from MEDIACORP Canada
Helps employees prepare for retirement through a defined contribution pension plan and phased-in retirement working options.
Over 65% of management employees are women
Provides tuition subsidies (to $3,000 each year) for courses at outside institutions as well as opportunities for internal and external secondments
Provides new mothers with generous top-up payments to 100% of salary for the first 2 weeks of their leave, followed by a 75% top-up for 26 weeks.
Provides parental leave top-up payments (to 26 weeks) for new fathers and adoptive parents
Offers employees generous referral bonuses when they successfully refer a new candidate ($1500)
Industry: ProfesEstablished: 1866. Full-time employees in Canada: 252. Part-time employees in Canada: 23. New jobs created in Canada last year: 3. Voluntary employee turnover last year: 1.2%. Longest serving employee: 47 years. Workforce engaged on a contract basis: 8%. Number of applications received at this location last year: 1,500. Percentage of employees who are women: 81%. Of managers: 67%. Of directors: 26%. Average age of all employees: 42.
Originally constructed in the 1960s the newly renovated head office features an onsite fitness facility (with subsidized memberships, stationary bikes, shower facilities, walking and running clubs); employee lounge (with comfortable seating, daily newspapers and board games); nap room; religious observance room; secure bicycle parking; free parking; subsidized on-site yoga and pilates classes; free coffee/tea.
Employees at their head office enjoy business casual dress; casual dress Fridays; can listen to music while working; employee sports teams; organized social events. The company-subsidized social committee organizes an annual year-end formal, an annual employee appreciation day, an annual lunch to celebrate its long-serving employees, and a special Christmas party for employees' children. In addition, employees and their families can kick-off the Christmas season watching the city's famous Santa Claus parade from the comfort of the head office building, which is conveniently located directly on the parade route -- with the College providing everyone with free parking, hotdogs and drinks.
Individual salaries are reviewed every 12 months. CPSO also provides new employee referral bonuses (to $1,500 for some positions); defined contribution pension plan with employer contributions (up to 10% of salary); life & disability insurance; retirement planning assistance; discounts on home computers; an interest-free computer purchase plan.
Their health benefits plan is managed by Great West Life. As part of the health plan, the employer pays 100% of the premiums. Employees who work 28 hours per week receive coverage. The waiting period for new employees is 90 days. Employees receive full family coverage on the health benefits plan. The health plan also includes retiree coverage with no age limit. The basic plan includes routine dental; restorative dental; eyecare ($350 every 2 years); traditional medicine coverage; alternative medicine coverage; massage therapy; medical equipment and supplies; homecare; employee assistance (EAP) plan; travel insurance. Lunchtime wellness workshops; small healthcare spending account. The College's family-friendly benefits include maternity and parental leave top-up payments to 100% of salary for the first two weeks, followed by: maternity top-up payments (to 75% of salary for 26 weeks); parental leave top-up for new fathers (to 75% of salary for 26 weeks); parental leave top-up for adoptive parents (to 75% of salary for 26 weeks); health benefits during maternity and parental leave. Additional family-friendly benefits include: flexible working hours; telecommuting; 35-hour work week (with full pay); shortened work week (fewer hours with less pay); reduced summer hours program; compressed work week; earned days off (EDO) program; phased-in retirement.
New employees receive 3 weeks of vacation allowance after their first year. Vacation increases after 5 years on the job. Long-serving employees receive a maximum of 6 weeks of vacation each year. Employees can schedule 2 personal days off each year, as needed. During the Christmas to New Year's holiday break, employees receive an additional 4 days off. Employees receive 12 paid sick days every year. Employees can also apply for an unpaid leave of absence.
Top performing employees may receive personally tailored non-monetary gifts, such as afternoon lunches, flowers, evening dinners and movie passes.
Employees receive tuition subsidies for courses related to their position. (Employers pay up to $3,000 in subsidies). Employees may also receive tuition subsidies for courses unrelated to their current position. (Employers pay up to $3,000 in tuition subsidies for non-related courses). The College also supports ongoing employee career development with: subsidies for professional accreditations; job exchanges; opportunities for internal and external secondments.
