Pension Innovation Examined

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Climate Change Poses Risk To Employees

Since Canadian legislation requires employers to take reasonable care to create safe workplaces, they should be looking at the impact of climate change on the workplace environment and health and safety issues, says Bryan?J.?Buttigieg, a partner at Miller Thomson. Speaking on ‘Looking After Your Employees’ Physical Health’ at its ‘Labour & Employment Client Conference 2022: Fostering a Healthy Workplace,’ he said it is the duty of the employer to take every reasonable precaution for the protection of workers. However, there is no comprehensive list of what it takes to exercise reasonable care. The key step is to recognize a hazard and do something about it and climate change presents a reasonable risk. These risks range from the obvious increase in ambient air temperature to unusual ones, like vector borne diseases. The really obvious one is the increase in ambient air temperature. Increased heat exposure is shown to cause an increased risk of bodily harm injury due to the fatigue caused and reduced vigilance. “The very essence of most workplace accidents is they happen because of reduced vigilance,” he said. The ideal temperature range is 17°C to 23°C. At higher or lower temperatures, the evidence is clear that more accidents take place. As well, there are some employees who are even more vulnerable to the effects of high temperature – those over the age of 45 years with known health problems, people who are overweight, pregnant women, and workers required to wear personal protection equipment. The increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events is another risk. Storms can flood buildings, damage trees, and cause power outages and fires. These all put workers at heightened risk while they're in the workplace.

Employee Burnout Concerns Employers

The top concerns for Canadian employers in 2022 include employee burn-out and losing staff, says the ‘Canadian Employer Pension Survey’ from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Angus Reid Group. And while employers recognize the value of retirement benefits for addressing these concerns, the current high-inflation environment is driving them to favour wage hikes instead. “Current inflationary pressures are understandably leading many employers and workers to prioritize cash in hand, even as they recognize the short- and long-term value of retirement benefits,” says Steven McCormick, senior vice-president, plan operations, at HOOPP. “It is arguably more important than ever for leaders – in business, government, and the retirement industry – to take measures that will help workers save for retirement, even when it’s challenging to do so.” On the positive side, there was evidence in the survey of some momentum towards improved retirement security outcomes. A significant group of respondents (17 per cent) said they had launched or enhanced retirement savings plans in the past year or plan to do so in the year ahead. The research showed that employers are optimistic about their businesses’ success over the coming year, with 80 per cent being optimistic about their ability to maintain revenue and profitability.

For details on these stories, visit www.bpmmagazine.com

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