East Central 911 Call Answer Society Collective Agreement 2025-2027

Article 33: Leaves of Absence

1. General Policies Covering Leaves of Absence
   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.
   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. Except as provided in Article 33.01(d), 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 25, 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, Employment Insurance (EI) Supplementary Unemployment Benefits (SUB) Plan benefits, short-term disability (STD) or long-term disability (LTD), benefit plan premium payments shall be administered in the same fashion as an Employee absent due to illness.
   5. The Employee shall continue to accrue sick leave and vacation entitlement during the leave of absence to the end of the month in which the leave begins.
2. General Leave
   1. 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. If an Employee is unable to report to work as the result of:

      1. illness or appointments in the immediate family requiring the Employee’s personal attention; or
      2. important family circumstances, not foreseeable by or beyond the control of the Employee, that can only be resolved by the Employee’s personal attention; or
      3. providing palliative care to a member of the immediate family who requires it;

      they shall inform the Employer as soon as possible, and where possible in advance. The Employee may use banked sick leave, vacation days, banked overtime or unpaid leave of absence for the hours not worked.  Such absence from work shall not exceed four (4) calendar days per year (non-cumulative).  The Employee may be required to submit satisfactory proof of the illness, appointment or important family circumstance and the family relationship.  For the purpose of this article, immediate family shall be as per Article 33.07(a)(i).

