LANCASTER HOUSE - Labour Employment and Human Rights Law Publishers

Arbitral jurisprudence has shown that there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to deal with absenteeism at the workplace. In this full-day workshop, through scenarios and discussion, our panel of experts will examine the tests arbitrators apply in deciding on the legal validity of an attendance management program, and address other key issues and best practices that have proven successful in improving absenteeism rates, including:

In what circumstances are attendance management programs appropriate? What elements do they typically contain?
How should attendance management programs be framed so as to comply with human rights and privacy law, and pass muster at arbitration?
How should attendance management programs be drafted to avoid conflict with a collective agreement requirement of just cause and the statutory duty to accommodate?
What levels of absenteeism ordinarily trigger inclusion of employees in an attendance management process?
What distinctions should attendance management programs make between culpable and non-culpable conduct (especially where the conduct is a hybrid of both)? Should non-culpable absences be counted in calculating attendance?
What provisions may be made in attendance management programs requiring medical certificates and medical information?
What conditions may be imposed by attendance management programs? For example, average attendance? Abstinence? Medical assessment? When are they considered a form of accommodation? Or an instance of discrimination?
What issues should unions address in ensuring that an employee's rights are protected?
What kinds of innovative collective agreement provisions or programs are workplaces introducing to address stress and work-life balance issues and decrease absenteeism, e.g. fitness club memberships, alternative therapies, ergonomic assessments, flexible work hours/location, health and wellness programs, employee assistance programs, childcare subsidies, in-house daycare, etc.?