Unplugging on vacation 

CareerCast.com has published a list of 10 tips for forgetting all about work, to help you take full advantage of your vacation.

Chinese firms hiring “white guys” to make themselves look good 

Some Chinese employers have taken to hiring expats for token roles in order to impress their investors, customers and local authorities.

“What? I can’t just whack one of my employees?”

It is in true Soprano family style that the HRPA conveys its message about the value of a qualified human resources professional to companies for doing things by the book as regards their employees. 

• Aon acquires Hewitt for $4.9 billion
• A record June for job creation  
• Canadian workers feeling the winds of change  
• 58% of Canadian employers plan to hire by the end of the year
• Workplace health and safety: steeper fines for infractions
• British men less engaged in work than women

The road to inclusion: Integrating people with disabilities into the workplace

Deloitte Canada has published a white paper in early July devoted to the issue of integrating people with disabilities into the workplace.

Work/family life balance: Canadian companies banking on flexibility 

Some strategies are more successful than others as regards work/family life balance. According to a recent study by Hewitt & Associates, a human resources consulting and outsourcing firm, the most popular measures focus on flexibility...

• Videoconferencing taking off
• Don’t work for free
• Generation Y keeping a close eye on their online reputations
• Top 50 Canadian employers for people under 40
• Canadian companies too lax with absent employees
• Working too hard increases risk of heart disease
• Canadian workers see grass as greener on the other side
• Female CEOs fare better than men
• Situational interviews perceived to be fairer for hiring

Novartis fined US $3.3 M for discrimination against 12 employees 

In late May, the U.S. courts dealt pharmaceutical giant Novartis a hammer blow, finding the company guilty of sex discrimination towards 12 of its female employees, and awarded compensatory damages of US$ 3.3 million.