Policy 9a

Policy 9a, which was abolished by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors on February 14, 2023, is provided for reference as it is referred to in the Collective Agreement between the University of Ottawa and the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO). Policy 9a is no longer in effect for non-unionized administrative and support staff – it has been replaced by Policy 9. 

Approved Executive Committee of the Board of Governors 67.23

LEAVES: ANNUAL VACATION, STATUTORY AND OTHERS

OBJECTIVES

1. The University strives to provide its staff with a leave program which, when integrated with the salary policy, will offer a competitive compensation plan.

2. To this end, the University aims to develop and maintain a leave program in keeping with the Ontario Employment Standards Act, and that offers fair treatment for its regular staff.

SCOPE

3. This policy applies to support staff members holding regular positions at the University of Ottawa, who are paid out of the operating funds but are not subject to a collective agreement.

4. Term employees are covered under the terms and conditions of their employment contract and Policy47. At the least, they are eligible for the annual vacation leave provided for in the Ontario Employment Standards Act.

DEFINITIONS

5. For the purposes of this policy, "continuous service" means the period during which a regular support staff member is employed by the University of Ottawa and is paid his/her normal or partial salary by the University without a break in service as defined in the Ontario Employment Standards Act.

6. “Seniority date” means the date recognized as the starting date of a regular position at the University of Ottawa as determined by the Human Resources Service upon hiring for a regular position. A regular support staff member who returns to the University less than thirteen (13) weeks after having left it will be entitled to keep his/her original date of seniority, less the period of interrupted service. For all other periods of interrupted service, the seniority date will normally be the date when the member returned to work at the University. For any leave without pay of more than three months, the seniority date will be re-adjusted to take into account the duration of that leave. Anniversaries are the day of the month in a given year when seniority began accumulating.

7. “Leave without pay” means an authorized leave during which a support staff member is not paid a salary by the University.

8. “Spouse” means the person of the same sex or of the opposite sex with whom you are married or have been living within a marriage-like relationship for at least one year, and whom you have declared as your spouse in your University records.

FORMS AND RECORDS

9. Faculties, schools and services are responsible for sending all appropriate leave forms to Human Resources Service as soon as possible using the electronic leave management system. The Human Resources Service is responsible for managing and recording all leaves of absence as part of the employee's personal file.

DURATION

10. Accumulation of annual leave is determined based on Table A. This table takes into account the employee’s salary class and continuous service based on the seniority date. Accumulation is on a monthly basis during the year, meaning that the duration stated in the table is divided by 12 to determine the monthly accumulation rate. When additional annual leave days are granted based on seniority, the monthly accumulation rate will be adjusted to incorporate such addition as of the anniversary date.

VESTED RIGHTS

11. The principle of vested rights for annual leave will be applied to all regular support staff members who were employed at the University of Ottawa before the present annual leave program was established in September 1975.

12. In case of a demotion, the employee will maintain the annual-leave accumulation rate he/she was entitled to before the demotion; however, any future increase of the accumulation rate will be based on the salary class of the new position.

13. Staff hired before May 1, 2002, for a class-10 position without supervision duties will be entitled to a fourth week of annual vacation after three years of seniority for annual leave accumulation purposes. Staff hired after this date will accumulate annual leave as shown in Table A.

ANNUAL LEAVE PRIVILEGES

14. Annual leave credits can be taken as they are accumulated during the year, when the provisions of article 15 are complied with.

15. Up to ten days of unearned annual leave may be borrowed and used, except for employees on probation.

16. The Ontario Employment Standards Act requires every employee to take at least one two-week period or two one-week periods of annual leave per year unless the employee submits a written request to the appropriate dean or service director and is given written approval to take a shorter period.

17. a) Under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, the employer has the right to determine the period when employees can take annual leave. Where possible, this determination must take into account the employee's wishes.

b) Each faculty or service must establish a procedure for the organization of annual leave (deadline for choosing vacation dates; periods when annual leave is limited; maximum number of consecutive days; etc.). If conflict arises among staff within a unit regarding the annual-leave schedule, and employees cannot come to an agreement on who should have priority, University seniority will be used as a last resort to determine priority. Staff members are encouraged to come to an agreement on such issue. A copy of the faculty or service procedure on annual leave must be submitted to Human Resources Service.

18. With the exception of a member on probation, a staff member can defer up to ten (10) days of annual leave in excess of his/her annual vacation entitlement. Any annual leave in excess of this amount will be automatically forfeited.