3. Union Business
   1. Provided operational efficiency shall not in any case be disrupted, leave of absence shall be granted by the Employer upon not less than fourteen (14) calendar days’ notice, to an employee elected or appointed to represent the Union at conventions, meetings, workshops, seminars, schools, Union business; or Union members hired to a paid position in the Union for a period of up to one (1) year. Such leave shall be with pay. If the request is denied, reasons shall be given by the Employer.
   2. Representatives of the Union (2) shall be granted time off with pay in order to participate in collective bargaining with the Employer.
   3. Members of the Board of Directors of the Union shall be granted a leave of absence with pay to attend Union business. Such member shall provide the Employer with such request in writing with as much advance notice as possible.
   4. The President and Vice President of the Union shall be granted leave with pay as required to attend to Union business, provided reasonable notice is given. Upon notification from the Union to the Employer, the parties shall meet and negotiate specific letters of understanding for such leaves of absence.
   5. Time off granted in accordance with Article 33.03 (a)(b)(c) and (d) shall be with pay, and the Union agrees to reimburse the Employer for the total cost of the absence plus a fifteen percent (15%) administration fee.
4. Maternity Leave
   1. An employee who has completed ninety (90) days of employment shall, upon their written request, be granted 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 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, STD or LTD. Maternity Leave shall not exceed sixteen (16) weeks.
   2. A pregnant employee whose continued employment in their position may be hazardous to themselves or to their unborn child, in the written opinion of their physician or a registered midwife, may request a transfer to a more suitable position if one is available. Where no suitable position is available, the employee may request Maternity Leave as provided by Article 33.04(a) if the employee is eligible for such leave. In the event that such Maternity Leave must commence in the early stages of pregnancy which results in the need for an absence from work longer than eighteen (18) months, the employee may request further leave without pay as provided by Article 33.01.
   3. 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. Such maternity leave will end sixteen (16) weeks after the commencement of the leave.
5. Parental Leave
   1. A parent-to-be who has completed ninety (90) days of employment shall, upon their written request, be grated 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. A parent-to-be who has completed ninety (90) days of employment shall, upon their written request, be grated 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.
      1. they make a 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. they provide the Employer with at least one (1) day’s 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 they held 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 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.
6. Educational Leave
   All educational leave granted with pay by the Employer must demonstrate a benefit to the organization.
   1. The parties to this Collective Agreement recognize the value of continuing education for each Employee and recognize that continuing education may be deemed necessary for Employees covered by this Collective Agreement and recognize that the responsibility for such continuing education lies not only with the individual but also with the Employer.
   2. A paid leave of absence and/or reasonable expenses may be granted to an Employee at the discretion of the Employer to enable the Employee to participate in education programs.
   3. 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. For hours in attendance at such program on regularly scheduled days off, the Employee shall be paid at their basic rate of pay to a maximum of twelve (12) hours per day.
      3. The Employer will pay the cost of the course including tuition fees, reasonable travel and subsistence expenses subject to prior approval.
   4. While on educational leave without pay,
      1. an Employee shall not accrue sick leave or vacation credits unless such leave is less than thirty (30) days;
      2. an Employee’s anniversary date for salary increment purposes shall not change unless the duration of the leave exceeds twelve (12) months, in which case the anniversary date shall be delayed by the amount of time by which the leave exceeds twelve (12) months, and the newly established anniversary date shall prevail thereafter.
   5. An Employee absent on approved education leave shall be reinstated by the Employer in the same position and classification held by them immediately prior to taking such leave or be provided with alternate work of a comparable nature.
7. Bereavement Leave
   1. Bereavement leave with pay of:
      1. five (5) consecutive working days shall be granted in the event of the death of a member of the Employee’s immediate family.  Upon request, the Employee may be granted additional leave of absence without pay. Immediate family of the Employee is defined as spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, fiancé. Step-parent, step-children, step-brother and step-sister, grandparent, and grandchild shall be considered as members of the Employee’s immediate family.  “Spouse” shall include common-law or same sex relationship and 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 (1) year before the death;
      2. three (3) consecutive working days shall be granted in the event of the death of the following members of the Employee’s family (i.e., mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, legal guardian and grandparent).
   2. Bereavement Leave shall be extended by two (2) additional days if travel in excess of three hundred (300) kilometres one way from the Employee’s residence is necessary for the purpose of attending the funeral.
   3. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 33.07 (a) and (b), where special circumstances exist, an Employee may request that bereavement leave be divided into two 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 undivided period.
   4. In the event of the death of another relative or friend, the Employer may grant time off with pay to attend the funeral service.
   5. Bereavement Leave - Part-Time Employees
      In calculating paid bereavement leave entitlement for part-time Employees, the provisions of Article 33.07 shall apply only to regularly scheduled working days which fall during a ten (10) calendar day period, commencing with the date of death.
8. Professional Development Leave
   1. Upon written application to the Employer, a regular Employee may request a leave of absence without pay for reasons of professional development which the Employer views as beneficial to the organization.  A regular Employee shall be eligible for consideration of professional development leave after completing three (3) years of continuous full-time service, or equivalent hours based on two thousand one hundred and ninety (2,190) hours per year exclusive of overtime hours worked.  Such leave shall not exceed twelve (12) consecutive calendar months in an unbroken manner.
   2. Where a regular Employee has received a professional development leave, such a regular Employee will not be eligible for another professional development leave until they have completed three (3) consecutive years of full-time employment from the date they returned from the previous professional development leave.
   3. During such professional leave the Employee shall be accountable for both Employer and Employee portions of all benefits should the Employee choose to continue their benefits.  Sick time and vacation shall not be accrued during the approved professional leave of absence.
   4. An Employee absent on approved professional development leave shall be reinstated by the Employer in the same position and classification held by them immediately prior to taking such leave or be provided with alternate work of a comparable nature.
9. Personal Development Leave
   1. Upon written application to the Employer, a regular Employee considering a career change may request a leave of absence without pay for reasons of personal development.  A regular Employee shall be eligible for consideration of personal development leave after completing five (5) years of continuous full-time service, or equivalent hours based on two thousand one hundred and ninety (2,190) hours per year exclusive of overtime hours worked.  Such leave shall not exceed twelve (12) consecutive calendar months in an unbroken manner.
   2. At least fourteen (14) days prior to the Employee’s return from the personal development leave, the Employee shall meet with the Employer to discuss whether the Employee wishes to change careers or remain with the Employer.  Pending the Employee’s decision to remain with the Employer, the Employee shall be reinstated by the Employer in the same position and classification held by them immediately prior to taking such leave or be provided with alternate work of a comparable nature.
   3. Where a regular Employee has received a personal development leave, such a regular Employee will not be eligible for another personal development leave.
   4. During the personal development leave the Employee shall not accrue seniority, sick time or vacation.