity, marketing fi rm Piala changed its paid time-off policy. Now, non-smoking staff can take an additional six days off per year to make up for the time smokers take for cigarette breaks. "I hope to encourage employees to quit smoking through incentives, rath- er than penalties or coercion," said CEO Takao Asuka. And apparent- ly it's working — four of the com- pany's 42 employees have already given up their smoking habit. FEEDING TIME PRESTON, IDAHO — A science teacher's decision to feed a live puppy to a turtle at a high school in the small town of Preston, Idaho, was met with mixed reaction re- cently. After classes had fi nished, Robert Crosland apparently gave the ailing puppy to the snapping turtle. When word got out, one animal rights activist called it a "cut-and-dried case of animal cru- elty" and fi led a complaint with the sheriff 's department, which launched an investigation, accord- ing to the Los Angeles Times. But many locals praised the teacher, and said the incident was not trau- matizing for kids. "My children work on farms, they understand life and death," said one parent. e Preston School District called the feeding "regrettable" and said it was taking steps to ensure that kind of action didn't happen again. "We hope any errors in judgment made by a teacher in this instance will not cause us to forget the years of care, eff ort and passion the teacher has given to students." SPECIAL DELIVERIES COLUMBUS, OHIO — A milk deliveryman was delivering much more than milk, apparently, dur- ing his visits to an Ohio prison. Ray Adams worked with an in- mate at Lebanon Correctional Facility to facilitate the smug- gling of marijuana, tobacco and cellphones inside half-pint milk cartons, according to the Associ- ated Press. Fifty-year-old Adams made thousands of dollars sneak- ing the items into the facility over time, according to the county prosecutor, but was arrested and charged in January. It's a very sad situation, according to Doug Lon- genette, director of HR at United Dairy, who said the family-owned business would never condone such activity. NOT QUITE THE SAME DUNCAN, B.C. – An employer keen to use robotics may have been a little overzealous, judging by a recent incident at an after-care home. Apparently, staff at Sunridge Place in Duncan, B.C., decided to replace the beloved cat of resident Dawn Douglas with a robotic version — and her family is not happy. Douglas has dementia, and her family had been fi ghting to have the cat — Snoop — live with their mother, after providing the appropriate documentation, ac- cording to the Canadian Press. But within days of the reunion, Snoop was replaced by an automated version. So now the family is turning to the health authority, their local politician and even the RCMP to get answers. A spokesperson for Park Place Seniors Living, which oper- ates Sunridge, said a staff member had a severe allergic reaction, plus residents are not allowed to have pets, so the cat had to be removed. But the family said the home took advantage of Douglas' condi- tion and their treatment of her amounts to elder abuse. Credit: Palto (Shutterstock) is turning to the health authority, their local politician and even the RCMP to get answers. A spokesperson for Park Place Seniors Living, which oper- ates Sunridge, said a staff member had a severe allergic reaction, plus residents are not allowed to have pets, so the cat had to be removed. But the family said the home took advantage of Douglas' condi- tion and their treatment of her Vol. 31 No. 4 – April 2018 PUBLISHED BY Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2018 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. CANADIAN HR REPORTER is published 12 times a year. Publications Mail – Agreement # 40065782 Registration # 9496 – ISSN 0838-228X Director, Media Solutions, Canada: Karen Lorimer - (416) 649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com EDITORIAL Publisher/Editor in Chief: Todd Humber - (416) 298-5196 todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com Editor/Supervisor: Sarah Dobson - (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com News Editor Marcel Vander Wier - (416) 649-7837 marcel.vanderwier@thomsonreuters.com Employment Law Editor: Jeffrey R. Smith - (416) 649-7881 jeffrey.r.smith@thomsonreuters.com Labour Relations News Editor: John Dujay - (416) 298-5129 john.dujay@thomsonreuters.com Web/IT Co-ordinator: Mina Patel - (416) 649-7879 mina.patel@thomsonreuters.com ADVERTISING Sales Manager: Paul Burton - (416) 649-9928 paul.burton@thomsonreuters.com Production Co-ordinator: Pamela Menezes - (416) 649-9298 pamela.menezes@thomsonreuters.com MARKETING AND CIRCULATION Marketing & Audience Development Manager: Robert Symes - (416) 649-9551 rob.symes@thomsonreuters.com Marketing Co-ordinator: Keith Fulford - (416) 649-9585 keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com PRODUCTION Manager, Media Production: Lisa Drummond - (416) 649-9415 lisa.drummond@thomsonreuters.com Art Director: Karen Alexiou SUBSCRIPTIONS Annual subscription: $175 (plus tax) GST/HST#: 897 176 350 RT To subscribe, call one of the customer service numbers listed below or visit www.hrreporter.com. 