Employees receive paid time off to volunteer with their favourite charitable organizations. Employees also receive 2 paid days off to volunteer.
The NHS paid GPs £630m in rent for their privately-owned surgeries last year Photo: ALAMY
6:00AM BST 04 Jul 2011
88 Comments Doctors are permitted to buy buildings for their surgeries which are then “rented” back to the Department of Health, often for far more than the mortgage repayments. The surgery is then sold off – either to another doctor or a developer – when the GP retires and they are allowed to keep the profits from the sale of the building.
An investigation by this newspaper and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has uncovered details of the secretive scheme, which currently costs the Government more than £630m each year.
GPs have boasted that they have made six or even seven figure windfalls from the system – the costs of which have soared by more than 70 percent in just six years.
The terms of the arrangement are even more generous than the controversial system which allowed MPs to profit from the sale of taxpayer-funded properties.
A typical surgery may have been bought for £150,000 a decade ago. The GP then could then claim tens of thousands of pounds in “notional rent” annually which is used to clear the mortgage. They could then sell the property today for more than £500,000, and often substantially more, and keep the profit.
The disclosure is set to lead to renewed public concern over the taxpayer-funded largesse enjoyed by some GPs, amid reports that the best-paid doctors can earn far more than the Prime Minister.
Last week doctors still voted to consider striking in a row over pensions – which would be the first industrial action for more than 30 years.
The Department of Health is the only major Government department to be protected from spending cuts, although many experts believe there is a significant potential for cost savings to be made. Under reform plans, GPs are to be given even more control over health budgets.
The NHS paid GPs £630m in rent for their privately-owned surgeries last year, an increase of 70 per cent since 2004, when the figure stood at £370m.
The total cost to the Department of Health in the past five years has been £2.5bn.
Around 86 per cent of GP premises are either owned by doctors or by private companies and are paid for through the “notional rent” scheme.
The British Medical Association actively encourages its members to buy their own surgeries and promises that the investment will yield “real capital gains”.
James Wharton, a Conservative member of the Commons Public Accounts committee, accused GPs of "fiddling the system" and said he would ask the National Audit Office to open a "full and comprehensive investigation" into surgery funding.
"People are obviously going to be extremely concerned to see that taxpayers' money is being used in this way. For too long these people have profited too easily and the expense of the taxpayer and the government should look at this system and see whether it can be changed to ensure better value for money," he said.
"I will be writing to Margaret Hodge, the chair of the Public Accounts Committee, to request that she asks the National Audit Office for a full and comprehensive investigation into this system."
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "This system incentivises GPs to expand and improve services so that people have proper access to modern facilities. It represents the cost to GPs of renting or owning the premises, and is a cost that would met by government direct if GPs did not."
Last week doctors still voted to consider striking in a row over pensions – which would be the first industrial action for more than 30 years.
The Department of Health is the only major Government department to be protected from spending cuts, although many experts believe there is a significant potential for cost savings to be made. Under reform plans, GPs are to be given even more control over health budgets.
The NHS paid GPs £630m in rent for their privately-owned surgeries last year, an increase of 70 per cent since 2004, when the figure stood at £370m.
The total cost to the Department of Health in the past five years has been £2.5bn.
Around 86 per cent of GP premises are either owned by doctors or by private companies and are paid for through the “notional rent” scheme.
The British Medical Association actively encourages its members to buy their own surgeries and promises that the investment will yield “real capital gains”.
James Wharton, a Conservative member of the Commons Public Accounts committee, accused GPs of "fiddling the system" and said he would ask the National Audit Office to open a "full and comprehensive investigation" into surgery funding.
"People are obviously going to be extremely concerned to see that taxpayers' money is being used in this way. For too long these people have profited too easily and the expense of the taxpayer and the government should look at this system and see whether it can be changed to ensure better value for money," he said.
"I will be writing to Margaret Hodge, the chair of the Public Accounts Committee, to request that she asks the National Audit Office for a full and comprehensive investigation into this system."
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "This system incentivises GPs to expand and improve services so that people have proper access to modern facilities. It represents the cost to GPs of renting or owning the premises, and is a cost that would met by government direct if GPs did not."