Workshop Archive: 2022

ABSENTEEISM AND ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT

Half-Day Intensive Virtual Workshop

Workplace absenteeism creates some of the most challenging issues faced by employers. It can be difficult to determine when absenteeism is culpable, what impact human rights considerations will have on attendance management, how to obtain meaningful medical information, and at what point there may be “cause” to terminate the employment relationship.  

Using interactive learning and real-life scenarios, this half-day workshop examines the following topics: 

1. Managing Workplace Absenteeism

• Human rights and privacy considerations.
• How to obtain meaningful medical information.

2. Attendance Management Programs

• Understand the difference between culpable and non-culpable absence.
• How to establish effective and defensible absenteeism thresholds.
• Tips and traps when implementing an attendance management program.

3. Discipline and Discharge for Attendance-Related Reasons

• When and how to use discipline to manage absenteeism.
• When will absenteeism constitute “cause” for termination.
• When to terminate for frustration of contract and innocent absenteeism.

Half-Day Intensive Virtual Workshop

What is the impact of a collective agreement on management’s ability to
organize the workplace?

How can workplace leaders effectively manage and discipline employees
in a unionized environment?

Applying interactive learning and real life-scenarios, this half-day workshop examines these topics:

1. The Collective Agreement

• What falls within management rights?
• The impact of key provisions on management’s ability to organize work (job postings, layoff, seniority, probation, etc.).
• Understanding the grievance and arbitration process.

2. Effective Management of Unionized Employees

• Dealing with union stewards and representatives.
• Effective performance management.
• Motivating and communicating with unionized employees.

3. Discipline and Discharge

• What do arbitrators consider in upholding discipline?
• The impact of workplace policies and procedures.
• Best (and worst) practices for discipline and discharge in a unionized environment.

Half-Day Intensive Virtual Workshop

Increasingly, requests for accommodation in the workplace focus on mental, not physical, disability. Yet, understanding when a mental health issue may be a disability and how far the duty to accommodate a mental disability extends can be challenging for an employer.

This practical, half-day workshop provides participants with the knowledge and tools to confidently assess and respond to a request for mental health accommodation in the workplace.

Using interactive learning and real life-scenarios, topics include: 

• Mental Disability vs. Workplace Woe: When does an ailment such as stress or anxiety require accommodation (and when does it not).
• Medical Documentation: How to obtain useful medical documentation related to mental disability.
• The Accommodation Process: How accommodation of a mental disability differs from accommodation of a physical disability, and ways to accommodate mental disability.
• Leaves of Absence and Termination of Employment: When is an employer justified in placing an employee on a leave of absence, or terminating the employment relationship, for reasons related to a mental disability

Half-Day Intensive Virtual Workshop

In Ontario and many other Canadian jurisdictions, an employer is required by law to conduct an investigation in response to an allegation of workplace harassment.  A well planned and executed investigation will help management make sound and defensible decisions and minimize any liability that may arise.

In this workshop, you will acquire the knowledge and tools needed to conduct an effective workplace harassment investigation.  Using interactive learning and real life-scenarios, topics include:

Ø                  What type of complaint or misconduct must be investigated?

Ø                  How to conduct an interview.

Ø                  The impact of COVID-19 on the investigation process.

Ø                  Dealing with tricky investigation situations.

Ø                  How to reach defensible findings of fact.

Ø                  What is (and is not) harassment?

Ø                  How to write a complete, well-organized and effective harassment report.