19. By exception and for valid reasons, a dean or service director may authorize the deferral of up to ten (10) days of annual leave in addition to those mentioned in article 18 of this policy. A copy of this authorization must immediately be sent to Human Resources Service in order to confirm the annual leave credit.

STATUTORY HOLIDAYS RECOGNIZED AT THE UNIVERSITY

20. Members of the support staff holding regular positions are entitled to the paid statutory holidays listed below:

New Year's Day

Good Friday

Easter Monday

Victoria Day

Canada Day

Civic Holiday

Labour Day

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Day

Boxing Day

PAID HOLIDAY AT CHRISTMAS

21. Regular support staff members are granted a paid holiday for the period beginning on December 22 at 5:00 p.m. (or at the hour determined in the work schedule), and ending on January 3 at 8:45 a.m.(or at the employee’s normal time to start work). If January 3 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, employees return to work at 8:45a.m. on the first working day which follows.

REMUNERATION

22. As required under the Employment Standards Act, a support staff member entitled to the public holidays listed below who is asked to work will be paid in accordance with Policy 12, at a rate of one and a half (11/2) times the regular hourly rate in addition to his/her base salary, or will receive the equivalent in time off work.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

23.

New Year's Day

Good Friday

Victoria Day

Canada Day

Labour Day

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Day

Boxing Day

24. Staff asked to work during a statutory holiday recognized at the University other than the public holidays listed in article 23 have the choice to receive equivalent paid time off work or be paid at the regular hourly rate of pay in addition to their base salary, in accordance with Policy 12. The method of payment must be established before the holiday by the faculty or service relevant authority along with the employee.

SPECIAL LEAVE WITH PAY

25. Upon request, an employee shall be granted a paid special leave in the following exceptional circumstances: the employee's wedding, the birth of his child, the death of a close relative, and moving his/her place of residence. The length of the leave is determined based on the articles below.

26. A support staff member shall be granted a paid special leave of five (5) working days for the death of a close relative. The term "close relative" is limited to the employee’s mother, father, foster mother, foster father, sister, brother, spouse, children, mother-in-law and father-in-law.

27. A support staff member shall be granted one (1) working day of paid leave for the death of his/her sister-in-law, brother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grand-parent, uncle or aunt, or that of his/her spouse. However, if the funeral takes place more than three hundred and twenty kilometres from Ottawa (200miles), an additional day of leave will be granted to attend the funeral.

28. A support staff member shall be granted three (3) working days of paid leave for his/her own wedding.

29. A support staff member shall be granted two (2) working days of paid paternity leave when his wife or common-law spouse gives birth.

30. A support staff member shall be granted one (1) working day of paid leave for moving his/her own place of residence.

31. Deans and service directors may grant special leave with pay up to an annual maximum of three (3) working days for any circumstances deemed exceptional, except those already mentioned in article 24 for which a predetermined leave is prescribed above.

Exceptional circumstances may include certain emergencies or family duties such as the temporary care of a family member who is sick, a doctor's or dentist's appointment for a family dependant who is unable to travel alone, or an appointment with academic authorities. The staff member must make all reasonable efforts to keep such absences from work to a minimum.

32. In addition to the above-mentioned special paid leave, staff members can be granted a special leave without pay as prescribed in the Employment Standards Act for any of the following reasons:

• a) a disease, an injury, or a personal medical injury;
• b) the death, sickness, injury or medical emergency of a close relative or dependant;
• c) an urgent matter concerning a close relative or dependant.

A maximum of ten (10) working days per year will be granted for such occurrences. Each half-day of such leave shall count as a full working day. A reasonable proof of circumstances for such leave shall be provided to the supervisor.

33. Any paid special leave requires the written consent of the dean or service director.

34. A paid special leave can be granted only for those days when the University is open.

FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE

35. As outlined in the Ontario Employment Standards Act, staff members are entitled to a family leave for medical reasons of up to eight (8) calendar weeks to provide care or support to a close family member if a qualified health practitioner issues a certificate stating that the individual has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death occurring within a period of 26 weeks or such shorter period as may be prescribed. This leave is not paid by the University but the employee can claim federal employment insurance, provided that he/she meets the conditions.

LEAVE WITHOUT PAY

36. The dean or service director can authorize a leave without pay with protection of the person’s position for up to one (1) year. If such a requested leave exceeds one year, the Administrative Committee’s approval is required.

37. During an authorized leave without pay with protection of the person’s position the employee’s position must be kept available, even when a replacement is hired.

38. Approval of a leave without pay without protection of the person’s position is the responsibility of the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources.

