Pay Equity
A provincially-regulated business that employs ten (10) or more employees in Ontario is required to comply with Ontario’s Pay Equity Act. Pay Equity legislation is designed to “redress systemic gender discrimination in compensation for work performed by employees in female job classes.” Pay Equity goes above “equal pay for equal work” and requires “equal pay for work of equal value.” This means evaluating the work of jobs held primarily by females, and those held predominantly by males. The jobs are to be compared on the basis of: · skill, · effort · responsibility...
Read MoreOrientation and Onboarding (The New Employee)
Orientation and Onboarding refer to the process of getting the employee in position and up to speed. The first few weeks on a new job are crucial: as managers evaluate the employee’s fit for the organization, and as the employee assesses the company’s fit with his/her expectations. The more that is done to make the person feel comfortable during this period, the more likely that there will be a happy, committed hire. Prior to the new person joining the organization, let the team know that person’s name and start date. On the first day, take the new employee around, explain the layout, and...
Read MoreOccupational Health and Safety
Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act requires employers to maintain a safe workplace, provide the necessary training (including First Aid training), safety equipment and clothing, appoint competent supervisors, and develop a health and safety policy. Depending on the size of the organization, the Act may require a Health and Safety Representative, or a Joint Health and Safety Committee. Copies of the Act and a safety poster must be displayed in the workplace. Workers have the right to be involved in ensuring a safe workplace, and they have the right to refuse unsafe work. ...
Read MoreManaging Others
Managing others doesn’t come easily to everyone. There is an adage that people don’t leave companies: they leave managers. The opposite is just as true: a good manager can keep a team motivated and engaged through the most difficult times. Managing in the 21st century is about motivating, engaging, coaching and developing others in a fast-paced and increasingly diverse workplace. The technical skills that get one to the top of a trade and the entrepreneurial skills that help one develop a business are not the skills required to manage others. Today’s leaders are...
Read MoreHuman Rights
The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination and harassment in employment on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability. Discrimination can be direct, or systemic. Systemic discrimination occurs when a rule or requirement that seems to be fair to all, inadvertently excludes someone in a designated group. For example, the requirement for all police officers to wear standard head-gear created an environment that excluded some people from working as police officers,...
Read MoreHuman Resource Information System (HRIS)
HRIS stands for Human Resource Information System. A good HRIS program will allow you to store all information about each employee, and to retrieve and manipulate the information to meet your needs. A cost-effective, but time-consuming, way to do this is through a data base program that exports data to a spreadsheet. To ensure compliance with privacy legislation, any such system should be maintained on a secure computer or server. Commercially-available HRIS programs have reporting functions built in. Users of ADP or Ceridian payroll processing services might consider their HR...
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