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Source: itworldcanada.com When Mother Nature blanketed the Greater Toronto Area with layers of snow and ice in late 2018, 20,000 TD employees found themselves working from home. The 165-year-old company managed to sustain its operations with a small portion of its workforce working in sweatpants, all without compromising security. With roughly 25 million customers, many of whom access the bank’s services online daily, the pivot was deemed an impressive feat, according to Greg Keeley, executive vice-president of enterprise technology at TD.

Source: thelawyersdaily.ca Plans have emerged for some industries and businesses to return to work, while many others await further information and the “green light” from their provincial governments. While both law and medical data are at the forefront of any decision, each individual business will have its own unique factors to consider, including whether they are a large or small business, whether they have the facility and capability to safely return some or all of their staff, and possibly whether returning to the workplace now, or at some later date in the future even makes sense — yes, some businesses are considering permanent work from home (WFH) practices!

Source: cbc.ca Adam Savaglio is an employment law expert – here’s what he says about your rights under COVID-19 CBC Hamilton spoke, during a Facebook Live event Wednesday June 3, with employment law expert Adam Savaglio about returning to work or working from home amid COVID-19.

Source: canadianlawyermag.com As Canadian workers begin to return to their workplaces, supervisors and managers of reopening businesses will be personally liable to strict legal requirements and duties which carry charges and fines if violated. “This is not just an exercise in getting people back to work. It’s an exercise in complying with some very strict legal obligations, particularly in Ontario,” says Adrian Miedema, a partner in the Toronto employment group of Dentons Canada LLP. “The people who are responsible for the particular place of business need to be aware of those obligations.”

woodworkingnetwork.com As Canadian provinces lift restrictions meant to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, employers are scrambling to prepare their workplaces for the safe return of their employees. According to the recent “Return to Work Survey” by the Conference Board of Canada (CBC), only 8% of the 279 organizations participating said they are “fully prepared” to reopen their workplaces.

itworldcanada.com Employers are increasingly looking for ways to help employees with the impact of isolation as they continue to work apart. IT teams are playing a bigger role in coming up with solutions. “The dialogue on business continuity dramatically changed in the last few months,” said Wayne Feyer, Principal Corporate Account Manager with Citrix Systems, at a recent ITWC virtual roundtable. “We have to design a new normal that keeps people in the centre of the discussion.”

If you are lucky enough to be hiring new employees during COVID – 19, then use this opportunity to welcome them to your company. I have worked with many organizations that spend so much time and energy to hire an individual and when it comes to their new employee orientation, they fall short.   This is the beginning of a new relationship where you are creating the building blocks to a trusting – win/win – relationship. A solid onboarding process sets the stage for success for your new hire.

Source: biv.com Youngest workers hit hardest by instability; older employees may postpone retirements The COVID-19 pandemic will have far-reaching effects on how Canadians in different age groups view their careers and work lives. Canada lost three million jobs in March and April because of restrictions aimed at fighting the pandemic, and the weekly work hours of another 2.5 million Canadians were cut back. With the country’s unemployment rate at 13% – the highest since 1982 – the crisis has likely shaken the confidence many workers had that their job was secure.

Source: https://cornerstone-toronto.com/ ALEXANDER LUTCHIN of CORNERSTONE TORONTO Across the world, we are collectively experiencing one of the most significant changes of our lives. The loss of physical touch, standing close to people without fear, and dinner out with friends. We have lost the option of celebrating milestone – birthdays, weddings, graduations, baby showers, holidays and cancelled vacations, the losses are mounting.

Source: hrreporter.com But more than one-third feeling less productive: survey More than two-thirds of workers in Canada (67.91 per cent) have been asked by their employers to work from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and most of them say that their transition has been seamless. On a scale of one to five – with one being poor and five being perfect – many rated their transition as a four (47.87 per cent), and some even say it has been perfect (13.39 per cent), found the survey of 726 people in Canada by Sykes, a business processing outsourcing provider.

Source: www.cbc.ca From pet services to food delivery and even advertising, many companies are forging ahead with launch plans Even with the country in lockdown, a number of Canadian entrepreneurs are plunging ahead with new ventures. Some are focusing their startup on issues related directly to the virus.

Source: business.financialpost.com Here’s everything you need to know about the Canada Emergency Business Account The federal government has rolled out a series of measures to help Canadian businesses and families weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s everything you need to know about the Canada Emergency Business Account, or CEBA:

Source: www.cbc.ca Economists had been expecting about half a million jobs to be lost Canada’s economy lost more than one million jobs in March, Statistics Canada said Thursday, pushing the jobless rate up to 7.8 per cent. Economists had been expecting the figure to come in at around 500,000 jobs lost, which already would have been the worst month for job losses on record.

Source: www.ctvnews.ca OTTAWA — As another critical week in Canada’s efforts to flatten the COVID-19 curve begins, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will soon introduce new measures to make emergency benefits accessible for Canadians who don’t currently qualify.

Source: www.theglobeandmail.com Canadian postsecondary students are weeks away from stepping into a job market that is reeling from unprecedented layoffs, raising concern about how those returning to school in the fall will fund their studies and whether graduates will bear long-term scars of unfortunate timing.