Covenant Health Collective Agreement 2020-2024

Article 45: Modified Work Day

Note: Article 45 is not applicable to EMS

1. Where the Parties to this Collective Agreement agree to implement a system employing a modified work day, they shall evidence such agreement by signing a document indicating those positions to which the agreement applies and indicating the regular hours of work. The list of positions may be amended from time to time by agreement of the Parties.

2. The Employer agrees to provide the Union with a list of all positions for which a modified work day was in effect on the date this Collective Agreement begins to operate.

3. Any agreement made pursuant to Article 45.01 may be terminated by either Party to this Collective Agreement providing to the other Party eight (8) weeks’ notice in writing of such intent.

4. The Employer and the Union acknowledge and confirm that, with the exception of those amendments hereinafter specifically detailed, when a modified work day is implemented, all other Articles of this Collective Agreement shall remain in full force and effect as agreed to between the Parties.

5. Hours of Work

   1. Amend Article 10.01 to read:

      1. Regular hours of work for Full-time Employees, exclusive of meal periods, shall:

         1. not exceed __________ consecutive hours per day, however, in no case shall they exceed eleven and three-quarter (11 3/4) consecutive hours per day;

         2. be an average of seventy-seven and one-half (77 1/2) work hours in a fourteen (14) day period averaged over one (1) complete cycle of the shift schedule;

         3. except where overtime is necessitated, maximum in-hospital hours shall not exceed twelve and one-quarter (12 1/4) hours per day, as determined by the start and finish times of the shift.”

   2. Meal Periods and Rest Periods
      
      Amend Article 10.02 to read:

      1. Regular hours of work shall include paid rest periods as scheduled by the Employer and shall exclude at least one (1) and not more than two (2) unpaid meal periods of not less than thirty (30) minutes.

      2. Total time in minutes of paid rest periods shall be calculated in the following manner:
         
         (Length of Shift X 0.5 X 60) / 7.75

      3. Availability During Meal Periods
         
         When an Employee is required by the Employer to remain readily available for duty during their meal period, they shall be paid for the meal period at their Basic Rate of Pay unless they are permitted to take compensating time off for the full meal period at a later time in the shift. Such paid meal period shall not be included in the calculation of regular hours of work.

      4. Working During Meal and Rest Periods
         
         If an Employee is required to work or is recalled to duty during their meal period or rest period, compensating time off for the full meal period or rest period shall be provided later in the shift, or they shall receive pay for the full meal period or rest period in accordance with the following:

         1. for a rest period, they shall be paid the applicable overtime rate instead of their Basic Rate of Pay;

         2. for a meal period that they are not required to be readily available pursuant to Article 10.02(b), they shall be paid at the applicable overtime rate;

         3. for a meal period that they are required to be readily available pursuant to Article 10.02(b), they shall be paid the applicable overtime rate instead of their Basic Rate of Pay.”

6. Work Schedules and Shifts

   1. Amend Article 11.02(a) to read:
      
      “Except in cases of emergency or by mutual agreement between the Employer and the Employee, shift schedules shall provide for:

      1. at least two (2) consecutive days of rest per week; and

      2. two (2) weekends off in any four (4) week period. “Weekend” shall mean a consecutive Saturday and Sunday. The period of time off must be at least fifty-nine (59) hours; and

      3. at least twenty-two and one-half (22 1/2) hours off duty at a shift changeover.”

   2. Amend Article 11.02(b) to read:
      
      “Where the Employer is unable to provide for the provisions of Article 45.06A(a)(i), (ii) or (iii), and an emergency has not occurred, nor has it been mutually agreed otherwise, the following conditions shall apply:

      1. failure to provide days off in accordance with Article 11.02(a)(i) shall result in the payment to each affected Employee of two times (2X) their Basic Rate of Pay for one (1) regular shift worked during the two (2) week period;

      2. failure to provide both of the required two (2) weekends off duty in a four (4) week period, shall result in payment to each affected Employee of two times (2X) their Basic Rate of Pay for each of four (4) regular shifts worked during the four (4) week period;
         
         failure to provide one (1) of the required two (2) weekends off duty in a four (4) week period shall result in payment to each affected Employee of two times (2X) their Basic Rate of Pay for each of two (2) regular shifts worked during the four (4) week period;

      3. failure to provide twenty-two and one-half (22 1/2) hours off duty at a shift changeover shall result in payment of two times (2X) the Basic Rate of Pay for all hours worked on that next shift.”

   3. Amend Article 11.02(d) to read:
      
      “An Employee required to rotate shifts shall be assigned day duty at least one-half (1/2) of the time unless mutually agreed to by the Employer and the Employee, provided that in the event of an emergency or where unusual circumstances exist, an Employee may be assigned to such shift as deemed necessary by the Employer.
      
      For the purpose of applying this provision:

      1. scheduled days off shall not be considered as day duty; and

      2. time off on vacation shall only be considered as day duty if day duty would have been worked by the Employee according to the shift schedule save and except for the vacation.”

