Family Friendly Leaves – Are you aware of the workplace leaves available in Ontario?

May 24, 2016 Carol Irwin

If you have employees, your workplace will experience situations where employees request time away from work. Make sure you are up to date on Family Friendly Leaves Ontario Legislation.

New parents take time off to care for children, employees may need time off to recover from an illness or injury, care for a family member, or attend a funeral, and sometimes employees request time off for an extended holiday beyond their normal vacation. It is important to understand the law and be aware of the variety of leaves of absence available under the Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA).

Ontario Employment Standard Act – Leaves of Absence

Under the ESA, employees may be entitled to a number of different unpaid leaves of absence depending on their individual circumstances. Each provision has different eligibility requirements. Job protected leave of absence may be available for full-time, part-time, permanent or term contract employees.

Pregnancy and Parental Leave
- Must be employed for at least 13 weeks to be eligible.
- 17 weeks pregnancy leave / 35 to 37 weeks parental leave.
- Unpaid; Federal Employment Insurance benefits available.
Personal Emergency Leave
- Workplaces with 50 or more employees.
- Up to 10 days per year for urgent personal or family matter.
- Unpaid.
Family Medical Leave
- All employees are eligible.
- Up to 8 weeks leave where there is a significant risk of death.
- Unpaid; Federal Employment Insurance, compassionate care benefits available.
Family Caregiver Leave
- All employees are eligible.
- Up to 8 weeks leave where there is a serious medical condition.
- Unpaid.
Critically ill Childcare Leave
- Must be employed for at least 6 months.
- Up to 37 weeks per year where there is a serious medical condition. Extension is possible.
- Unpaid; Federal Employment Insurance, parents of critically ill children benefits available.
Crime Related Death or Disappearance of Child Leave
- Must be employed for at least 6 months.
- Up to 104 weeks for crime related death of child / 52 weeks for disappearance of child.
- Unpaid. Federal Employment Insurance grants available.
Other Leaves – Organ Donation and Reservist Leave.

Employer Benefit Plan – Leaves of Absence

As an employer, you may offer your employees additional leave of absence benefits, paid or unpaid, beyond the minimum required under the ESA:

Sick leave,
Short term / Long term Disability,
Bereavement leave,
Personal days and
Sabbatical (extended leave of absence for educational, vacation or personal reasons).

Managing an Employee Request for Leave

Is the leave covered by the ESA or employer benefit plan?

Carefully review your employee’s request to determine if it is covered by the ESA or your benefit plan. In some situations your employee may need to provide medical documentation to support their request, to apply for insurance coverage, or to apply for federal Employment Insurance benefits.

Consider the Request

Each request should be considered based on your employee’s individual circumstances.

Accommodation

Even where the leave is not covered, under the Ontario Human Rights Code you may have a duty to accommodate your employee’s request. Read more from the Fusion Blog about accommodation.

Decision

Consider all available options before making a final decision. Treat your employee fairly and respectfully at all times.

The information provided here is an overview of Family Friendly Leaves Ontario. Refer to the Ministry of Labour for detailed information on the Ontario Employment Standards Act leaves of absence and to the Government of Canada for information on Employment Insurance Benefits.

Cell Phone Workplace Etiquette – How to Manage Employee Texting on the Job

May 10, 2016 Carol Irwin

Ask managers about workplace pet peeves and you will likely hear complaints about employee texting on the job. Is a Cell Phone Workplace Etiquette Policy the answer? What about banning cell phones?

Many employers have legitimate concerns about employee personal cell phone use at work. Texting can be a real drain on worker productivity. Before writing up a policy on Cell Phone Workplace Etiquette or implementing a cell phone “ban” it is important to consider a number of factors.

Most employees use their cell phones respectfully at work. People take short breaks through out the day to respond to friends or family and follow up on personal issues. These short breaks are actually good for us and can improve productivity and morale. These breaks are no different than water cooler chats, coffee breaks or other short breaks to get up from your desk and stretch your legs.

Many employees use their cell phones to conduct business. They set up client appointments and follow up with colleagues. Texting is a very efficient way to connect. It is also fast and the preferred method of communication for many workers.

