Bruce County’s Human Resources team is doing a review of their health, safety, and wellness portfolio for employees.
Within the report, it was found that the county needed to improve resources for the portfolio so that as an employer, they have positive and proactive solutions for their employees.
The Director of Human Resources for Bruce County, Sean Morphy, told the committee that while they’re adhering to the Occupational Health & Safety Act, they’re also finding that costs such as disability management or increases in costs for claims through the Workplace, Safety, and Insurance Board are something that the county has to get better at providing for their employees.
He says that because of these unplanned expenses of taking care of employees, they’re looking at requesting additional resources in the 2024 budget to save money long-term.
“We’re trying to mitigate some of that. I think in a year, two years, three years, we’ll actually be able to bring you back information on how that costing, how that money has been saved over time.”
Morphy points out that they are also hoping to have financial and other resources in place for county employees so that they can set an example for the lower-tier municipalities, but as it stands, that’s not yet possible.
“I wouldn’t be able to offer any health and safety support to any of the lower tiers, for example,” he said during the September 21st Human Resources committee meeting, adding “We don’t have the resources, and I don’t think our program is in good enough shape to say, ‘Here’s a great model that I can hand off to you.’”
The report says that department staff has retained the consulting services of Ward & Uptigrove Human Resources Solutions, so they can get assistance and guidance in evaluating the current programs the county has in place.
