Family Day not popular with many Ontario employers: survey
Last Updated: Friday, January 25, 2008 | 1:12 PM ET
CBC News
A survey by a human resources organization says as many as 40 per cent of workers in Ontario will not be given an extra holiday in February, with most employers saying they'll compensate their employees in some other way.
During last year's provincial election, the Ontario Liberals promised to create a new mid-winter holiday called Family Day.
When they were re-elected, one of their first acts was to proclaim the new holiday.
But a survey done by the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario and released Friday says a majority of employers anticipate they will suffer some sort of negative impact from the new holiday.
The organization e-mailed its questions to 16,500 human resources professionals in Ontario and more than 3,000 responded.
Of those who answered, "40 per cent of Ontario employees will not receive an additional day off for Family Day on February 18 and … 60 per cent of employers anticipate a moderate to significant impact to their business due to the new holiday," according to a news release.
Many employers — a full 89 per cent of those surveyed — said they intend to compensate their employees with an alternative that is of "equal or greater benefit," instead of the Feb. 18 day off.
That could mean another day off or monetary compensation.
The survey was carried out between Jan. 14 and Jan. 24.
The association says the survey is accurate to within plus or minus two per cent 19 times out of 20.
