Group Assignment
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Students will select an HR Topic/Chapter to extend your knowledge and
understanding of the specific area to present to the class.
Groups consisting of five members (we will finalize group sizes when we
are in class), will be required to examine research articles related to the
specific chapter they are sharing and summarize this information for the
class.
Groups will be established the opening day and presentations will be
made through google slides or Microsoft Power Point with voice overs.
Articles must have been published within the last five years.
Further details will be posted in My Blackboard along with Marking
Guide.
1
Categories
Summarization/review of relevant
information of the core HR concept
from the chapter.
Articles selected represent the
outlined core HR concept from the
specific chapter.
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Summary of relevant
Summary of relevant
Summary of relevant
information of the core information of the core information of the core HR
HR concept is
HR concept is
concept is completed with
completed with limited completed with some
considerable
effectiveness
effectiveness
effectiveness
communicates for
communicates for
communicates for
Assessment Rubric
for Group
Assignment
different audiences
different
audiences
different audiences and
and purposes with
and purposes with
purposes with
limited effectiveness
some effectiveness
considerable
effectiveness
Level 4
Summary of relevant
information of the core HR
concept is completed with a
high degree of
effectiveness
communicates for different
audiences and purposes
with a high degree of
effectiveness
Thinking
Categories
Insightful, creative, and original
thinking in overall analysis of
scholarly articles.
Comparison of scholarly articles
verses information provided from
chapters.
Level 1
Level 2
Insightful, creative,
and original thinking is
limited
Comparison of
information is limited.
Insightful, creative,
and original thinking is
somewhat limited
Comparison of
information is
somewhat limited.
Level 3
Considerable degree of
Insightful, creative, and
original thinking
Considerable
understanding in
comparison of
information.
Level 4
High degree of Insightful,
creative, and original
thinking
High degree of
understanding in
comparison of information.
Communication
Categories
Expression and organization of ideas,
including effective time management
and alignment between team
members.
Communication and purposes (e.g.,
use of appropriate style, voice, point
of view) in written and media forms.
Use of conventions (e.g., grammar,
spelling, punctuation,
usage), vocabulary, and terminology
of the discipline in oral, graphic,
written forms, and media forms
Consistent use of inclusive and
precise language
Level 1
Level 2
express and
organize ideas and
information
with limited
effectiveness
communicates with
limited effectiveness
express and
organize ideas
and information
with some
effectiveness
communicates with
some effectiveness
uses conventions,
vocabulary, and
terminology of the
discipline with limited
effectiveness
uses conventions,
vocabulary, and
terminology of the
discipline with some
effectiveness
lacks creativity
Inclusive or precise
language not evident
occasional use of
inclusive or precise
language
Level 3
Level 4
express and
organize ideas and
information
with considerable
effectiveness
communicates with
considerable
effectiveness
uses conventions,
vocabulary, and
terminology of the
discipline with
considerable
effectiveness
consistent use of inclusive
or precise language
express and organize ideas
and information
with a high degree of
effectiveness
Level 3
Level 4
communicates with a high
degree of effectiveness
uses conventions,
vocabulary, and
terminology of the discipline
with a high degree of
effectiveness
consistent use of inclusive
and precise language
Application
Categories
Level 1
Level 2
Reflection, implications, and
extension on this information affects
the work of an HR professional now
and in the future.
Presentation style and engagement
of learners.
HR reflections are
addressed with limited
effectiveness
HR reflections are
addressed with some
effectiveness
Presentation style is
limited in
effectiveness.
Presentation style is
somewhat limited in
effectiveness.
HR reflections are
addressed with
considerable
effectiveness
Considerable
effectiveness in
presentation style with
HR reflections are
addressed with a high
degree 2of effectiveness
Presentation style
demonstrates high degree
of effectiveness with good
CHAPTER 11
Employee Benefits
11-3
Learning Outcomes
LO1 Describe key aspects of the strategic benefits planning
process.
LO2 Discuss the employee benefits required by law.
LO3 Describe key discretionary employee benefits.
LO4 Discuss the types of retirement programs and the
major factors involved in managing pension plans.
LO5 Describe the types of work-life benefits employers may
provide.
11-4
Managing Employee Benefits
Programs

The COVID-19 pandemic has put employee benefits in a
new spotlight for Canadian employees.

