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

Article 35: Professional Development and Educational Leave

1. A professional development allocation of forty times (40x) the hourly rate of pay, shall be available for permanent Employees of zero decimal four (0.4) FTE or greater, as of January 1st each year. This fund can be used for: reimbursement of tuition costs, registration fees, materials, travel costs for professional development courses and reimbursement of required professional membership and licensing fees. Employees will also be able to access Leave of Absence (LOA) with pay up to two (2) working days per year.  It will remain the discretion of the Employer to approve educational requests based on operational requirements.
2. The professional development allocation will be pro-rated for new Employees or temporary employees granted permanent status during the course of a year.  The allocation amount will be determined from the 1st of the next month following date of hire.  For example, a new staff member hired on July 17th, the allocation amount would be calculated beginning on August 1st of that year and would be pro-rated for the remainder of that year.  As such, the new staff member would be allocated professional development funds as follows: 40x their hourly rate x 5/12.  It will remain the discretion of the Employer to approve educational requests based on operational requirements.
3. Should the Employer direct an Employee to participate in an instructional program during their normal day of work, such participation shall be without loss of earnings calculated at their basic rate of pay, and the Employer will reimburse prior approved expenses. Should the Employer direct a permanent full-time Employee to participate in an instructional program on their regularly scheduled days of rest, they shall be compensated at two times (2x) their basic rate of pay for time spent on authorized educational leave instructional time. All Employees shall be compensated at two times (2x) their basic rate of pay for all time spent on authorized training in excess of their normal daily hours of work. Alternatively, remuneration may be provided in the form of compensating time off at a mutually agreed upon time.
4. For the purpose of determining salary increments, an Employee shall be deemed to remain in the continuous service of the Employer for the first eighteen (18) calendar months only of such period of leave. In the event the period of education leave continues for a period in excess of eighteen (18) months, an Employee’s salary increment date shall be delayed by the amount of time that said leave exceeds eighteen (18) months and the newly established increment date shall prevail thereafter.
5. In the granting of leave of absence to enable Employees to participate in professional seminars, workshops and/or other programs that are conducted as a means of upgrading job-related knowledge and skills, the Employer shall endeavour to ensure that each Employee be given an equal opportunity to attend such educational programs.