Unfortunately there are some people who have difficulty limiting their texting time to a short break once every hour or two. An employee who engages in hour long texting sessions with a large group of friends is clearly not being productive at work. This behavior is unprofessional and impacts coworkers who witness this employee not working for extended periods of time.

Typically a “ban” on cell phone use at work will backfire. People don’t like bans. They don’t like being treated like children. The reality is, employees who waste time texting will find other ways to waste time at work.

If you focus on the work, your employees and productivity you will not need to implement bans or other draconian workplace rules.

The Type of Work

Some workplaces and jobs will require limiting cell phone use. People who operate vehicles, machinery or equipment and call center or customer service workers are some examples of jobs that demand limiting the use of cell phones while on the job. The use of cell phones while working may violate traffic laws or workplace safety rules. If jobs in your workplace require limiting cell phone use then a policy on Cell Phone Workplace Etiquette may be appropriate.

Your Employees

The younger the workforce the more cell phone use you will encounter. Does this mean you should accept cell phone misuse? Not at all. You set the standards for performance and productivity at your workplace. You may have noticed that some high end retail customer service jobs have highly trained staff who would not consider pulling out their phone in front of a customer, while other organizations have had less success trying to enforce standards around cell phones.

Talk to your clients, customers and employees. Most employees will agree that it is unprofessional to be excessively texting at work. Work together to set standards that make sense for your workplace and your employees.

Productivity

Managing productivity is the answer to many workplace issues – including cell phone misuse. An employee who is wasting time texting, may also waste time making personal calls, take extra long breaks, spend excessive time chatting, and engage in other time wasting activities. As a manager, if you focus on productivity you should be able to identify those people who are not working at a satisfactory level. Set expectations, clearly communicate, provide training and the tools to do the job and follow through after a reasonable time. If people can’t meet your expectations it is time to let them go.

You may find some interesting facts arise from the productivity approach to managing this workplace issue. You may discover that the worst texting offenders in your group are in fact very productive employees. Don’t assume that there is a problem before first checking your facts.

You may wish to develop a policy on Cell Phone Workplace Etiquette or simply reinforce your workplace code of conduct. Read more on this workplace issue at Canadian HR Reporter – Is Cell Phone Use an Employee Right?

How to be the Star in Your Video Job Interview

May 9, 2016 Carol Irwin

Preparing for a video job interview is all about set up and practice. Don’t let your dog, the kids or your unusual wall art upstage you. Follow these tips to make sure you are the star in your job interview video!

Video Interview Preparation:

Set the Stage – video interview preparation starts with picking an ideal location in your home where you can sit comfortably in front of your computer and where the background is not too distracting. A home office, dinning or family room are ideal locations. What will the interviewers see behind you? Remove clutter, unusual artwork or other items that may be distracting.
Control Lighting – pick a location where you can adjust the lighting depending on the time of day and brightness outside.
Minimize Noise – pick a location where you can close a door or at least position yourself some distance from household or street noises. A room with carpet muffles sounds better than hard surface flooring. Indoor noises to be aware of are toilets flushing, dishwasher, laundry machines, blender, doorbell, phones, and of course pets, children and other people in your household. Don’t forget to consider outdoor noises such as the garbage truck, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, construction noises, and anything else that could be loud and distracting.
Manage Pets, Children and other People Distractions – if possible, arrange to have someone take the dog and the children out of the house for an hour or two.
Silence your Cell Phone – eliminate distractions from your cell phone by turning off the volume.
Turn off Computer Calendar Alerts – turn off calendar alerts and other pop-ups and noises that might interrupt the interview.
Set up your Computer – download or update the software necessary for the video interview. Test out the platform and make sure you are familiar with how to use it. The most important part of video interview preparation is testing the video application. Can you make a video call, can you answer when someone calls you, do you know how to turn on the camera and adjust volume?
Be prepared for Technical Difficulties – test everything a couple of days ahead of time and then do it again the day of the interview. Sometimes there are problems and you need to stay calm and not let this impact your interview.
Dress for the Interview – it is a job interview, so dress in the way you would for an in-person interview including dress shoes. For many people, dressing up changes how you feel about yourself and can help keep the interview professional. Resist the temptation to wear sock monkey slippers or pajama pants. You might look down and completely lose your focus.
Practice Good Grooming – similar to dressing up, good grooming is important. Make a special point to check for visible nose hairs.
Arrange Seating – don’t sit too close to the computer screen and try to angle your head so that the interviewers are looking at your face straight on and not on an angle where they really will get a view of your nose hairs.
Smile and make Eye Contact – don’t forget to smile. Control the volume of your voice. Try not to move around too much. Try to make eye contact with the interviewer by looking directly at the camera lens, not the computer screen. This feels strange and takes some practice.
Listen for Time Delays – sometimes there will be a short delay during a video interview, so make sure you pause before speaking to ensure you do not speak over top of someone else.
Practice, practice and more practice – whether you are a novice at the video interview or not, practice with a friend. You can video tape yourself, play it back and make adjustments.
Prepare for the Job Interview – don’t get so caught up in the video interview prep that you forget to prepare for the actual job interview. Visit our other Career Planning Advice blogs for more interview tips.

