northstar-hr

Paid IDEL Leave has Been Extended

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 12:15:43 GMT

July 2022 marks the end of the “COVID Period” as defined by the Ontario government.

July 2022 marks the end of the “COVID Period” as defined by the Ontario government. Specifically:

July 30 ^th marks the end of the “deemed” Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL) for those non-unionized employees who had their hours or pay reduced / eliminated for reasons related to COVID.
July 31 ^st was to mark the end of the 3 paid IDEL (or sick) days per employee for reasons related to COVID

However, the government has recently extended the paid IDEL program until March 31, 2023.

What this means for you (*non-unionized only):

The “deemed” IDEL is still expected to end on July 30, 2022 as planned. This means that any employees that still have reduced hours or wages due to COVID reasons will be placed on temporary lay-off as of July 31, 2022. Previous ESA rules will apply – temporary layoffs can last 13 or 35 weeks (depending on several factors), after which time the employee is entitled to termination pay. The concept of Constructive Dismissal will continue as per pre-COVID. Namely, a significant (negative) change to an employee’s terms and conditions of work – even if related to COVID – can lead to a constructive dismissal claim.

If you have any employees that are on reduced hours/wages because of COVID impacts, you are strongly encouraged to either bring them back to work before July 30th OR be ready to supply them with a proper layoff letter on July 30th. Please contact me if this applies to you so we can determine a plan that works for your business.
Employees are still eligible for 3 PAID IDEL (sick) days if they are off for reasons related to COVID including to get tested, to await the results of a COVID test, while sick with COVID, to get medical treatment for mental health reasons relating to COVID, to get vaccinated, while experiencing side effects from a vaccination, to self-isolate, or to provide care or support to certain relatives for COVID-related reasons.

Be aware of the reasons your employees are taking time off and ensure they are compensated accordingly.

Employees are entitled to 3 paid days in total during the program, NOT per incident
You are required to pay an employee the lesser of $200 per day OR their regular wages they would have earned had they worked that day
You can apply for reimbursement for these paid days through WSIB . You do not have to be covered under WSIB and reimbursements will not affect your WSIB premiums.
This program will continue until at least March 31, 2023

Attracting and Retaining Top Talent in 2022

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 18:27:46 GMT

The pandemic, a change in how people view work, and the meaning that work brings to people’s lives have together created the biggest talent crisis in recent history. According to Harvard Business Review in January of this year: 41% of employees in the global workforce are considering resigning from their roles, and 36% of those leaving are doing so without having their next job lined up.

Work is about more than a paycheque now; therefore, we need to be ensuring that we’re able to attract the right talent and retain our top talent.

Trends for Attracting the Best Talent

1. Create and Communicate a Clear and Authentic Brand

Candidates are more interested in working for companies whose values align with their own. Ensure that you’re connecting to the issues that are important to people today: things like social causes, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability.

Candidates can better asses their own fit when your brand clearly speaks to your values and culture from the outset. Make sure your website, your application process, and your employees reflect your brand.

2. Leverage Employee Referrals

Increase your sourcing speed, save on recruiting costs, and improve your quality-of-hire by encouraging current employees to refer potential candidates from their own network.

Use incentives like referral bonuses for successful hires or “recruitment cards” that employees can give out when they meet someone impressive in their daily life. There’s nothing like an ego boost to pique a potential candidate’s interest in working for you!

3. Streamline Your Application Process

Your recruiting process should be agile and lean so that you can quickly move to hire when you find the right candidate. The time to hire, starting from when a candidate first applies, should take 2-3 days… or you risk losing that candidate.

Review your recruitment process and remove any unnecessary steps.

Optimize the apply process for mobile devices and provide text-to-apply options
Interview in groups instead of bringing the person back for multiple interviews
Conduct references concurrently with a conditional offer

4. Maintain Great Communication Throughout the Process

Just like your employees appreciate frequent feedback, candidates value excellent communication throughout your recruitment process. Take the time to create a bond, make the candidate feel welcome and wanted.

Communicate through text messages. 69% of candidates prefer texting versus email or phone calls for job-related communications. And text messages boast a 98% read rate.
Follow up with candidates. The number one complaint candidates have with recruiters and hiring managers is the lack of follow up. This is especially important if you’ve interviewed the candidate. If you’re not going to hire someone, let them know and keep the relationship positive.

Trends for Retaining Top Talent

Once you’ve hired the perfect candidate, you must continue to work hard to ensure they want to stay working with your company. There is a lot of competition for talent. Here’s what employees are valuing in 2022:

1. Professional Development and Internal Mobility

Employees appreciate professional development opportunities like on-the-job training, special projects, one-on-one mentor relationships, and access to career counseling or development programs.