7. Vacation With Pay

   1. Amend Article 21.02 to read:
      
      “Subject to Article 33.01(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 the following vacation year except as provided for in Article 21.05. The rate at which vacation is earned shall be governed by the total length of such employment as follows:

      1. during the first (1st) year of employment, an Employee earns vacation on the basis of one hundred and sixteen point two five (116.25) hours at the Basic Rate of Pay per year;

      2. during each of the second (2nd) to ninth (9th) years of employment, an Employee earns vacation on the basis of one hundred and fifty-five (155) hours at the Basic Rate of Pay per year;

      3. during each of the tenth (10th) to nineteenth (19th) years of employment, an Employee earns vacation on the basis of one hundred and ninety-three point seven five (193.75) hours at the Basic Rate of Pay per year;

      4. during the twentieth (20th) and subsequent years of employment, an Employee earns vacation on the basis of two hundred and thirty-two point five (232.5) hours at the Basic Rate of Pay per year.”

8. Named Holidays

   1. Amend Article 22.01 to read:
      
      “Full-time employees shall be entitled to the Named Holidays, general holidays and a Floater Holiday as specified in Article 22.01 and shall be paid for same at the Basic Rate of Pay for seven and three-quarter (7 3/4) hours per day.”

   2. Amend Article 22.03 to read:
      
      “An Employee obliged in the course of duty to work on the first (1st) or second (2nd) shift of a Named Holiday listed in Article 22.01(a) shall be paid for all regular hours worked on the holiday at one and one-half times (1 1/2X) their Basic Rate of Pay, and one-half times (2 1/2X) their Basic Rate of Pay for time worked in excess of their regular hours or on the first (1st) or second (2nd) shift of Christmas Day or the August Civic Holiday shall be paid for all regular hours worked on the holiday at two times (2X) their Basic Rate of Pay and three times (3X) their Basic Rate of Pay for time worked in excess of their regular hours, plus:

      1. seven and three-quarter (7 3/4) hours pay; or

      2. an alternate day off at a mutually agreed time; or 

      3. by mutual agreement, a day added to their next annual vacation. 

      Pay for alternate days off as provided for in (b) and (c) above shall be for seven and three-quarter (7 3/4) hours. For the purpose of payment under this Article, the Named Holiday shall be deemed to mean zero zero zero one (0001) hours to twenty-four hundred (2400) hours.”

9. Sick Leave

   1. Amend Article 23.02 to read:
      
      “An Employee shall be allowed a credit for sick leave computed from the date of employment at the rate of eleven point six two five (11.625) hours for each full month of employment to a maximum credit of nine hundred and thirty (930) hours.”

   2. Amend Article 23.04 to read:
      
      “An Employee granted sick leave shall be paid for the period of such leave at their Basic Rate of Pay and the number of hours thus paid shall be deducted from their accumulated sick leave credits up to the total amount of the Employee’s accumulated credits at the time sick leave commenced.” 

   3. Amend Article 23.07 to read:
      
      “When an Employee has accrued the maximum sick leave credit of nine hundred and thirty (930) hours, they shall no longer accrue sick leave credits until such time as their total accumulation is reduced below the maximum. At that time, they shall recommence accumulating sick leave credits.”

10. In calculating paid bereavement leave entitlement for Employees subject to the modified work day, the provisions of Article 33.04 shall apply only to regularly scheduled working days which fall during a ten (10) calendar day period commencing with the date of death.

11. Part-Time, Temporary and Casual Employees

    1. Amend Article 44.03(A) to read:
       
       “Hours of work for a Regular Part-time Employee shall be as scheduled by the Employer but shall be less than for a Full-time Employee. They may be less than eleven and three-quarter (11 3/4) hours per day, and, in any event, shall be less than seventy-seven and one-half (77 1/2) work hours in a fourteen (14) day period averaged over one (1) complete cycle of the shift schedule.”

    2. Amend Article 44.03(C) to read:
       
       “Where a Part-time Employee volunteers or agrees, when requested, to work additional shifts, they shall be paid their Basic Rate of Pay for such hours or, if applicable, at the overtime rate for those hours worked in excess of the regular daily hours specified in Article 45.05(A)(a)(i).”

    3. Amend Article 44.10 to read:
       
       “A Regular Part-time Employee shall accumulate sick leave entitlement on the basis of eleven point six two five (11.625) hours per month pro-rated to the regularly scheduled hours they work each month to a maximum of nine hundred and thirty (930) hours.”

    4. A Temporary or Casual Employee who works an extended work day shift shall be paid two times (2X) their Basic Rate of Pay for hours worked in excess of seven and three-quarter (7 3/4) hours, except where they accept an extended work day shift, in which case, overtime shall not be paid.

12. The provisions of this Article replace and supersede all previous agreements dealing with modified hours of work between the Employer and the Union.