WCB – Alberta (Millard Health) Collective Agreement 2021-2024

Article 31: Vacations

1. All full-time Employees (permanent and long-term temporary), shall earn entitlement to vacation.
2. During the first (1st) and each subsequent year of continuous full-time employment, an Employee shall earn entitlement to vacation on a basis of twelve decimal zero eight (12.08) hours for each month worked to a maximum of one hundred and forty-four decimal nine six (144.96) hours.
3. Upon completion of the sixth (6th) and each subsequent year of continuous full time employment, an Employee shall earn entitlement to vacation on a basis of fifteen decimal one zero (15.10) hours for each month worked to a maximum of one hundred and eighty-one decimal two zero (181.20) hours.
4. Upon completion of the sixteenth (16th) and each subsequent year of continuous full time employment, an Employee shall earn entitlement to vacation on a basis of eighteen decimal one three (18.13) hours for each month worked to a maximum of two hundred and seventeen decimal five six (217.56) hours.
5. Upon completion of the twenty-fourth (24th) and each subsequent year of continuous full time employment, an Employee shall earn entitlement to vacation on a basis of twenty-one decimal one five (21.15) hours for each month worked to a maximum of two hundred and fifty-three decimal eight zero (253.80) hours.

6. Vacation entitlements shall not be cumulative. Vacation shall be taken in the calendar year in which it is earned. The Employer may approve a request for a carry-over of vacation into the following calendar year as follows:
    

   Entitlement	Permitted Carry-Over
   144.96 hours	36.25 (36 ¼)  hours
   181.20 hours or more	72.50 hours

    

7. Unless given six (6) weeks’ advance notice of an alteration of their scheduled vacation period, an Employee required by the Employer to work in their vacation period will receive two times (2x) their basic rate of pay for hours worked. This premium payment will cease and the Employee’s basic rate of pay will apply at the start of their next regularly scheduled day. The time so worked will be rescheduled as vacation leave with pay to be added to the vacation period, when possible, or the Employee will be granted equivalent time off in lieu thereof within thirty (30) days of return to work from vacation. With the approval of the Employer, an Employee may elect to receive regular pay in lieu of the aforementioned time off.  
   
   The Employer shall be responsible for all non-refundable costs related to alteration or cancellation of the vacation.
8. An Employee, on the effective date of this Collective Agreement, who was entitled to vacation in excess of that set out in this Article, shall retain same.
9. Short-term temporary and casual Employees shall be paid six percent (6%) of their basic rate of pay for each hour worked, to be included on each month-end pay cheque in lieu of paid vacation.

10. All permanent part-time and long-term temporary part-time Employees shall be paid vacation pay on each month-end cheque at the following rates:

    (i)  eight percent (8%) of their salary if their service is less than six years;
    
    (ii) ten percent (10%) of their salary after six years of service; 
    
    (iii)  twelve percent (12%)of their salary after 16 years of service; and
    
    (iv)  fourteen percent (14%) of their salary after 24 years of service.

11. Scheduling Vacation
    1. Each program/service area shall set out an annual date for Employees to make vacation requests and ensure a process that allows for staff to know what dates are available based on selection picks according to seniority. Seniority shall be considered where there is a dispute regarding preference for the time when vacations are to be taken.  The vacation planner will include a deadline for submissions of requests and a date not greater than four (4) weeks by which vacation requests will be approved or denied.
    2. Employees will make vacation requests by the deadline if they wish to exercise seniority on scheduling preferences.  Requests received after this deadline shall be on a first-come, first-served basis and will be approved or denied within two (2) weeks of the request being submitted or as is reasonable based upon the date the vacation request was submitted. The Employer shall ensure a process that allows staff to see what dates are available and what requests are pending and approved based on the request date.
    3. In expressing their vacation preferences, subject only to operational requirements, Employees will have the right to exercise their seniority for a guarantee of vacation in only one (1) of four (4) “prime times”.  When an Employee exercises their seniority for vacation preferences in one of the four (4) “prime time” periods, they shall not be allowed to exercise their seniority rights for the same timeframe in the next vacation year.
       
       “Prime times” are defined as follows:
       1. the first (1st) prime time (Easter) will be one (1) week before and one (1) week after Easter Sunday in each year;
       2. the second (2nd) prime time (Early Summer) will be between June 15 up to the August Civic Holiday in each year;
       3. the third (3rd) prime time (Late Summer) will be following the August Civic Holiday and September 15 in each year; and
       4. the fourth (4th) prime time (Christmas) will be between December 15 and January 2 in each following year.
    4. When a vacation request cannot be approved in its entirety, and a portion of that vacation request is available, the Employee will be contacted within the approval timelines outlined in 31.11 (a) and (b) and shall be given the option to modify the original vacation request.
    5. An Employee may request vacation consecutively across Early and Late Summer Peak Periods and must choose one Summer Peak Period in which to exercise their seniority for the entire request. In this scenario, seniority rights cannot be exercised for either Early or Late Summer Prime Time in the following year.