39. The authorization of a leave without pay with protection of the person’s position is at the discretion of the dean or service director and must take into account the following criteria:

• a) the reason for the leave;
• b) the duration of the leave;
• c) the employee's seniority;
• d) the projected length of service after the return to work;
• e) the possibilities of obtaining, on a temporary basis, a competent replacement;
• f) the employee’s performance.

Human Resources Service is available to all deans and service directors for advice.

40. The authorization of a leave without pay without protection of the person’s position is at the discretion of Human Resources Service and will take into account the following criteria:

• a) the reason for the leave;
• b) the duration of the leave;
• c) the employee's seniority;
• d) the projected length of service after the return to work;
• e) the possibilities of obtaining, on a temporary basis, a competent replacement;
• f) the employee’s performance.

Such a leave will not be approved for a period exceeding one year, and only under special circumstances may be granted for up to a maximum of two years.

41. A leave without pay for the purpose of taking part in military or para-military activities for the Government of Canada will be approved upon request in accordance with the terms and conditions of government agreements and programs in force.

42. A staff member who is granted a leave without pay with protection of the person’s position will remain entitled to insured benefits under the following conditions:

• a) For the first three months of leave, the member is covered for all the insured benefits to which his/her salary normally allows, according to the normal distribution of costs.
• b) The member must maintain mandatory insured benefits from the University during the fourth, fifth and sixth months of leave, unless he/she shows that another source provides equal coverage. The member must pay the full costs (employer and employee contributions).
• c) The member can continue contributing to the insured benefits program of the University after the sixth month of leave without pay, provided that Human Resources Service is so advised in writing at least thirty days before the start of the leave and that the member undertakes to pay the full costs (employer and employee contributions).
• d) During the leave, the member can continue contributing to the University pension plan provided that he/she pays both the employer and employee contributions.

43. A staff member who is granted a leave without pay without protection of the person’s position can continue contributing to insured benefits under the conditions listed below, but does not have to. Access to the exemption from tuition fees program for the employee and his/her dependents will not be available during this type of leave.

• a) For the first three months of leave, the member can participate to the insured benefits plan of the University to which his/her salary entitles, according to the normal distribution of costs.
• b) The member can continue to participate to the insured benefits plan of the University after the third month of leave without pay, provided that the Human Resources Service is notified in writing at least thirty days before the start of the leave and that the employee undertakes to pay in full the costs (employer and employee contributions).
• c) During the leave, the member can continue to contribute to University pension plan provided that he/she pays both the employer and employee contributions.

44. Progress-through-the-rank (PTR) shall not be withheld for periods of leave of absence without pay of three months or less. In the event of a leave of absence without pay for a period exceeding three months, the PTR shall be withheld on a prorated basis of the leave period. A full PTR shall be granted to a staff member on leave of absence without pay when the activities during his/her leave are recognized as being experience or studies relevant to his/her position at the University. In such instances, the decision will be taken jointly by the dean or service director and the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources.

45. During a leave without pay of more than ten (10) consecutive or non-consecutive days in a given year, the member will not accumulate annual leave.

46. Employees already on leave without pay are not eligible for the various leaves covered by this policy.

COURT LEAVE

47. A paid leave will be granted to any staff member who is called upon for jury duty or to appear as witness in a court of law or before any statutory or legal body in Canada that has the power to demand the presence of a witness.

48. The member must inform the dean or service director in writing as soon as possible and must substantiate his/her court appearance with the appropriate documents.

49. Members who are called upon for jury duty or to appear as witnesses are to be relieved of their duties for whatever time is necessary.

50. Pay received during court leave will be decreased by any amount paid by the court for jury duty.

51. Court leave does not apply to members who are serving a prison sentence.

ATTENDANCE AT OBLIGATORY RELIGIOUS SERVICES

52. Paid leave of absence is granted to all staff members to attend obligatory religious services, in accordance with the “duty to accommodate” provided for in the Human Rights Code. Problematic cases must be resolved in consultation with Human Resources Services.

INTERPRETATION

53. The Associate Vice-President, Human Resources is responsible for the interpretation of this policy. The application of this policy is the joint responsibility of deans and service directors and of the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources.

EXCEPTION

54. No exception to this policy may be made without the written consent of the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources.

Revised July 19, 2006

(Human Resources)

Regular non-unionized staff in a confidential position (NC)

Regular non-unionized staff in a management position (NM)

TABLE A

ANNUAL LEAVE TABLE ACCORDING TO SALARY CLASS AND SENIORITY

(regular positions)