Defying the norms of a nine-to-five job

Canadian women aged between 25 and 35 have contributed largely to expansion in entrepreneurship in the last year, according to the latest labour-force survey by Statistics Canada.

Barbara Bowes, an entrepreneur, in her article in the Winnipeg Free Press writes that the charms of entrepreneurship fade in front of the challenges new business owners face.

She says many times people start businesses because they’ve lost a job, but some start their own companies because they imagine the grass to be greener on the other side.

In fact, starting your own business means you have to become all-in-one for your corporation. You can’t delegate work. Time and customer management become top priority. Longer hours spent in getting the business up and running put a strain on family time.

Bowes says there is hope. Government resources are ample and reliable, so startups can register locally and start building a personal enterprise.

Being a successful entrepreneur means you need to be able to sell your self and your business well. Develop positive thinking and build confidence in your own skills and enhance skills by enrolling in training programs.

But, she says, it is important to remember to have fun while setting up your own business. And, of course, practice makes it perfect.

Failed talks between government and Canadian Pacific workers freeze service in tracks.

Canadian Pacific services across the country will suffer as it will be operating without more than 3,000 members after Teamsters went on strike following failed contract negotiations.

According to a CBC article, the labour union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, had till 12 a.m. Sunday, February 15 to reach contract terms favourable to both parties to avoid going on strike.

Labour and Status of Women Minister Kellie Leitch, whose involved aimed at bargaining and closing a deal, was disappointed at the results.

A Teamsters press release accuses the government of not having done anything to stop American citizens from taking over work of the Canadian labour union members.

Douglas Fennison, president of Teamsters, said the strike aims at achieving a breakthrough to the culture of fear set up by CP management, a healthy and safe work environment and attaining progressive fatigue countermeasures in the rail business.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz commented that the government would, once again, have to look at all available options to solve this deadlock.

A similar strike in 2012, forced the government to pass legislation to bring the members back to work. It is estimated by the government that such strikes cost losses of $540 million every week.

As CBC reports, Unifor, a labour organization whose members conduct safety inspections, maintenance and repairs on locomotives, reached an agreement before the deadline.

Teamsters has encouraged the government to keep negotiations open.

Bosses can dock pays for snow days

Next time you take a snow day, keep in mind your boss can dock your pay for missing work because of bad weather.

Employment lawyer, Richard Johnson of Kent Employment Law, told Human Resource Management Online’s Nicola Middlemiss, that employers are only obligated to pay for the time actually spent working.

The lawyer explains that taking a snow day is similar to taking a sick day—an unpaid day off, which is different than a paid vacation. But when it comes to family obligations interfering with work, the law is on the side of the employees, because such cases fall under human rights legislation.

He adds, for instance, if an employee has to stay at home because their child or children had to stay at home snowed in, the employer must respect that.

Johnson further explains that bosses can’t typically ask their workers to make up time lost to bad weather or family commitments by staying back at the office to finish off work.

To employers, Johnson advises to err on the side of caution, better than getting wrangled in a legal battle over lost wages due to uncontrollable circumstances. Employees can’t do much unless there’s a human rights legislation angle to their case.


For the original article head to http://www.hrmonline.ca/hr-news/docking-pay-on-snowday--is-it-legal-187734.aspx

Employee sustainability: Respect is key to employee re-employment

Experts suggest retraining, empowering employees with career counselling and the right to sue are three methods that can make layoffs hurt less.

Trinh Theresa Do, in her recent CBC article interviewed Fraser Johnson, professor at the Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ont. who says respect should be number one when it comes to firing an employee.

The employers want a clean break, but the layoff obviously comes as a big surprise and shock to the employee, says Anil Verma, professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

He recommends employers to guide older workers toward retraining or give them a chance to enhance their skills increasing the probability of re-absorption into the same corporation or elsewhere.

Ivey School’s Johnson adds that providing career and financial counselling is another way of treating an individual with respect. Giving the employee a severance package may not necessarily make them financially secure, instead providing them with a resource to seek sound financial advice may help them negotiate a better deal.

Speaking of negotiating a better deal, Verma from U of T, believes the severance package can be made more employee-centric by including the right to sue the employer if the package is unacceptable.

Daniel Lublin, partner at employment law firm Whitten & Lublin in Toronto, in his line of work, educates his clients about provincial and federal legislation that entitles them to a minimum amount in severance automatically, but he also encourages they do research so they can try and make the best of their loss of employment.

Maybe keeping respect as top priority when it comes to dealing with a current employee or one being laid off, can help the reabsorption process along. 

For original article visit http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/layoff-shock-how-employers-can-soften-the-blow-1.2936979