Giving employees an opportunity to grow within your company is a win-win — especially in a tight labor market. For you, internal hires turn your existing workforce into a robust talent pool and reduces the resources needed to fill an open role. For your employees, the opportunity to move around within your organization creates an incentive to stay with you for the long-term. Mobility doesn’t always have to be upwards. The chance to learn a new skill or a different part of the business through a lateral move is just as valuable to employees as upward movement.

2. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Although balance has been discussed for decades, never have we seen employees demand such work-life balance and flexibility. The pandemic has shifted employees’ priorities. They appreciate flexible work schedules: that can mean flexible hours in the office so they can take their kids to sports after school or take care of appointments or run errands during the day, or it can be the opportunity to work from a home a few days a week.

Employees value companies that value their wellbeing. Activities like group yoga, friendly athletic competitions, and regular team-building activities outside the office provide welcome breaks. Try providing that sense of rejuvenation and freedom.

4. Recognition

Today’s employees want to feel valued. Show your appreciation through employee-recognition programs, performance bonuses, and a comfortable work environment. Here are some interesting facts:

79% of employees feel undervalued, mainly due to a lack of recognition at work
79% of millennials said an increase in rewards would make them more loyal to their employer
44% of employees switch jobs because of not getting adequate recognition for their efforts

With so many employees feeling underappreciated, its easy to be seen as a top employer simply by recognizing your people when they work hard or excel in their current position.

Recognition and rewards can be as simple as a personalized card of thanks, or an email sent to the office highlighting what makes that employee a great one. Recognition can motivate other employees to improve their performance so they too can be recognized, ultimately strengthening your overall workforce.

Its an employees market right now. Candidates can pick and choose what companies they want to work for. If you’re not providing what employees want, you risk missing out on the top talent – because they will get it somewhere else. Maybe even with your competitors.

If you’d like to talk about attraction or retention strategies, feel free to contact Sara at North Star HR Solutions directly at 416-894-1079 or sara@northstarhr.ca

Frustration of Contract Can be Frustrating

accounting@shaneserra.com (Shane Serra) — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 18:27:45 GMT

One of the most common issues I hear from clients is “My employee has been on sick leave for (2 weeks, 6 months, 2 years).

We don’t know when they are coming back. Can we terminate them for frustration of contract?”

Frustration of contract occurs when the contract (the employment relationship in this case), whether in writing or implied, becomes impossible to uphold. For example, when the employee is unable to perform their job or the employer is unable to offer work, for reasons beyond the control of either party.

This article will focus on frustration of contract due to illness or injury, because that is the most common for us.

Be aware however, that there are other reasons to claim frustration that are handled differently than described here.

Frustration of contract does not occur after a certain amount of time. Meaning, you cannot simply say ‘my employee has been off work for 2 years; therefore, it is time to claim frustration.’ Rather, frustration of contract is a function of the employee’s prognosis - when a doctor claims there is no reasonable expectation that the employee will be able to return to work in the reasonably foreseeable future.

Any time an employee is off work for more than 5 consecutive days, you as the employer should ask to have their doctor complete a Physician’s Statement which provides details on the prognosis, any potential restrictions or limitations, and the expected return to work date. Follow up forms should be completed by the doctor in intervals that are appropriate to the length of the leave. All forms should specifically ask the question: What is the likelihood of this employee returning to work in the reasonably foreseeable future?

As long as the doctor says there is a likelihood of the employee returning to work, you are required to accommodate this leave – whether it lasts for 2 months or 5+ years. Keep in mind that eligibility for Long Term Disability benefits is not the same as a medical leave requiring accommodation. In other words, just because an employee is denied LTD benefits doesn’t mean that you no longer have to accommodate the leave and can claim frustration of contract.

When and if the doctor says there is no expectation of the employee returning to work in the reasonably foreseeable future, then you can start thinking about frustration of contract.

When claiming frustration of contract due to illness or injury, you still need to provide the employee with the statutory notice of termination, or pay in lieu of the notice period, according to the Employment Standards Act. You do not have to pay common law termination amounts in this case.

So, what can you do to protect yourself and your business?

Have an Absenteeism policy that requires employees to provide regular medical updates. Ensure your employees are aware of this policy and requirement.
Follow-up with the employee’s doctor regularly. Be sure you are receiving clear information – if you have questions about the information, reach out to the doctor to get clear answers.
Ensure that you are regularly asking the doctor about the employee’s prognosis and the expectation of a return to work in the reasonable future.

If you have questions about employees on leave, how to handle a suspected frustration of contract situation, or would like assistance managing a sick leave, call North Star HR Solutions at 416-894-1079 or sara@northstarhr.ca .