Canadian Blood Services (Technical) Collective Agreement 2021-2024

Article 9: On-Call Duty and Call Backs

1. The term "on-call duty" shall be deemed to mean any period during which an Employee is not on regular duty, and during which the Employee is on call and must be reasonably available to respond without undue delay to any request to return to duty. Unless otherwise agreed by the Employer and theUnion, on-call periods shall be posted in accordance with article 7.03(a).
2. Regulations in respect to approval or authorization for on-call duty and the procedures which are to be followed by the Employee in respect of a duty roster shall be prescribed by the Employer.
3. The Employer agrees to pay for each hour of On-Call Duty to which an Employee is assigned:
   1. Three dollars and thirty cents ($3.30) when such on-call duty falls on normal working days.
   2. Four dollars and fifty cents ($4.50) when such on-call duty falls on scheduled days off or named holidays. A named holiday or scheduled day off shall run from 0001 hours on the named holiday or scheduled day off to 2400 hours of the same day.
   3. Except in cases of emergency, the Employer shall avoid placing an Employee "on-call" on the day immediately preceding their annual vacation period.
   4. The Employer shall make every effort to avoid placing an Employee “on-call” on the evening prior to or during scheduled off-duty days.
   5. Wherever possible, the Employee shall not be assigned to on-call duty more than seven (7) consecutive calendar days.
4. Callbacks
   1. For each occasion that the Employee is called back to duty during the Employee’s on-call period, the Employee shall be deemed to be working overtime and shall be paid for all hours worked during the on-call period or for three (3) hours, whichever is the longer, at the overtime rate of two times (2X) the basic rate of pay.  An Employee called back to duty will be permitted to leave the Centre upon completion of the procedure for which they are called back. However, any further request for procedures received by an Employee prior to leaving the Center following completion of the work required on the initial call, shall be considered one call for the purposes of determining call back.
   2. Employees called back to duty who are not scheduled to be "on-call" will receive two (2) times the basic rate of pay for a minimum of three (3) hours or for all hours worked, whichever is greater. Such Employees will be entitled to payments listed in Article 9.06 (a).
   3. An Employee called back to duty on a named holiday shall be given compensating time off for all actual hours worked on each call back at their basic rate of pay within 30 days in addition to the premium pay specified in article 9.04 (a) and (b).  Except for on call pay which shall not be paid, the provisions of the preceding sentence shall likewise apply to an employee who, although not on on-call duty, is called back for duty on a named holiday.
5. If an Employee is called back to duty and does not receive a total of eight (8) hours off duty in the twenty-four (24) hour period beginning from the commencement of their shift, then the Employee will not be required to report for duty until the Employee has received a total of eight (8) hours off duty (these eight (8) hours off duty need not be continuous).  In such circumstances, no deduction will be made on the Employee’s pay and the Employee’s normal shift hours will not be extended to have the Employee work a full shift.  The Employee in the above situation will advise their Supervisor in advance of the fact that they will not be reporting for duty at their scheduled time.  This provision is waived if the Employee is granted a request for a particular shift arrangement that does not give the Employee eight (8) hours in total off duty in the aforementioned twenty-four (24) hour period.
6. When an Employee is called back to the Centre, the Employer shall pay for reasonable, necessary and substantiated transportation expenses.
   1. Should the Employee travel for such purpose by private motorized vehicle, reimbursement shall be at the prevailing Corporate per kilometre rate from the Employee’s residence and return.
   2. When an Employee is called back to duty between 2400 and 0700 hours of the next day, they shall be provided with transportation or reimbursed for the cost of reasonable, necessary, and substantiated transportation expense from the Centre to their place of residence.  This article shall not apply if the Employee has their own mode of transportation.
7. Electronic Consultation
   When an employee is consulted by any form of electronic means and is authorized and handles work-related matters without returning to the work place the following will apply:
   1. An employee who has not completed seven and one half (7 1/2) hours of work in the day shall be paid at their basic rate of pay for the total accumulated time spent on Electronic Consultation(s), and corresponding required documentation, during the on-call period.  If the total accumulated time spent on Electronic Consultation(s), and corresponding required documentation, during the on-call period is less than thirty (30) minutes, the employee shall be compensated at their basic rate of pay for thirty (30) minutes.
   2. An employee who has completed seven and one half (7 1/2) hours of work in the day shall be paid at the applicable overtime rate for the total accumulated time spent on Telephone Consultation(s), and corresponding required documentation, during the on-call period.  If the total accumulated time spent on Telephone Consultation(s), and corresponding required documentation, during the on-call period is less than thirty (30) minutes, the employee shall be compensated at the applicable overtime rate for thirty (30) minutes.
      
          Authorization after the fact shall not be unreasonably denied.