Bonnyville Health Centre Collective Agreement 2020-2024

Article 8: Job Classification

1. New Classifications
   
   If the Employer creates a new classification which belongs in the bargaining unit and which is not now designated in this Collective Agreement, or if a new classification is included in the bargaining unit by the Labour Relations Board, the following provisions shall apply:
   1. The Employer shall establish a classification and a salary scale and give written notice of same to the Union.
   2. If the Union does not agree with the classification and/or the salary scale, representatives of the Employer and the Union shall meet within thirty (30) calendar days of the creation of the new classification or the inclusion of a new classification in the bargaining unit.
   3. Should the Parties, through discussion and negotiation, agree in regard to a salary scale for the new classification, the salary scale shall be retroactive to the date that the new classification was implemented.
   4. Should the Parties, through discussion and negotiation, not be able to agree to a classification, it is understood that the Employer’s decision in respect to the classification shall not be subject to the Grievance and Arbitration procedure contained in this Collective Agreement or in the Code.
   5. Should the Parties not be able to agree to the salary scale, the Union may, within sixty (60) calendar days of the date the new classification was created or included in the bargaining unit, refer the salary scale to Arbitration. Should the Union not refer the matter to Arbitration within the stated time limit, the final position of the Employer, as stated in negotiations, shall be implemented.
2. (A) Classification Review
   1. An Employee who has good reason to believe that they are improperly classified may apply, in writing by electronic mail, to their immediate out-of-scope Manager to have their classification reviewed.  The Employer will give consideration to such application and shall notify the Employee of the results of the Classification Review within sixty (60) calendar days of receiving the request.  The notification shall be in writing and include detailed rationale for the decision.
   2. An Employee may only request one review of their position during the term of the Collective Agreement unless a substantive change to the duties or responsibilities has occurred.
   3. Should the Employee feel that they have not received proper consideration in regard to a classification review, they may request that the matter be referred to the Internal Appeal Process.
3. (B) Internal Appeal Process
   1. When an Employee wishes to have a classification decision further reviewed, the Employee, in consultation with the Union, shall submit a written request to the Classification and Compensation department, with a copy to the Employee’s Manager, within thirty (30) calendar days of the date the Employee became reasonably aware of the classification decision. The written request should:
      1. confirm their desire for an Internal Appeal of the classification decision,
      2. outline the reason the Employee believes the classification decision is not appropriate, and
      3. include any additional information that the Employee believes is necessary to evaluate the request.
   2. Upon receipt of the request for an internal review the Classification and Compensation department will conduct an internal review, which may include discussions with the Employee, the Employee’s Manager and/or Director and the Union. The Classification and Compensation Department shall provide a written response to the Employee and to the Union within sixty (60) calendar days of receipt of the request for an Internal Appeal and provide detailed rationale for their decision.
   3. Should the Union determine, based on the outcome of the Internal Appeal, that the classification review requires further consideration the matter may be referred to the External Appeal Process.
4. (C) External Appeal Process
   1. When the Union determines that the decision of the Internal Appeal is not satisfactory, they may request an External Appeal within sixty (60) calendar days of the date they received the written response to the Internal Appeal. The Union’s request shall be in writing and sent to Classification and Compensation Department and to the Employee.
   2. Upon receipt of the External Appeal request, an operations Manager, an Analyst from the Classification and Compensation Department, or designate, and the Union’s Classification Analyst or designate will meet within sixty (60) calendar days to review all relevant documents from the Employee and the Employer to assist in the External Appeal. The documents would normally include, though not limited to, the following:
      1. a copy of the reclassification request, an approved job description with all corresponding rationale and documents used in support of the reclassification request; and
      2. copies of all the Employer and Union responses, including all corresponding rationale and documents used in making the Internal decision of the Employer.

   3. Once the representatives, outlined in 8.04 (b), have received all of the necessary documentation, they may take one (1) of the five (5) following approaches:

      1. If necessary, request further information or documentation. This could include interviewing or asking questions of the Employee or representatives of the Employer. However, if information is received from the Employee or the Employer, it should be validated by the respective Parties. 

      2. The representatives may, by consensus, concur with the decision of the Employer, and recommend that no further reconsideration occur.

      3. The representatives may, by consensus, concur with the Employee request, and make a recommendation to the Employer that they grant the reclassification request. The review would be conducted on the basis of the classification specifications and the guidelines included in the Classification Specification User Manual.

      4. The representatives may, by consensus, agree that a new classification be created if none of the existing classifications are appropriate for the position and direct the Employer to draft a new classification per Article 8.01.

      5. Should the representatives be unable to render a recommendation by consensus within the timelines specified in 8.04(b), either Party may refer the matter to Arbitration. 

   4. Where the decision of the Employer relates to an Employer-initiated down-grading in classification, the affected Employee shall be entitled to use the Grievance Procedure and Arbitration.
5. 1. Where a decision from a classification review results in an increase in pay for the affected Employee, such pay increase will be effective the date the Employee submitted the request for review in writing to the immediate out-of-scope Manager.
   2. Where a decision from a classification review results in a decrease in pay for the affected Employee, they shall be red circled and continue to receive their previous Basic Rate of Pay until such time as the Basic Rate of Pay in the new classification meets or exceeds the Employee’s red circled rate, or for a period of twenty-four (24) months, whichever is earlier, at which time they will receive the Basic Rate of Pay in accordance with the wage grid for their revised classification.
6. Time limits may be extended by mutual agreement, in writing, between the Union and the Employer.
7. Position Descriptions
   1. Copies of position descriptions shall be on hand within the appropriate department(s) and shall be available to each Employee upon request.
   2. Upon request, the Employer will provide the Union with a copy of a position description for any classification in the bargaining unit provided that a request for a particular position description is not made more than once in a calendar year.  If it is determined that a position description does not exist, the Employer shall provide the position description within sixty (60) days of the initial request. The sixty (60) day timeline may be extended by mutual agreement.