Le 26 octobre 2012, HR pros incorporated a reçu le prix d’excellence dans la catégorie micro-entreprise au concours de reconnaissance entrepreneuriale des PME acadiennes et francophones de la Nouvelle-Écosse.
L’événement à fait la une du Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse.
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Understanding your WCB Premiums
In this FREE webinar, you will learn:
a. how WCB functions;
b. how WCB determines your rate;
c. strategies and tips to reduce your WCB rates.
Find our how a company achieved a reduction of more than $400,000 in medical claims in less than 18 months.!
Dates and Times (all times are Atlantic Times)
Select the session that fits your schedule:
Saturday 28 April 2012 is the National Day of Mourning. Each year, this day has been set aside to honour those workers across Canada whose lives have been lost, injured, disabled or who suffer from occupational diseases because of hazards or incidents in the workplace.
The National Day of Mourning, also known as the Workers’ Memorial day, was launched by the Canadian Labour Congress in 1984 and was officially recognized by the federal government in 1991. The Day of Mourning is now recognized in about 80 countries around the world.
The number of deaths in the Canadian workplace each year is astonishing! For the 10 year period of 2000 to 2010 there were 9780 workplace deaths in Canada, including the deaths of 207 Nova Scotia workers during the same period.
Work-related accidents are very expensive. The total of compensation paid to work accident victims, or their families, and of other economic costs of work-related injuries, each year are estimated at more than $12 billion. This figure does not take into account the pain and suffering of the victims and their families, which are incalculable.
The purpose of Day of Mourning is twofold – to remember and honour those lives lost or injured and to renew the commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace – to prevent further deaths, injuries and diseases from work. Typically the Canadian flag on Parliament Hill is flown at half-mast, and workers and employees observe this day in various ways including lighting candles, donning ribbons and black armbands, and observing moments of silence.
Should you wish to honour our fallen workers on April 28, join a Day of Mourning ceremony in a community near you:
Nova Scotia
Halifax, 11 a.m., Province House, 1726 Hollis St., contact: nsfl@ns.aliant.zinc.ca
Sydney, 11 a.m., Royal Canadian Legion – Branch 128, 850 Victoria Rd., Whitney Pier, contact: 902.562.8604
Kentville, 2 p.m., Kentville Memorial Park, Park St. (Main St.), contact: deantupper@xcountry.tv
Bridgewater, 7 p.m., Royal Canadian Legion Hall, 78 Churchill St., contact: budjohnson@ns.sympatico.ca
Port Hawkesbury, 3 p.m., CEP Union Hall, 323 Reeves St., contact: 902.863.2113
Pictou County, 6 p.m., Trenton Steeltown Park, contact: 902.695.7249
New Brunswick
Bathurst – Day of Mourning Monument, Douglas Avenue, April 28, 11 a.m.
Fredericton – Fredericton Fallen Firefighters Memorial, April 28, 12 p.m
Miramichi – Workers’ Monument, Newcastle, April 28, 12 p.m.
Moncton – Bore View Park Cenotaph, April 28, 12 p.m.
Restigouche – Atholville, walk departs from the AV Cell Mill and ends at the town hall, April 29, 1 p.m.
Saint John – Hatheway Labour Exhibit Centre, Lily Lake, April 28, 12 p.m.
Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown – Province House, April 28, 2 p.m.
The National Day of Mourning is as much a day to remember the dead as it is a call to protect the living. Every employer should recognize this day but every employer should also take tangible steps to improve their workplace safety through safety programming, hazard assessment and training. For an assessment of your workplace safety needs please contact: Sylvain Allaire, VP Sales & Marketing, (902) 877-1887 or by email at sylvain@hr-pros.ca.
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I realise that summer is still a few months away but it is not too early to start thinking about your staffing plans for the summer. My experiences with hiring summer students have all been positive. They were eager to learn and work! Great attributes in any employee!
If you are interested in hiring a summer student there are a number of government programs to assist with wages and training. But don’t wait too long to start planning. Deadlines for grant applications vary between the end of January to mid-March.
