Canadian Blood Services (Technical) Collective Agreement 2021-2024

LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING #11

Between

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES
(hereinafter referred to as "the Employer”)

and

HEALTH SCIENCES ASSOCIATION OF ALBERTA
(hereinafter referred to as "the Union")

RE: VOLUNTARY TERMINATION FOR PHLEBOTOMISTS
 

Whereas Canadian Blood Services has amended the Phlebotomist job descriptions to include Donor Screening duties, and;

Whereas no regular Phlebotomist (“employee”) hired before May 5, 2014, shall be subject to an involuntary layoff solely due to their inability to successfully complete Donor Screening training, or their choice not to complete Donor Screening training;

Therefore, the Parties hereby agree to the following:
 

1. The Employer will, at its sole discretion, canvass employees to determine if any of those employees wish to voluntarily terminate employment with the Employer. Employees shall request to voluntarily terminate employment with the Employer by signing an irrevocable letter of intent within fourteen (14) calendar days. The irrevocable letter of intent will be in effect for thirty (30) calendar days from the date of signing of the letter.
2. The Employer shall first consider requests from employees who are eligible to retire in accordance with the provisions and requirements of the C.B.S. Pension Plan. Should the Employer grant the request, the employee shall forfeit their right to notice as contemplated by Article 23 of the Collective Agreement, but shall be eligible for a severance package as contemplated by #6 below.  
3. The Employer shall grant voluntary termination requests made by employees pursuant to #1 above in descending order of seniority, providing that operational requirements are maintained to the satisfaction of the Employer.
4. The Employer shall maintain sole discretion in determining the number of employees eligible for voluntary termination and the last day worked for such employees.
5. The provisions of this Memorandum of Agreement shall not apply to temporary or casual employees.  
6. The provisions of the voluntary severance package shall consist of:

   1. A severance payment of 2 weeks’ regular pay per year of service to a maximum of 52 week’s regular pay. In the case of part-time employees, a pro-rated severance payment shall be calculated based on the following formula, to a maximum of 52 regular weeks’ pay:

      # of regular hours worked ÷ 1950 hours x 75 hours x hourly rate of pay

   2. Career transition services to a maximum value of $1925, to be executed by a service provider of the Employer’s sole discretion.  
   3. An education allowance not to exceed five percent (5%) of the Employee’s regular earnings in the twelve (12) months preceding their voluntary termination for endeavours that the Employer considers influencing an Employee’s future employment opportunities. Employees shall apply for such allowance in writing using a form to be provided by the Employer.
      
      Acceptance of the above-noted amounts shall be deemed to include and satisfy any statutorily required notice and/or severance entitlements under the Alberta Employment Standards Code.
   4. If these amounts are increased by Canadian Blood Services, the amounts reflected above will be automatically adjusted and will be available to employees accessing these programs under this Letter of Understanding.
7. Notwithstanding #6 (b) and (c) above, any employee to whom the Employer grants voluntary severance shall not be eligible for the provisions of the Career Bridging Program.