| Key Elements |
Key Questions |
Comments |
| Corporate Culture |
| Culture |
- Does the employer show commitment and support for the balancing of work and caregiving?
- Do they let you know that the employer cares for them outside of work as well?
- How is this shown? (e.g. through the work-family policies and programs, discussion of caregiving issues in newsletters, at staff meetings, wellness fairs etc).
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| Written Policies and Procedures |
- Are there written policies and procedures for managers and staff?
- Do they outline the process and conditions for granting flexible work arrangements?
- Do they give direction on how decisions are made?
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| Written Resources |
- Are written resources available from the employer on working caregivers to identify and use workplace caregiver benefits, and to communicate effectively with employers on caregiving issues?
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| Management Training |
- Is there training for managers on the importance of helping employees to achieve a healthy work-family balance, with
(a) clear look of the “business case” for work-family policies;
(b) training on how to implement effective work-family practices; and
(c) how to problem-solve unique situations? |
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| Overall Evaluation of Managers’ support to caregiving employees |
- Is there a linkage of the performance evaluation and compensation of managers to their flexibility in assisting employees to address family caregiving responsibilities?
- How is this assessed? (e.g. through feedback surveys from employees).
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| Direct Supervisor |
- What is the specific attitude of my prospective supervisor, to flexible work arrangements and working creatively together to help me balance work and caregiving responsibilities?
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| Designated Staff Member |
- Is there a assigned staff member to help employees understand benefits to which they may be entitled, and to help problem-solve the balancing of work and family caregiving responsibilities?
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| Team Approach |
- Is there promotion of a team approach at the work site, so that workload can be shared or adjusted as required in the team, and to assist with emotional support for caregiving employees?
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| Definition of Family/Care Receiver/ Caregiver |
- Is the definition of “family” broad and inclusive? (i.e. includes care of in-laws, all relatives with whom the employee lives, recognition of non-family, blended family, and extended family, etc).
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| Flexible Work Arrangements |
- What alternative work arrangements are available to caregiving employees?
- Are these included in collective agreements? Options include:
- Flex-time
- Telecommuting
- Job sharing
- Compressed work week
- Reduced hours of work
- Flexible schedules
- Protected part time employment
- Variety of extended unpaid leave arrangements with job guarantees on return
- Personal days off
- Time in lieu of overtime
- Family leave (specified number of paid days per year).
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| Information and referral, employee supports |
- Does the employer offer programs and services to support caregivers, such as:
- Information and referral to community services, including home care, long-term care, community support programs, respite care, legal assistance etc?
- EAP Programs: employers should ensure through evaluation, that EAP providers make adequate provision for following through with services for family caregivers?
- Access to private consultants for specific topics/advice (such as legal)?
- Assistance in negotiating the service system, and identifying and accessing the resources needed for their caregiving situation?
- Eldercare/dependent care programs that provide assistance with case management, financial and estate planning, legal services, and insurance paperwork and processing; and end of life planning?
- Support groups?
- Family life seminars?
- Telephone hotlines?
- Caregiver fairs?
- Resource banks?
- Personal elder care and child care counselling?
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| Practical Assistance/Direct Care Services |
- Does the employer offer:
- Direct dependent care services (such as subsidizing costs of access to on-site or off-site day care)?
- Insurance coverage/Extended health benefits for caregiving necessities, with a broad definition of home health care to cover rehabilitation, mental health services, home medical equipment, aids for daily living and home modifications, and specific home care services (nursing; home support; therapy)?
- Emergency elder care?
- Public/private partnerships of the employer and community caregiver services to develop caregiver support programs in which employers: (1) refer their employee caregivers to community services, and employee assistance programs that offer caregiver support and counselling; and (2) provide financial assistance to enable participation in programs (e.g. for day care)?
- Flexible benefits plans, flexible spending accounts?
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| Corporate leadership/advocacy in addressing the needs of family caregivers |
- Is the business/employer involved in advocacy activities, through coalitions or working groups, to promote the development of legislation, supports, and benefits to assist caregivers? Possible areas for advocacy mentioned in the literature include:
- Support and enhance of the Compassionate Care Benefits under the Employment Insurance Program?
- At the provincial level, legislation to permit individuals to obtain an unlimited period of unpaid leave to care for a family member in need, with specific job guarantees on their return to work?
- Legislation (provincially) to provide full benefits to permanent part-time employees?
- Amendments to provincial employment standards for “Family Responsibility Leave,” to grant employees specified paid leave to meet caregiving responsibilities (e.g. 5 days/year)?
- Federal tax legislation that allows employers to make contributions (e.g. daycare subsidies) towards the care or dependent family members, without such care being treated as a taxable benefit?
- Promotion of new legislation that provides tax relief and possible subsidies to caregivers in recognition of home labour and lost opportunity costs?
- Pension drop-out scheme similar to that which exists for child care in the CPP/QPP?
- Increase in the level of benefits provided by income tax credits, to give meaningful relief to caregivers?
- Promotion of direct subsidization of equipment (provincial assistive devices programs)?
- Encouragement of corporate policy makers and benefits managers to use their market power to influence insurers to cover visiting nurse services, adult day care, respite care, other community caregiver programs etc., and to offer group long-term care insurance as an employee benefit?
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