Good luck with your Video Interview Preparation. If you have any other tips to share please comment.

Stop Office Noise from Ruining Your Day!

April 26, 2016 Carol Irwin

One of the top employee complaints about the workplace is office noise. Noise typically ranks in the number two spot behind complaints about the office temperature.

The trend in office design in the last decade has been the open concept office. Companies have ditched the cubicles, reduced square footage and replaced permanent walls with glass partitions or displays of art, fabric or plants. The open concept office is modern, collaborative and accommodates a mobile workforce that is no longer tied to a desk, city or even country.

At first glance the open concept office can look appealing. Large open space to move around. Windows with natural light to brighten the space. Meeting tables for gathering over morning coffee and team meetings. High energy hum of busy people all around you. In some workplaces, ping pong tables, comfy chairs, an espresso machine and even snacks for break times. It all sounds great, right?

The trouble is this environment is not ideal for some personalities or for certain types of work. Some people are also far more sensitive to loud noise. If you work in an open concept office you might describe the office noise level as similar to being in the middle of a parade or band practice!

There are lots of pros to having an open concept, but there are downsides too. Preference for open concept vs. closed office space depends a lot on a person’s personality, work style and the specific job.

Even for those who prefer the open concept office, noise is a real distraction. Noise distractions can come from many sources – first there is your co-workers talking and laughing, some much louder than others; then there is the normal bumps and bangs of opening and closing doors, cabinets and drawers; and there is also the beeping, buzzing, ringing, and clicking of office phones and equipment. In an open concept office, it can be very difficult to focus on your work, while trying not to listen to the meeting or phone conversation going on a few feet away.

There are a few things companies and employees can do to manage office noise:

Create dedicated spaces for quiet activities, such as an office or unused meeting room.
Increase the background noise by installing a white noise machine – this system emits a low level air flow sound that helps muffle speech and other distracting office sounds.
Ask staff to try using headphones to block out noise around them. The large over the ear type headphone is better than an earbud style.
Add sound absorbing materials such as plants to your space.
Increase flexibility to work from home for part of the workweek.
Assign a certain time of day as “quiet time” or an entire office area as the “quiet zone”.
Come up with a system that easily allows other people to know who is available to chat and who is busy – your own “do not disturb” sign at your computer.
Encourage staff to discuss noise distractions and come up with unique solutions.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Legislation – Ontario Passes Bill 132

April 12, 2016 Carol Irwin

New legislation aims to make workplaces, campuses and communities safer and more responsive to complaints about sexual violence and harassment and the needs of survivors.

On March 8, 2016 Ontario passed Bill 132, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act.

For employers, Bill 132 amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to include specific requirements for sexual harassment prevention programs in the workplace. The changes create employer duties to protect workers, including a duty to ensure that incidents and complaints of sexual harassment are appropriately investigated.

In 2010, the Ontario government passed Bill 168 which introduced changes to the OHSA requiring employers to develop Workplace Harassment and Violence policies and programs in the workplace. Bill 168 primarily focused on Workplace Violence. Bill 132 expands on the Workplace Harassment provisions in the OHSA and will require employers to revisit their Harassment policy and procedures.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Legislation – OHSA Summary of Major changes:

Definition of workplace harassment is expanded to include workplace sexual harassment;
Definition of workplace harassment is expanded to clarify that reasonable action taken by management to direct workers or the workplace is not workplace harassment.
Employers are required to develop, maintain and review annually a written program to implement the Workplace Harassment Policy.
A Ministry of Labour Inspector can order an employer to hire an impartial investigator to conduct an investigation of workplace harassment.

