Stettler District Ambulance Association Collective Agreement 2023 - 2026

Article 20: Leaves of Absence

1. 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. Where approval is denied, the Employer will respond in writing and reasons shall be given.
2. Bereavement Leave
   1. Bereavement leave with pay of four (4) working days shall be granted in the event of the death of a member of the Employee’s immediate family - i.e., child, parent, brother, sister, husband, wife, (including common-law spouse), fiancé, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, step-parent, step-children, step-brother, step-sister, guardian, grandparent, or grandchild. “Common-law spouse” shall be deemed to mean a man or woman who resided with the Employee and who was held out publicly as their spouse for a period of at least one year before the death. In the event of the death of a relative who is not immediate family, the Employer may grant time off with pay to attend the funeral service.
   2. Bereavement leave shall be extended by up to two (2) additional days if travel, in excess of three hundred (300) kilometers (one-way) from the Employee’s residence is necessary to attend the funeral.
   3. Notwithstanding Article 20.02 (a) and (b), where special circumstances exist, an Employee may request that Bereavement Leave be divided into two (2) periods. Such request is subject to the approval of the Employer. In no circumstances, however, shall an Employee be eligible for more days off with pay than they would have been eligible to receive had the Bereavement Leave been taken in one (1) undivided period.
3. Maternity Leave
   1. An Employee who has completed ninety (90) days of employment shall, upon written request, be granted maternity leave to become effective twelve (12) weeks immediately preceding the 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. Such leave shall be without pay and benefits except 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, EI SUB Plan benefits, S.T.D.I. or L.T.D.I and maternity leave shall not exceed sixteen (16) weeks.
   2. An Employee on maternity leave shall provide the Employer with four (4) weeks’ written notice of readiness to return to work following which the Employer will reinstate them in the same position held by them immediately prior to taking 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 benefits that accrued to them to the date they commenced leave.
4. Parental Leave
   1. A parent-to-be who has completed ninety (90) days of employment shall, upon written request, be granted leave of absence without pay and benefits for a period up to sixty-two (62) weeks for parenting duties following the birth of a child.
   2. An Employee who has completed ninety (90) days of employment shall be granted leave of absence without pay and benefits for a period of up to sixty-two (62) weeks in duration for the purpose of adopting a child provided that the Employee:
      1. makes written request for such leave at the time the application for adoption is approved, and keeps the Employer advised of the status of such application; and
      2. provides the Employer with at least one (1) days’ notice that such leave is to commence.
   3. 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.
   4. 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.
   5. Parental leave of at least one (1) working day with pay shall be granted upon written request of an Employee to enable such Employee to attend to matters directly related to the birth or adoption of their child.
5. Educational Leave
   1. Provided that the operational efficiency is not seriously disrupted, the Employer will encourage participation in educational programs. Leave of absence with pay (to a maximum of six (6) working days per calendar year) may be granted at the discretion of the Employer to enable Regular Casual Employees to participate in such programs. Reasonable expenses shall not be denied. Educational Leave will not be available to any Regular Casual Employee who is employed full-time at another EMS service.
   2. Should the Employer direct an Employee to participate in a specific program, such Employee shall be compensated in accordance with the following:
      1. for program attendance on regularly scheduled working days, the Employee shall suffer no loss of regular earnings;
      2. In the event that the mandatory training sessions falls on the Employee’s regularly scheduled day off, the Employer may alter the Employee’s regularly scheduled days of work with fourteen (14) days’ notice. The Employer must grant a corresponding day off in the coinciding pay period. When the Employer is unable to alter the Employee’s regularly scheduled hours of work, attendance on a regularly scheduled day off will be paid at two times (2X) their basic rate of pay, which may be added to the lieu bank.
      3. The Employer will pay the cost of the course including tuition fees, reasonable travel and subsistence expenses subject to prior approval.
   3. For the purpose of determining salary increments, an Employee who is granted leave of absence for educational purposes shall be deemed to remain in the continuous service of the Employer for the first twelve (12) calendar months of such period of leave.
6. General Policies Covering Leaves of Absence
   1. Except for bereavement leave, applications for all leaves of absence shall be submitted, in writing, to the Employer as early as possible. Applications shall specify dates of departure and return. The Employer shall indicate approval or disapproval in writing within twenty-eight (28) 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 such leave without permission of the Employer shall be deemed to have terminated their employment unless a justifiable reason can be established by the Employee.