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: customersupport. legaltaxcanada@tr.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com CHRR reserves the right to edit for length and clarity. Todd Humber EDiTOR'S NOTeS Cross money off taboo topic list P ay equity hasn't worked. Equal pay for equal work hasn't been much better at moving the needle. Now, On- tario is charging forward with proposed legislation that would require organizations to be transparent with pay practices. In an age of overregulation, it's another frustrating burden on employers. But it's the only option left after decades of indiff erence — and it is going to work. Last year, Ontario's Pay Equity Offi ce marked the 30th anniver- sary of the province's pay equity legislation with, among other things, an advertising campaign that touted the progress. When the law was passed in 1987, Ian Scott — Ontario's attorney gen- eral and solicitor general — fêted the move. "We have before us the fi rst tru- ly proactive pay equity legislation for the public and private sectors in North America," he said. For three decades, employers have been hammered with aware- ness campaigns and enforcement efforts. Advertisements, which ran in Canadian HR Reporter in 2017, pointed out that, in 2015- 16, nearly 1,900 women received more than $6.8 million in adjust- ments as a result of workplace investigations. Laudable, yes. Good enough? No. Ontario is hardly alone on this front. In the United States, NBC News reported earlier this year that women only earned 79 cents for every dollar a man earns — a gap that, at the current rate, would not be eradicated until 2059. Editor Sarah Dobson tackles Ontario's proposal in-depth in one of this issue's cover stories (see "Ontario pushes for greater pay transparency," page 1.) But, essentially, employers would be barred from asking about past compensation and job postings would be required to include a salary rate or range. e fi rst bit is an easy pill to swallow. ere are plenty of ques- tions hiring managers can't ask, and this can be added to that list. But savvy employers will always be sure to ask a candidate for her expectations. at is allowed un- der the proposed legislation, and information gleaned can be used to tailor off ers. e requirement to post salary rates or ranges, however, is going to cause some consternation and headaches. And that's kind of the point. After decades of stern warn- ings and hand slapping, legisla- tors have had enough. Buoyed by recent waves of change, particu- larly the #MeToo movement, Ca- nadian society in general has hit a tipping point when it comes to gender discrimination. Money is no longer a taboo top- ic. While the legislation doesn't encourage workers to share pay stubs, it does take away the ability of employers to punish employees for breaching the confi dentiality provisions standard in many em- ployment contracts. Iceland is ahead of the equal pay curve. On Jan. 1, 2018, new legisla- tion came into force that provides daily fi nes for companies that pay men more than women. And the beauty of Iceland's proposal (or maybe the headache, from the employer's viewpoint) is that it's not a complaint-driven process. e onus isn't on workers to raise a stink — it's on the company to prove compliance. Britain is on a similar track. Every organization with more than 250 employees is required to report on their gender pay gap to the Government Equalities Of- fi ce. is rule applies to both pub- lic and private organizations, and the deadline to do so is upon us: April 4, 2018. e government in the U.K. is taking a "name and shame" ap- proach to the problem. "There are no plans to pun- ish companies that have a wide gender pay gap, but the govern- ment has stated that it will pub- lish sector-specifi c league tables, highlighting companies failing to address pay diff erences between men and women," the Guardian posted in a Q&A on the topic. "Greater pressure may come from companies' own employees and scrutiny from competitors and in the media." Universum's Cost of Talent 2017 examined the gender gap in 29 countries. What may not be shocking to hear is that, in all 29 nations, men had higher salary expectations than their female peers. It looked at more than 533,000 new graduates in the business and STEM fi elds and asked them what they expected to earn in their fi rst gig. Among business students, Ma- laysia, Sweden and Canada ranked the best when it came to the gap, and Russia, India and Spain were at the bottom. But don't go waving the maple leaf too vigorously yet — because we were among the worst, with Netherlands and Indonesia, when it came to the STEM sector. Female STEM grads in Canada expected to earn $41,573 per year while men expected heftier wal- lets at $49,565 — a considerable gap. e pace of change is simply too slow. Governments expect more progress, society expects the gap to be closed immediately and enlightened employers are jumping on this bandwagon. Transparency will work. It al- ways does. Sunshine, after all, is the best disinfectant. HR's job is to ensure the compensation philos- ophy and market research about pay rates is sound and defensible. Because, in Ontario (to start), it's going to become public information.

• Cover