Bethany Care Society Collective Agreement 2020-2024

Article 18: Vacation

1.  Vacation Entitlement

   1. Subject to the terms of this Collective Agreement, a Full-Time Employee shall earn vacation with pay based on the following:

      Year(s) of Continous Employment Completed                   Vacation Entitlement

      1 ............................................................................................. 15 working days
      2-9 ........................................................................................ 20 working days
      10-19 .................................................................................... 25 working days
      20+ ...................................................................................... 30 working days
       

      Supplementary Vacation

   2. The supplementary vacations as set out below are to be banked on the outlined supplementary vacation employment anniversary date and taken at a mutually agreeable time subsequent to the current supplementary vacation employment anniversary date but prior to the next supplementary vacation employment anniversary date:
      1. upon reaching the employment anniversary of twenty-five (25) years of continuous service, Employees shall have earned an additional five (5) work days vacation with pay;
      2. upon reaching the employment anniversary of thirty (30) years of continuous service, Employees shall have earned an additional five (5) work days vacation with pay;
      3. upon reaching the employment anniversary of thirty-five (35) years of continuous service, Employees shall have earned an additional five (5) work days vacation with pay;
      4. upon reaching the employment anniversary of forty (40) years of continuous service, Employees shall have earned an additional five (5) work days vacation with pay;
      5. upon reaching the employment anniversary of forty-five (45) years of continuous service, Employees shall have earned an additional five (5) work days vacation with pay.
2. Time of Vacation
   1. All vacation earned during one (1) vacation year shall be taken during the next following vacation year, at a mutually agreeable time, except that an Employee may be permitted to carry forward a portion of vacation entitlement to the next vacation year.  Requests to carry forward vacation shall be made, in writing, and shall be subject to the approval of the Employer.
   2. Notwithstanding Article 18.02(a) above, an Employee shall have the right to utilize vacation credits during the vacation year in which they are earned, provided the following conditions are met:
      1. such utilization does not exceed the total credits earned by an Employee at the time of taking vacation; and
      2. such vacation is taken at a mutually agreeable time.
   3. An Employee may request vacation leave during any period of the year.
   4. Upon the request of an Employee, earned vacation credits may be divided into more than one (1) vacation period if approved by the Employer.  Such request shall not be unreasonably denied.
3. The Employer shall post a twelve (12) calendar month vacation schedule planners at the work site in accordance with its current practice.
4. An Employee shall submit their choice of vacation dates to the Employer for approval within the time frames established by the Employer.
5. An Employee will submit their annual vacation request on or before the March 31 deadline if they wish to exercise their seniority for their vacation request.  Annual vacation requests received after the March 31 deadline will be on a first-come first served basis for that vacation year.
6. In expressing their vacation preferences, subject only to the Employer’s operational requirements, an Employee will have a guarantee of vacation in at least one (1) of three (3) “prime times”.
   
   “Prime times” will be as follows:
   1. Easter from one (1) week before until one (1) week after Easter Sunday in each year;
   2. Summer from June 1 until October 1 in each year;
   3. Christmas from December 15 of one calendar year until January 2 of the following calendar year.
7. An Employee can only use their seniority to obtain the same vacation “prime time” two (2) years in a row.
8. Subject to operational requirements, every reasonable effort will be made to grant Employees their choice of vacation.
9. The Employer will respond to vacation requests within three (3) weeks of the deadlines or within three (3) weeks of requests received after the deadlines.
10. Vacation with pay shall not accrue while an Employee is:
    1. on layoff; or
    2. in receipt of Short or Long Term Disability benefits; or
    3. in receipt of Workers’ Compensation benefits in excess of thirty (30) calendar days; or
    4. on a leave of absence in excess of thirty (30) calendar days.