   3. In the case of leave of absence in excess of (1) one month, Employees shall cease to accrue sick leave and vacation with pay. An Employee’s salary increment date shall be adjusted by the same amount of time as the leave of absence and the new increment date shall prevail thereafter.
   4. Except as provided in Article 20.07(e) where an Employee is granted a leave of absence of more than one (1) month’s duration, and that Employee is covered by any or all of the plans specified in Article 18, 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.
   5. 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, EI SUB Plan benefits, or L.T.D.I., benefit plan premium payments shall be administered in the same fashion as an Employee absent due to illness.
   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. Union Business
   1. Provided operational efficiency shall not in any case be disrupted, leave of absence shall be granted by the Employer to Employees elected or appointed to represent the Union at conventions, meetings, workshops, seminars, schools, Union business or Board of Director meetings.
   2. Representatives of the Union shall be granted time off in order to participate in collective bargaining with the Employer.
   3. Time off granted in accordance with Article 20.08(a) and (b) shall be with pay and without loss of seniority. The Union agrees to reimburse the Employer for the total cost of the absence, plus a fifteen percent (15%) administration fee.
8. Personal Leave
   1. Regular Employees shall be entitled to personal leave days each year, from April 1st through March 31st. 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. The Employee is not required to disclose the reason for the personal leave.
   2. The number of personal leave days are determined by the FTE as of April 1st of each year
      1. Full-time and Part-time Employees greater than zero point eight zero (0.80) FTE shall be entitled to three (3) days of up to twelve (12) hours each;
      2. Part-time Employees between zero point six zero (0.60) and zero point eight zero (0.80) FTE shall be entitled to two (2) days of up to twelve (12) hours each;
      3. Part-time Employees between zero point thirty-eight (0.38) and zero point fifty-nine (0.59) FTE shall be entitled to one (1) day of up to twelve (12) hours.
   3. Personal leave days are granted per incident as a full day
   4. Any personal leave days not used by March 31st of each year shall not be carried over or paid out on termination of employment
   5. New Employees hired after January 1 of each year shall not receive personal leave days until the following April 1st
9. Caregiver Leaves
   1. Compassionate Care Leave
      1. An Employee who has completed at least ninety (90) days of employment, shall be entitled to leave of absence without pay, but with benefits at the normal cost sharing, 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 as 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 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.
   2. Critical Illness Leave
      1. An Employee who has completed at least ninety (90) days of employment, and is a family member of a critically ill or injured child, or a critically ill, qualified relative, shall be entitled to leave of absence without pay or benefits for;
      2. Critically ill child means a child, step-child, foster child or child who is under legal guardianship, and who is under eighteen (18) years of age for whom the Employee would be eligible for the parents of critically ill child leave under the Employment Standards Code (Alberta).
      3. Critically ill, qualified adult relative means a person in a relationship to the Employee for whom the Employee would be eligible for critical illness leave under the Employment Standards Code (Alberta) and regulations.
      4. At the request of the Employee, critical illness leave may be taken in one (1) week increments.
      5. Where possible, an Employee shall apply for critical illness 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.
   3. Employees may be required to submit to the Employer satisfactory proof demonstrating the need for compassionate care leave or critical illness leave.
10. Military Leave
    Upon application by an Employee, the Employer shall grant a leave of absence for military leave. Such leave of absence shall be in accordance with the Government of Canada regulations and any regulations passed by the Employer relative to LAPP and group insurance contributions.
11. Death or Disappearance of a Child Leave
    An Employee who meets the criteria for death or disappearance of child leave specified in the Employment Standards Code shall be entitled to a leave of absence without pay for a period up to:
     
    1. Fifty-two (52) weeks in the event of the disappearance of a child; or
    2. One hundred and four (104) weeks in the event of the death of a child.
12. Domestic Violence Leave
    1. 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 up to ten (10) days per calendar year.
    2. An Employee may access applicable leaves of absence or banks such as sick leave, personal leave, court appearance leave, or general leave without pay.
    3. Personal information concerning domestic violence shall be kept confidential by the Employer.
    4. When an Employee reports that they are experiencing domestic violence, the Employer shall complete a hazard assessment and, where appropriate, may facilitate alternate work arrangements.
13. Citizenship Ceremony Leave 
    An Employee who has completed at least ninety (90) days of employment is entitled to one half (1/2) day of leave without pay to attend a citizenship ceremony to receive a certificate of citizenship, as provided for under the Citizenship Act (Canada).