From smallbizadvisor:

Shortly after the election was called the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) asked the federal party leaders to provide their ideas on how they would help small businesses if elected.

…

As a strictly non-partisan organization, CFIB has highlighted elements of the platforms to help business owners make their own decisions:

Commitments for Small Business (in alphabetical order by party):

• Bloc – a tax credit for small firms hiring youth
• Conservative – an EI hiring tax credit for small firms
• Green – cutting payroll taxes by one-third
• Liberal – an EI hiring credit for youth and the amalgamation of programs for entrepreneurs
• NDP – a cut to the small business corporate tax rate to 9% and hiring credit

Ideas to Small Business the CFIB does not support (in alphabetical order by party):

• Bloc – an increase in CPP premiums
• Conservative – no plan on unfunded public sector pensions estimated at $200 billion
• Green – a hike in CPP maximum pensionable earnings
• Liberal – an increase in CPP payroll taxes and corporate tax hike
• NDP – a massive increase in payroll taxes and expansion of EI benefits

You can read the full article here. Find out more about the Canadian Federation of Independent Business on their website.

**REMINDER: Monday is Election Day**

Don’t forget to vote!

Photo Credit: “don’t be late” by haven’t the slightest on Flickr

Our industry has long talked about mental health in the workplace.  As such, the industry is now putting teeth in the help and support for determining and understanding all of the problems associated with mental health issues.  The Canadian Life and Health Association has developed a plan to assist the workplace and the general public to help all understand the issue.

“The life and health insurance industry’s mental health guiding principles are designed to provide a set of standards and best practices that contribute to health and productivity. It also encourages continuous improvements over time and lays the foundation for the industry to play an active role as part of the solution. “

Please review the full article and we hope to talk with you soon.

Below is an article we received from HumanaCare, a Canadian provider of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). In it, they briefly outline nine ways for businesses to minimize the effects of disease outbreaks or other causes of employee absenteeism:

Recent concerns with the H1N1 virus have lead employers to come up with new solutions to ensure business as usual, even when many employees may be home sick. Smaller businesses cannot afford to pay employees who are home sick and also cannot afford the risk of having infected individuals at work. This article is intended to help identify what you can do ease the distress across the board.

The Buddy System

Assign each employee a buddy to learn the other’s essential duties and take responsibility of essential business tasks if their partner should fall ill.

Mobile Offices

Wherever possible, allow sick employees to take work home with them and complete essential tasks without infecting other workers. Assign alternative tasks that can be accomplished at home.

Banked Time

Allow employees to bank time to provide a cushion should they be off work due to illness. Allow employees to work overtime to make up the time they missed.

Clear Policies

Ensure employees are aware of who they need to contact if they are ill, how often they are required to check in and when they will require a sick note.

Prioritize Work Tasks

Define which tasks can wait should the workload increase for healthy workers. Is it possible to let a few nonessential maintenance tasks wait and redirect that manpower?

Encourage Open Communication

Explain to employees that you appreciate any and all information they can give you while they are away from work. They are not required to disclose their health information, however in a comfortable and supportive environment many employees do not mind communicating with their employers. This will help you to anticipate their return and make appropriate plans.

Illness Management

It is important to ensure employees take the most appropriate time off work. Coming back too quickly can have negative effects by infecting others or lengthening the recovery time. However, no employer wants an employee to be off work when they are well. Employee Assistance Programs can provide illness management and disability management programs to monitor employee health, ensure proper treatment and plan an appropriate return to work.

Rewarding Healthy Employees

Show appreciation to employees who stay healthy and shoulder the burden while their coworkers are away. Employee Assistance Programs may offer “concierge” services to help employees take care of personal tasks so they can focus on work.

Prevention

Happy employees are three time less likely to fall ill. Employee Assistance Programs help employees focus on their health and well being and become more effective at work.

Contact us if you have any questions!