Prairie Emergency Medical Services Inc. Collective Agreement 2020-2025

Article 17: Layoff and Recall

1.  

   1. In case it becomes necessary to reduce the work force: 

      1. reduction in the number of employees;
      2. reduction in the number of regularly scheduled hours available to one (1) or more employees; or
      3. having been displaced by the lay-off of a more senior Employee.

      the Employer will notify the Union and all employees who are to be laid off at least fourteen (14) calendar days prior to layoff, except that the fourteen (14) calendar days notice shall not apply where the layoff results from an Act of God, fire, or flood.  If the Employee laid off has not been provided with an opportunity to work their regularly scheduled hours during fourteen (14) calendar days after notice of layoff, the Employee shall be paid in lieu of such work for that portion of the twenty-eight (28) calendar days during which work was not made available.

   2. If the Employer proposes to layoff an Employee while they are on leave of absence, Workers’ Compensation or absent due to illness or injury they shall not be served with notice under sub-article 17.01(a) until they have advised the Employer of their readiness to return to work.
   3. When notice of layoff is to be delivered to an Employee in person, the Employer shall provide twenty four (24) hours notice to the Union to ensure the Employee has the opportunity to be accompanied by a representative of the Union. 
2. 1. Layoff shall be in reverse order of seniority by station; however, the Employer shall have the right to retain employees who would otherwise be laid off when layoff in accordance with this Article would result in retaining employees who are not capable and qualified of performing the work required.
   2. An Employee in receipt of a notice of lay-off shall have the right to choose one (1) of the following options:
      1. Bump into a vacant position for which they are capable and qualified of performing the work required;
      2. Displace a junior Employee by bumping the Employee with the least seniority at a station of their choice as long as they are capable and qualified of preforming the work required; or
      3. As an alternate to displacing another Employee, the affected Employee may choose to be laid off and subject to recall or accept the amount of severance as calculated in Article 45.
3. Recall
   1. When a vacancy arises, recalls shall be carried out in order of seniority provided the Employee is qualified and capable of performing the work required.
   2. The method of recall shall be by telephone and email, if such is not possible, by registered letter sent to the Employee’s last known place of residence. The Employee so notified will return to work as soon as possible but, in any event, not later than five (5) days following either the date of the telephone call or the date the letter was registered.
      1. The Employee so notified will return to work as soon as possible but, in any event, not later than ten (10) calendar days following either the date of the telephone call and email or the date the letter was registered.
      2. An Employee who declines a recall to the same classification, full-time equivalency and station shall be deemed to have resigned.
      3. An Employee may decline any other recall, and they shall remain on the recall list for the remaining balance of the twelve (12) month recall period.
   3. 1. The Employer shall endeavour to offer opportunities for casual work to laid off employees in order of their seniority before assigning the work to a casual Employee, providing the laid off Employee is qualified and capable of performing the work required.
      2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 17.03(c)(i), where the Employer has a multi-site facility, casual work shall first be made available to laid off employees of the specific location from which the Employee was laid off.
      3. A laid off Employee may refuse an offer of casual work without adversely affecting theirrecall status.
      4. An Employee who accepts an offer of casual work shall be governed by the Collective Agreement provisions applicable to a casual Employee, however, such Employee’s recall status and seniority standing upon recall shall not be affected by the period of casual employment.
   4. For the purpose of this clause “Casual Work” shall mean:
      1. work on a call-basis which is not regularly scheduled;
      2. regularly scheduled work for a period of three (3) months or less for a specific job; or
      3. work to relieve for an absence the duration of which is anticipated to be three (3) months or less.
   5. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 16.04, if an Employee is recalled for any length of time, other than for Casual Work, then that Employee’s period of recall rights starts anew.
4. No new Regular or Temporary employees will be hired while there are other employees within the bargaining unit on layoff as long as laid off employees are qualified and capable of performing the work required.
5. In the case of layoff, the Employee shall accrue sick leave and earned vacation for the first month. The Employee’s increment date shall not be adjusted for the first month. Thereafter, the Employee’s increment date shall be adjusted by the same amount of time as the layoff excluding the first month and the new increment date shall prevail. Employees shall not be entitled to Named Holidays with pay which may fall during the period of layoff.
6. In the case of layoff in excess of one (1) month’s duration, the Employer shall inform the Employee that they may make arrangements for the payment of their contributions to the applicable benefit plan, and that they may make prior arrangement for the payment of the full premiums for up to six (6) months for applicable Employee benefit plans contained in Article 33 subject to the insurer’s requirements.