The crisis has highlighted gaps in employee benefits and
how employees perceive their value.

Employers are looking for better employee benefits such
as paid time off, employee assistance programs (EAPs),
and mental health and wellness benefits.
11-5
Managing Employee Benefits
Programs
Minds-on (with an elbow partner):
What type of benefits are you aware of and what type of benefits do you
think would enhance your desire to work for a specific company?
11-6
Elements of an Effective
Benefits Program

Employee benefits are a type of indirect compensation
designed to improve the quality of employees' work and
personal lives.

Benefits account for a sizable portion of total payroll
costs.

The effectiveness of a benefits program is determined
by two factors:
(1) the selection of benefits that address critical employee
needs while promoting strategic organizational goals, and
(2) the effective administration of benefits programs.
11-7
Strategic Benefits Planning – 1

Key objectives of most benefits programs:

improve employee work satisfaction

meet employee health and security requirements

attract and motivate employees

retain top-performing employees

maintain a favourable competitive position
11-8
Strategic Benefits Planning – 2

Allowing for Employee Involvement


Need should be determined through consultation with
employees (committees, opinion surveys, focus groups,
employee participation, websites).
Benefits for a Diverse Workforce

Must reflect social changes, especially changes in the
diversity and lifestyles of the workforce; must develop
new types of benefits to meet shifting needs.
11-9
Strategic Benefits Planning – 3

A basic or core benefits package of life and health
insurance, sick leave, and vacation ensures that
employees have a minimum level of coverage.

Flexible benefits plans (cafeteria plans)


Benefit plans that enable individual employees to choose
the benefits that are best suited to their particular needs
Employees use credits to “buy” whatever other benefits
they need.
11-10
Figure 11.1
Flexible Benefits Plans:
Advantages and Disadvantages
11-11
Communicating Employee
Benefits Information

Methods to Communicate Benefits to Employees

In-house publications (handbooks and newsletters)

Group meeting and training classes

Online modules (self-service)

Bulletin boards

Payroll inserts and pay stub messages

Specialty brochures hotlines

Multiple media techniques
11-12
Figure 11.2
Communicating Benefits a Part of Total
Rewards
11-13
HRIS and Employee
Benefits

Benefits of an HRIS:
 Reduced
costs
 Increased
efficiencies
 Accuracy

Once operational, online
systems are easy and
inexpensive to adapt to
employer and employee
demands.
11-14
Concerns of Management

Employers are concerned about the rising cost of
healthcare benefits, which must strike a balance
between providing quality benefits and keeping costs
under control.

As a result of COVID-19, there has been a recent shift in
benefit planning.

Cost Containment Strategies:

Contribution changes (e.g., increase deductibles)

Dollar limits

Coverage changes

Benefit caps

Use of preferred providers
11-15
Employee Benefits Required
by Law

Canada and Quebec Pension Plans (CPP/QPP)


Employment Insurance (EI)


benefits are payable to claimants who are unemployed and
are actively seeking employment
Workers’ Compensation Insurance


cover almost all Canadian employees between the ages of
18 and 70
Insurance provided to workers to defray the loss of income
and cost of treatment resulting from work-related injuries
or illness
Provincial hospital and medical services
11-16
Figure 11.3
Reducing Workers’ Compensation Costs:
Key Areas
11-17
Discretionary Major
Employee Benefits

Other benefits offered by
employers include:
 Healthcare
 Dental,
optical, mental
health benefits
 Payment
 Life
for time not worked
insurance
 Retirement
 Pension
Copyright © 2023 by Cengage Canada
plans
11-18
Healthcare Benefits

Healthcare benefits are receiving the most attention
today, owing to sharply rising costs and employee
concerns.

Previously, health insurance plans only covered medical,
surgical, and hospital expenses.

Employers are under increasing pressure to include
prescription drugs, as well as dental, optical, and
mental health benefits, in the benefits packages.

