By Wendy Cukier
Source: Benefits Canada
The concept of employee benefits was established on a foundation built decades ago, when employees worked full time and long term with one employer.
Those days are long gone. Temporary, part-time and gig work have become the norm, accounting for 60 per cent of job growth in advanced economies since the 1990s.
Gig work is popular in sectors such as the arts, entertainment and recreation and it’s also more prevalent among immigrants than workers born in Canada. In 2016, 10.8 per cent of male immigrant workers who had been in Canada for less than five years were gig workers, compared with 6.1 per cent of male Canadian-born workers, according to data from Statistics Canada. It also found, as of January, landed immigrants represented roughly 56 per cent of ride-share and delivery drivers.