Foothills Regional Emergency Services Commission Collective Agreement 2023-2025

Article 20: Annual Vacaction

1. “Date of Employment” shall mean;
   1. in the case of an employee whose employment commenced between the first (1st) and fifteenth (15th) days inclusive of any month, the first day of that calendar month; or
   2. in the case of an employee whose employment commenced between the sixteenth (16th) and the last day inclusive of any calendar month the first (1st) day of the following calendar month.
   3. Subject to Article 21.01(e), during each year of continuous service in the employ of the Employer, an Employee shall earn vacation with pay in proportion to the number of months worked during the vacation year, to be taken in the following vacation year except as provided in Article 20.12. For Part-time employees “months worked” shall be based on hours compensated at the regular rate of pay. The rate at which vacation is earned shall be governed by the total length of employment as follows:
2. during the first three (3) years of continuous employment an employee shall earn entitlement to vacation calculated on a basis of six (6%) per cent of regular hours worked; or
3. during the fourth (4th) through the ninth (9th) years of continuous employment, an Employee shall earn entitlement to vacation calculated on a basis of eight per cent (8%) of regular hours worked; or
4. during the tenth (10th) through nineteenth (19th) years of continuous employment, an Employee shall earn entitlement to vacation calculated on a basis of ten per cent (10%) of regular hours worked; or
5. during the twentieth (20th) and each subsequent year of continuous employment an employee shall earn entitlement to vacation calculated on a basis of twelve per cent (12%) of regular hours worked.
6. An Employee leaving the service of the Employer at any time before they have exhausted the vacation credits to which they are entitled, shall receive a proportionate payment of salary in lieu of such earned vacation.
7. All Employees shall submit their vacation requests to the Employer prior to November 15 of each year and approval of vacation time requested shall be made or denied by the Executive Director no later than December 31st of that same year.
   1. An employee may submit a vacation request after December 31st. Approval or denial shall be subject to operational feasibility and shall not be unreasonably denied.
   2. Seniority shall be considered when there is a dispute regarding a preference for the time that vacation is to be taken.  Employees failing to exercise seniority rights within two (2) weeks of the time that employees are asked to choose a vacation time shall not be entitled to exercise their seniority rights in respect to any vacation time previously selected by an employee with less seniority.
8. No Employee may continue to work and draw vacation pay in lieu of taking their vacation.
9. 1. All vacation earned in one vacation year shall be taken during the next year following, 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. Vacation carry over shall not exceed the equivalent of one week’s vacation, except by mutual agreement between an employee and employer.
10. Notwithstanding Article 20.09 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
11. An employee may request vacation leave during any period of the year.
12. Upon the request of the employee earned vacation credits may be divided into more than one vacation period if approved by the Executive Director.  The periods may be divided into blocks as small as one day at a time unless otherwise mutually agreed.
13. Unless given four (4) weeks notice of an alteration to their scheduled vacation period, an Employee required by the Employer to work during their vacation period will receive two times (2X) their basic rate of pay for all hours worked.  This premium payment will cease and the Employee's basic rate of pay will apply at the start of their next regularly scheduled shift.  The time so worked will be rescheduled as vacation leave with pay to be added to the vacation period, when possible, or the employee will be granted equivalent time off in lieu thereof at a mutually agreed later date.  With the approval of the Employer, an employee may elect to receive payment at the basic rate of pay in lieu of the aforementioned time off.  Vacation for Casual Employees:
    1. A Casual Employee shall be paid, in addition to their basic rate of pay, four per cent (4%), six percent (6%), eight percent (8%), or ten percent (10%) of their regular earnings in lieu of vacation, whichever is applicable depending on vacation entitlement.
    2. A Casual Employee shall not be scheduled to work or be placed on call for three (3) weeks during each vacation year.  Such vacation may be applied for during any period of the year, but shall be taken at a mutually agreeable time. Additional leave will be granted during each vacation year as applicable depending on vacation entitlements.
    3. Only those regularly scheduled hours and additional hours paid at the basic rate of pay and on a Named Holiday to a maximum of twelve (12) hours for Communications Staff, and periods of sick leave with pay will be recognized as regular earnings for the purpose of determining vacation pay.