Drugs are now the second-largest source of health-care
spending, trailing only hospitalization.
19
Figure 11.4
Cost Containment Strategies
11-20
Payment for Time Not
Worked – 1


Includes
statutory holiday pay and vacation
pay; time off for bereavement, jury duty,
and military duty; rest periods and coffee
breaks; and maternity/paternity benefits
(which usually involve some form of salary
continuance).
Vacations with pay


eligibility varies by industry, locale, and size of the organization
Paid holidays

hourly and salaried workers can expect to be paid for statutory holidays
as designated by each province
11-21
Payment for Time Not
Worked – 2

Sick leave


employees who cannot
work because of illness
or injury are
compensated in various
ways
Severance pay

a lump-sum payment
given to terminated
employees by an
employer at the time
of an employerinitiated termination
11-22
Life Insurance

Group life insurance is the benefit most commonly
provided by an employer.

The purpose is to provide financial security to the
dependents of the employee in case of his or her death.
23
Retirement Programs

Employers emphasize the retirement benefits that can
be expected after a certain number of years of
employment when persuading job applicants to work for
them.

Retirement Policies

To avoid making layoffs and to reduce salary and benefits
costs, employers often encourage early retirement.

silver handshake

An early retirement incentive in the form of increased pension
benefits for several years or a cash bonus
11-24
Pension Plans – 1
Types of Pension Plans
 Categorized in two ways:
1. according to contributions made by the
employer
2. according to the amount of pension benefits
to be paid
 Contributory plan: contributions to a pension plan
are made jointly by employees and employers.
 Non-contributory plan: contributions are made
solely by the employer.
 Most plans in privately held organizations are
contributory.

11-25
Pension Plans – 2

Types of Pension Plans (concluded):

When pension plans are classified by the amount of
pension benefits to be paid, there are two types:

defined-benefit plan (DB)


A pension plan in which the amount an employee is to receive on
retirement is specifically set forth
defined- contribution plan (DC)

A pension plan that establishes the basis on which an employer
will contribute to the pension fund
11-26
Figure 11.5
Comparing Defined Benefit and Defined
Contribution Plans
11-27
Pension Plans – 3

Federal regulation of pension plans:

Vesting



A guarantee of accrued benefits to participants at retirement
age, regardless of their employment status at the time
Pension portability

Unions encourage multi-employer plans.

According to a collective agreement, these plans cover the
employees of two or more unrelated organizations.
Pension funds

Can be administered through a trusted plan or through an
insured one.
11-28
Employee Services:
Creating a Work–Life Setting

Employee services, like other benefits, are paid for by
the employer.

Creating a Family-Friendly Setting

Employers are increasingly providing a variety of services
to make working life more enjoyable and to improve
employees' well-being.

Employers benefit by attracting good workers and by
reducing the various interruptions that affect workplace
productivity.
11-29
Employee Assistance
Programs

Organizations have developed employee assistance programs
(EAPs) to assist workers in dealing with a wide range of issues that
interfere with their job performance.


Services provided by employers to help workers cope with a wide variety
of problems that interfere with the way they perform their jobs.
An EAP typically provides alcohol or drug problems, emotional
problems, and financial or family crises with diagnosis, counselling,
and referral services.
11-30
Childcare and Eldercare



Eldercare
 Care provided to an
elderly relative by an
employee who remains
actively at work
About 32 percent of
Canadians have eldercare
responsibilities.
Employees spend an
average of 23 hours each
month on eldercare.
11-31
Employee Benefits as
Employer Branding

Workplace benefits are emerging as a key differentiator
for job applicants as employers compete for top talent.

According to a recent survey, nearly half of all job
seekers say the most difficult barrier to changing jobs
was not knowing what it was like to work somewhere.

Salary and benefits are among the most important factors
to consider when considering employment with an
organization.
11-32
Activity 1:
Choosing Benefits

Some education institutions offer benefits to students
subsidized by a student levy.

In groups, discuss what benefits students would appreciate
being offered by their institution.

How have different generations focused their attention on
various benefit options?
11-33
Activity 2:
Benefit Plans

Small business owners cannot compete for employees
based on their benefits plans. Larger companies offer
more benefits.


List the mandatory benefits that small businesses must
provide to employees.
Discuss and rank order some other benefits that would
be most attractive to employees in order to attract and
retain them.
11-34