Workplace sexual harassment is defined as:

engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, or
making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome.

Employers need to:

Review and update their Workplace Harassment Policy.
Review and develop a written program to implement the Workplace Harassment Policy, in consultation with the Joint Health and Safety Committee or Health and Safety Representative, if any. The written program must include procedures for: reporting incidents, investigating, disclosing information, and informing workers involved about the results of the investigation and any corrective action required.
Train workers on the contents of the Workplace Harassment Policy and Program.
Train managers and supervisors on how to identify and investigate incidents of harassment.
Appropriately investigate incidents and complaints of workplace harassment.
Inform workers involved, in writing, about the results of the investigation and any corrective action required.
Review and update Policy and Program annually.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Legislation – OHSA amendments come into force on September 8, 2016. The information provided here is an overview of the changes to the OHSA. For details refer to Bill 132.

What Not to Wear! How to Dress for Your Next Job Interview

April 11, 2016 Carol Irwin

Don’t let your attire eliminate you from a job competition.

Choose the right clothes for your next job interview. Studies show that people make decisions about others based on their appearance in the first few seconds after meeting. Do you look like you could do the job? Use these interview dress code tips to make a good first impression at your next interview.

Interview Dress Code

Find out about the company dress code before your interview. Make sure you dress in comparable or more formal attire than is the norm at the company. Even in a company that has a very casual dress code, it is appropriate to dress up for your first interview.

Clothes

Choose something professional and conservative. Neutral colours such as black, navy or grey are safe choices. Clothes that fit well will leave the best impression. Choose something that makes you feel both confident and comfortable. Invest in a couple of outfits and be ready to attend multiple interviews with a company.

A shirt with a collar is a must for men and can be a good choice for women too. Suits are not as common today, so find out what is the norm before investing in a suit jacket. In the Financial and Legal professions suits and ties are still common.

Shoes

Clean, polished, and comfortable shoes are important. For men choose loafers or lace up dress shoes. For women flats or low heel shoes or boots are good choices. For some positions steeled toed shoes may be appropriate if a plant tour is part of the interview process.

Outerwear

Canadians need to be prepared for all types of weather. Make sure you dress for the weather in clean and appropriate outerwear. Depending on the day, pack a hat, gloves or an umbrella.

Bag

Leave your backpack or gym bag at home. For women bring a professional purse or laptop bag. For men bring a laptop bag or tablet case. If you prefer not to carry a bag this is fine.

Accessories

Keep your accessories simple. Minimal jewelry or a small scarf is preferred to oversized accessories. For men a belt to match your shoe colour is a good choice.

Grooming

Good grooming is a must. Consider a haircut and beard trim before the interview. Fingernails should be clean and trimmed. For women, keep your make up natural. If you wear nail polish make sure it is a neutral colour and freshly applied – no polish is better than chipped nail polish. Many workplaces are scent free so it is best to go without fragrance.

Tattoos and Piercing

The issue of tattoos and piercings is complicated. Tattoos have become common place. Studies indicate that 40% of US millennials have at least 1 tattoo. Data is likely similar for Canadians in this age category. Many workplaces are accepting of tattoos. Body piercings are not as readily accepted. It will often depend on the workplace, the job and even the size and location of the piercing. A small nose ring might be fine, where ear spacers might not be acceptable. Should you hide tattoos and leave nose rings at home? The answer to this question will depend on each individual. If you want to work somewhere where you can freely display your tattoos or piercing, you might want to be up front about your appearance. On the other hand, you might want to get thru the first interview before discussing this issue.

Final Word about Personal Style

Do I really need to dress this way for a job interview? This advice is useful for many job seekers, but not for everyone. If you work in a creative field you will likely choose to dress in a manner that reflects your personal style. If you are most comfortable in a t-shirt, jeans and runners and you plan to wear this to work daily, you may choose not to dress up for an interview. This interview dress code advice is aimed at giving you a chance to make a good first impression. The plan is to have the interviewer focus on your job skills, not on how you look.

Read more about the types of snap decisions we make about others in the Science of First Impressions.