House Next Door Society Collective Agreement 2012-2026

Article 15: Leave of Absence

1. General Policies Covering Leaves of Absence
   The following general policies apply to all leaves of absence as described in this Article:
   1. An application for leave of absence shall be made, in writing, to the Employer as early as possible. The application shall indicate the desired dates for departure and return from the leave of absence.  The Employer shall indicate approval or disapproval in writing within fourteen (14) calendar days of the request for any leave of absence.
   2. An Employee who has been granted leave of absence of any kind and who overstays their leave without permission of the Employer shall be deemed to have terminated their employment.
   3. Except as provided in Article 15.01(d) below, where an Employee is granted a leave of absence of more than one (1) months' duration, and that Employee is covered by any or all of the plans specified in Article 16, that Employee may, subject to the Insurer’s requirements, make prior arrangement for the prepayment of the full premiums for the applicable plans at least one (1) pay period in advance. The time limits as provided for in this Article may be waived in extenuating circumstances.
   4. For the portion of maternity leave during which an Employee has a valid health-related reason for being absent from work and who is in receipt of sick leave, and/or illness related EI, benefit plan premium payments shall be administered in the same fashion as an Employee absent due to illness.
   5. In the case of a leave of absence, an Employee shall accrue sick leave and vacation credits for the first (1st) month. Where the leave of absence exceeds one month, an Employee’s increment date shall be adjusted by the amount of time as that the leave of absence exceeds one (1) month, and the new increment date shall prevail thereafter.
   6. During an Employee’s leave of absence, the Employee may work as a Casual Employee with the Employer without adversely affecting the Employee’s reinstatement to the position from which the Employee is on leave.
   7. General Leave shall only be applicable to the entirety of an Employee’s working aggregate contract.
2. General Leave
   Leave of absence without pay may be granted to an Employee at the discretion of the Employer and the Employee shall not work for gain during the period of leave of absence except with the express consent of the Employer. The Employer shall indicate approval or disapproval in writing within fourteen (14) calendar days of the written request for any leave of absence. Where approval is denied, the Employer will respond in writing and reasons shall be given.
3. Maternity and Parental Leave
   1. An Employee who has ninety (90) days of employment shall, upon their written request, be granted unpaid Maternity Leave to become effective thirteen (13) weeks immediately preceding the expected date of delivery or such shorter period as may be requested by the Employee, provided that they commence Maternity Leave no later than the date of delivery. Maternity Leave shall include benefits per Article 16 for the portion of Maternity Leave during which the Employee has a valid health-related reason for being absent from work and is also in receipt of sick leave, Long Term Disability benefits and/or illness related EI. Maternity Leave shall not exceed sixteen (16) weeks.
   2. A pregnant Employee whose pregnancy ends other than as a result of a live birth within sixteen (16) weeks of the estimated due date is entitled to Maternity Leave. If Maternity Leave has not already commenced in accordance with Clause 15.03 (a) such Maternity Leave will end sixteen (16) weeks after the commencement of the leave.
   3. An Employee who has completed ninety (90) days of employment shall, upon their written request, be granted a leave of absence without pay and benefits for the purpose of parenting duties following the birth or adoption of a child, for a period of up to sixty two (62) weeks. For the birth mother, Parental Leave starts immediately following Maternity Leave.
   4. Parental Leave shall end seventy-eight (78) weeks from the birth of the child or date of adoption, unless mutually agreed otherwise between the Employer and the Employee.
   5. An Employee absent on Parental Leave shall endeavor to provide the Employer with twelve (12) weeks written advance notice of their readiness to return to work but in any event shall provide four (4) weeks written notice, following  which the Employer will reinstate them in the same position held by them immediately prior to taking such leave and at the same step in the salary scale or provide them with alternate work of a comparable nature at not less than the same step in the salary scale and other benefit that accrued to them up to the date they commenced the leave.
   6. Leave of at least one (1) working day with pay shall be granted upon the written request of a parent-to-be to enable such Employee to attend to matters directly related to the birth or adoption of a child.
4. Time Off for Union Business
   1. Time off from work without loss of regular earnings will be provided on the following basis:
      1. The grievor and/or one (1) representative of the local unit for time spent in discussing grievances with representatives of the Employer as outlined in the grievance procedure.
      2. Local representatives, not to exceed three (3) in number, for time spent in Employee/Management Committee meetings with representatives of the Employer.
   2. Provided the Employer’s operational efficiency can be maintained, leave of absence with pay shall be granted by the Employer to an Employee elected or appointed to represent the Union at conventions, meetings, workshops, seminars, schools or Union business.  If the request is denied, reasons shall be given by the Employer.  The Employer shall not unreasonably withhold such leave.  
   3. To facilitate collective bargaining negotiations, time off shall be granted to up to two (2) Employees.
   4. Employees who are elected or selected for a position with the Union shall be granted leave of absence with pay and with no loss of seniority.  Such leave shall be renewed on request during their term of office.  
   5. Time off granted in accordance with Article 15.04 (b)(c) and (d) shall be with pay and the Union agrees to reimburse the Employer for wages plus a fifteen percent (15%) administration fee.
5. Jury or Witness Duty
   Any regular full-time, part-time or temporary Employee required by law for jury or witness duty shall be allowed time off without loss of regular earnings during such absence but any fee receivable as such juror or witness shall be paid to the Employer.  An Employee acting as a voluntary witness shall not be paid for such absence.
6. Political Office
   1. The Employer recognizes the right of an Employee to participate in public affairs.  Therefore, upon written request, the Employer shall allow leave of absence without pay so that an Employee may be a candidate in federal, provincial or municipal elections.
   2. Employees who are elected to public office shall be allowed leave of absence without pay during their term of office, but shall not accrue seniority during the leave.
7. Bereavement Leave
   1. An Employee shall be granted five (5) consecutive working days without loss of salary in the event of death of a member of the Employee’s immediate family. In the event that an Employee requires their bereavement leave to be taken in non-consecutive days, a formal request shall be made at the time.  The Employer shall not deny reasonable requests.
      
