Daily COVID-19 digest

Special guest joining Tuesday’s event: Please join us Tuesday, May 26 at 1 p.m. ET for a live Q&A with our CEO. This week, Graham will be joined by special guest, chief scientist, Dr. Dana Devine, to answer all of your questions on the COVID-19 convalescent plasma clinical trial. We know a lot of you have questions about the current status of the trial, transfusions and how Canadian Blood Services is making an impact in the hunt for a cure. We encourage you to send Dr. Devine your questions in advance to communications@blood.ca with the subject line “CP TRIAL”.

Stories from our frontline: During the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re bringing you stories of our employees who continue to work on the front lines. Robenpreet Sooch is a Donor Care Associate in Kelowna, B.C. When we asked what motivates her to give her best at work, she told us it’s about the patients. “Recently I ran into one of our volunteers who needs blood products, and she actually thanked me for continuing to work,” Robenpreet said. “I also work part-time as a lab technician in a hospital, so I see firsthand patients who need blood products. I’m just glad that we are still here to help people in need.” Read more about Robenpreet’s story at blood.ca/stories.

Pandemic top-up:

We are providing support for non-full-time employees whose earnings may have been reduced due to COVID-19 through our newly implemented pandemic top-up. This new measure is intended to provide part-time and casual employees with their regular pre-pandemic pay, whether they are currently working or on a paid leave of absence. “Regular pay” is calculated based on the employee’s 26-week average in the weeks prior to March 15, 2020 when the pandemic was declared.

If you are affected, your paycheck may look a little higher on May 29. The first installment of the pandemic top-up is related to the hours worked from May 11–24. Any retroactive top-up from work performed from March 16–May 10 will be processed on later paychecks.

The pandemic top-up is a new process for timekeepers and payroll, so there may be adjustments required along the way. To ensure we are supporting affected employees as best as possible, we encourage you to speak with your supervisor or manager or use the dedicated email we have set up to receive your feedback and answer your questions: pandemictopup@blood.ca.  The dedicated email is also available to supervisors and managers. 

To give our schedulers/timekeepers the time they need to make the necessary adjustments, we ask that you use this dedicated email for all of your questions and comments instead of contacting them directly. Please provide as much information as you can and a member of the team will respond as soon as possible.

Some words of thanks from our donors: Our essential staff are on the frontlines every day because lives depend on it. We receive hundreds of notes of gratitude each week from donors after they have interacted with frontline employees and we think it’s important that you know how much of an impact you have made on them. Before you head into your weekend, please pause to read a small selection of their appreciation:   

I just want to thank our frontline workers for the professionalism and compassion they are showing while working under tremendous stress battling COVID-19 and witnessing first-hand the toll it is taking on people of all walks of life. My experience during my donation was even better now than under normal circumstances, and I think that is because now more than ever we understand that we are all in this together. (Alberta)

The entire team at the Dilworth Centre are fantastic. The pre-screening process was smooth despite being in COVID times the actual donation was easy everyone had the usual great smile on their faces. The volunteers were happy and upbeat as usual, everyone makes you feel welcome and like they are truly thankful you came in. Great experience as usual. (BC)

 

Question of the day: I know that a lot of work is being done to create a return to office plan. Will employees have an opportunity to weigh-in on those decisions?

Our leadership team is meeting regularly to discuss when it is safe for staff who are currently working remotely to return to the office. The pandemic is constantly evolving and there are a lot of unknowns that need to be carefully considered to protect the safety of our teams. The safety of our employees remains our top priority.

We understand that employees have a lot of questions on this topic. Return to office will be an ongoing process and the project team has begun to assess how we can safely return. We know many of you are eager to have a date and more information at this time, but as we are in the beginning stages we do not have that information available yet. We commit to providing regular information throughout the process.

We also want to assure you that you will have opportunities to weigh-in on the return to office process. Many of you have shared your initial views through the townhall survey. You can expect to receive additional survey’s focused on return to office in the coming weeks.

We understand that return to office is on many employees’ minds as you juggle personal commitments and are trying to plan for the future.  We will continue to engage and update you as the process evolves.

 

About the daily digest

This daily digest will highlight the latest policy and employee support measures, resources to help you manage our new reality and original content like articles and videos to remind us that what we do matters. Things are moving quickly, so you can expect to hear from us daily. No access to email? No problem — all this information and more can be found on blood.ca/employees from any device, no login required.

Click here to read past editions of the daily digest.

Have questions? Check out blood.ca/employees or email us at communications@blood.ca.