The Canada Summer Jobs program is designed to focus on local priorities while helping both students and their communities. The deadline for grant application is 29 February. Not-for-profit employers were eligible for 100% funding of the provincial minimum hourly wage per student. Private sector employees with 50 or fewer employees are eligible for funding for up to 50% of the provincial minimum hourly wage rate. Details of the program can be found on the Services Canada website or by calling: 1-800-935-5555.
Young Canada Works is funded by Heritage Canada and administers three summer job programs for students: YCW for Aboriginal Youth in Urban Area; YCW in Heritage Organization; and YCW in Both Official Languages. A total of 2,780 jobs are subsidized under these three programs. The programs may contribute up to 75 percent of the student’s employment costs (wages, benefits and other eligible expenditures) to a maximum of $8,000 per job and $50,000 per employer. Deadline for application is 1 February 2012.
In New Brunswick, the Student Employment Experience Development program provides funding to municipalities, government agencies, non-profit organizations and First Nation communities to hire students for a minimum of eight weeks. The deadline for application is March 1st. Contact the regional office of the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour closest to you for more information.
SkillsPEI administers the Post-Secondary Student Program funded by the government of Prince Edward Island. The Program is designed to create jobs for post-secondary students by providing a financial incentive to Island employers who provide students with summer employment in their field of study. Details of the program for 2012 will be on-line in early February. In 2011, private sector employers were refunded between $5.23 and $5.66 per hour paid while non-profit and public sector employers received between $10.46 and $11.32 per hour for up to 40 hours per week. Employment had to be provided for a minimum of 8 weeks to a maximum of 14 weeks.
The Health Care Futures Program provides Island students with summer employment in health care facilities throughout the province. Last year, the program paid between $9.83 and $10.81 per hour for 37.5 hours per week. The Nursing Student Summer Employment program provides employment for up to 12 weeks for Nursing Students who have successfully completed at least one year of a recognized Bachelor Degree in Nursing Program or Practical Nursing Diploma Program. Application for both of these Programs will be available on line in early February.
In Nova Scotia, the Student Career Skills Development Program (SCSDP) partners with not-for-profit organizations to create career-related summer jobs for post-secondary students. The jobs are distributed across the province based on population and unemployment for each county. Deadline for application is 31 January 2012.
While it is not a “summer student” program per se, the Strategic Cooperative Education Incentive provides private sector, government-funded and non-profit organizations 50 per cent of the required minimum hourly wage of $15.00 an hour for co-operative education opportunities. This program assists high-value businesses and organizations across the region to recruit and retain students for work placements. Deadline for applications are 31 January, 25 May, and 21 September.
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Canadians will be voting in a federal election on 2 May 2011. Two of the most common questions heard, aside from which party do you support are:
Do I get time off from work to vote? and,
Do I get paid for taking the time off work?
The answer to both questions is: “it depends”.
The Canada Elections Act states that every employee who is an elector is entitled to three consecutive hours during voting hours to cast a vote. This does not necessarily mean time off from work. The Act makes it clear that the time that the employer shall allow for voting is at the convenience of the employer. For example, if the polls are opened until 8:30 pm and the employee’s regular shift ends at 4 pm, the employee has 4 ½ consecutive hours to cast a vote and would not get time off from work. However, if the regular shift is from 10 am to 6 pm, the employer could allow the employee to come in late or leave early from work to provide 3 consecutive hours. In this exemple, the employer would be giving employees three consecutive hours to vote by allowing them to leave 30 minutes early, ie 5:30 pm.
As far as pay is concerned, the Act prohibits an employer from making a deduction from the pay of an employee or to impose a penalty for the time allowed to vote. In the first scenario, there is no cost to the employer since the regular shift was completed. In the second example, the employer would have to pay full wages for 8 hours even though employees completed 7.5 hours of work.
In short, time off from work for voting depends on the employees’ regular shift and the hours that polls are opened in your jurisdiction on election day.
For more information, visit Elections Canada at http://www.elections.ca/home.aspx