      Immediate family of the Employee is defined as:
      
      Spouse (including common-law spouse), child, parent, guardian, brother, sister, grand-parent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, mother- or father-in-law, step- parents, brother- or sister-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law, step-children or foster parents.
   2. One (1) day “mourner leave” with pay shall be granted for the death of a significant other person.
   3. Consecutive work days shall not include the Employee’s regular days off.
   4. Bereavement leave, without loss of regular earnings, shall be extended by up to two (2) working days for travel in excess of six hundred and fifty (650) kilometres return.
   5. In calculating paid Bereavement leave entitlement for part-time Employees, the provisions of the Bereavement Leave Article shall apply only to regular working days which fall during a ten (10) calendar day period commencing with the date of death.  Bereavement leave shall be pro-rated for part-time Employees.
8. Personal Leave
   1. Full-time Employees shall be entitled to twenty eight (28) hours Personal Leave days each year. Employees shall request such days as far in advance as possible. These days are for the purpose of attending to personal matters and family responsibilities, including, but not limited to attending appointments with family members. Requests for Personal Leave shall not be unreasonably denied, subject to operational requirements. Eligible employees who commence employment after March 1 shall receive a prorated amount for the reminder of the year.
   2. Personal Leave must be used in minimum four (4) hour increments.
   3. Personal Leave not used by March 1st of each year shall not be carried over or paid out upon termination of employment.
   4. There shall be no Personal Leave entitlement for part-time Employees.
9. Compassionate Care Leave
   1. An Employee who has completed at least ninety (90) days of employment, shall be entitled to a leave of absence without pay, for a period of twenty-seven (27) weeks to care for a qualified relative with a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within twenty six (26) weeks from the commencement of the leave.
   2. Qualified relative for compassionate care leave means a person in a relationship to the Employee designated in the Alberta Employment Standards Code Regulations.
   3. At the request of the Employee, Compassionate Care Leave may be taken in one (1) week increments.
   4. Where possible, an Employee shall apply for Compassionate Care Leave at least two (2) weeks in advance of the commencement of the leave and shall advise the Employer if they want to take the leave in weekly increments.
10. Domestic Violence Leave
    1. The Employer recognizes that Employees sometimes face situations of violence or abuse in their personal life that may affect their attendance and performance at work.
    2. An Employee who has been subjected to domestic violence may require time off from work to address the situation and shall be entitled to leave of absence without pay for of up to ten (10) days per calendar year.
    3. An Employee may access applicable leaves of absence or banks such as sick leave, personal leave, court appearance leave, or general leave without pay.
    4. Personal information concerning domestic violence shall be kept confidential by the Employer.
    5. The Employee and Employer will only disclose relevant information on a “need to know” basis to protect confidentiality while ensuring workplace safety.