Directives

PURPOSE

To state the circumstances under which the College may grant an employee a leave of absence for personal reasons, with or without pay.

SCOPE

This applies to all full-time employees.

DEFINITIONS

POLICY

1.  GENERAL

1.1.  The College may grant employees a leave of absence for personal reasons, with or without pay.  The granting of such leave will be processed according to the guidelines below. In the event there are issues with the application of these guidelines, the supervisor or senior administrator will seek the advice and guidance of Human Resources.
1.2  As soon as it is known, employees are to notify their immediate supervisor of their absence.

2.  LEAVE WITH PAY

At the discretion of the College, leave of absence with pay may be granted for illness,   bereavement, religious duty, and extenuating personal circumstances and, in the case of academic employees, leave for the care of an immediate family member.

2.1  Illness

2.1.1  In the event of an illness, employees may be required to provide evidence from an appropriate health care professional in order to continue to receive their salary and benefits.
2.1.2  Absences of up to three working days do not normally require medical evidence to ensure that salary and benefits are continued.  However, the College reserves the right to request medical evidence in these circumstances.
2.1.3  Where the supervisor is aware that the employee has a health condition, the supervisor may defer the requirement that the employee submit written evidence of illness to a later date, after consultation with the Pension and Benefits Officer, Human Resources.
2.1.4  As soon as an employee is absent for more than five (5) consecutive working days, the supervisor must inform the Pension and Benefits Officer, Human Resources, immediately to allow for any necessary pay adjustments, if required.
2.1.5  The Supervisor, in consultation with the Pension and Benefits Officer, Human Resources, is to maintain contact with the employee if absent for more than five (5) consecutive days. The supervisor will keep the Pension and Benefits Officer informed of the health status of the employee.
2.1.6  In the case of a prolonged illness, the College may require periodic medical reviews to confirm the health status of the employee.
2.1.7  The College may arrange for the employee to undergo an Independent Medical Assessment:
(a)       to provide a prognosis for a return to work;
(b)      to determine medical limitations and restrictions;
(c)      to determine eligibility for Short Term Disability benefits.

2.1.8  Human Resources will recommend a course of action to ensure the safe and early return to work of the employee.  This may include a modified work plan as described in Policy HR 15 Modified Workload/ Return to Work.

2.2.  Bereavement

2.2.1  Bereavement leaves for close family members are defined in the Collective Agreements and in the Terms and Conditions of Employment for Administrative Employees. A bereavement leave will generally be granted for three (3) working days. An additional two (2) working days may be granted to accommodate extensive travel.

2.3.  Religious Duty

2.3.1  The College will accommodate, whenever possible, absences for the purpose of religious observance. Requests for a leave of absence for religious observance will be assessed  in light of the disruption the absence will cause the students, the delivery of academic programs, the interruption of services and the operational requirements of the College.  The approval of a leave of absence for religious observance will be based on the days identified by the Ontario Public Service’s List of Religious Holy Days.
2.3.2 Requests for leave of absence for religious observance will not be unreasonably denied.
2.3.3  The College will provide the following options so that employees have the opportunity to participate in religious observances and avoid loss of pay:

(a)  Make up the time at a later date when the employee would not normally be scheduled to work and be paid at the employee’s regular rate for the substituted shift/hours;
(b)  Subject to Collective Agreements and operational requirements, an employee could be scheduled to work on a Saturday or Sunday where these are not days when the employee is normally scheduled to work.  The employee would be paid the regular rate for hours worked;
(c)  Where operationally feasible, switch shifts/hours of work with another employee in the work unit;
(d)  Where possible, the employee’s shift schedule can be modified and/or adjusted (e.g. compressed work week);
(e)  Use outstanding vacation day(s) or lieu time (where accrued) to be paid for the day(s) off for religious observance;
(f)  Take a leave of absence without pay;
(g)  Other options may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

2.3.4  When all options have been considered, and no reasonable alternative has been identified as operationally feasible, the College may approve a leave of absence of up to two (2) paid scheduled days for religious observance on an annual basis, from September 1 to August 31^st. 
2.3.5  Requests are to be submitted in writing to the immediate supervisor, with a minimum of sixty (60) calendar days notice prior to the religious observance.  The request must state the name of  the religious observance, the religious affiliation and the date(s) being requested.

2.4.  Family Care – Academic Staff

2.4.1  Family Care Leave will be granted only to Academic staff as stated in the Academic Collective Agreement for up to five days to care for members of the employee’s immediate family when they are ill.  An employee’s immediate family includes the employee’s spouse or common-law spouse, dependent children, and parents.
2.4.2  The leave will be deducted from the employees sick leave balance.

2.5.  Extenuating Personal Circumstances

2.5.1  Extenuating personal circumstances are situations such as sudden critical illness or accident  involving members of the immediate family (spouse/partner, children).  By their very nature, these cannot be predicted.
2.5.2  Leave of absence due to extenuating personal circumstances will be granted, where possible, in a manner designed to ensure minimum disruption to students, the delivery of academic programs, the interruption of services and the operational requirements of the College.
2.5.3  Leave of absence due to extenuating personal circumstances with pay may be granted at the discretion of the immediate supervisor on behalf of the College and such requests shall not be unreasonably denied.  The employee has the right to have his/her situation examined fully before a determination is made whether or not to grant the request.
2.5.4 The employee requesting a leave of absence due to extenuating personal circumstances shall give reasonable notice to the immediate supervisor, where possible.
2.5.5  The employee must ensure that s/he has given the supervisor all of the relevant information regarding the request for leave.  The supervisor is required to give due consideration to all of  the relevant factors regarding the request prior to approving or denying the request.
2.5.6  In the event the employee has not returned to work from leave after seventy-two (72) hours, the supervisor is to contact the absent employee to receive an update on his/her circumstances and inform the Pension and Benefits Officer.

2.7.   Jury Duty/Subpoenas

2.7.1 The College will provide leave with pay for jury duty or being summoned as a witness, subject to the College receiving the jury duty or witness fee paid to the employee.

3.  LEAVE WITHOUT PAY

3.1  Duration

 3.1.1 The College may approve a leave without pay for a period as short as one (1) day and normally not to exceed 12 months.

3.2  Approval

3.2.1 On the recommendations of the immediate supervisor and senior administrator, the responsible Vice President may approve a leave without pay for up to four (4) months.  A leave without pay beyond four (4) months requires the approval of the President.

3.3  Criteria

3.3.1 In assessing a request for an unpaid leave, the College will consider, among other relevant factors, the following:

(a)  Length of service with the College;
(b)  Urgency of the circumstances requiring an absence from work;
(c)  Relationship of the leave to personal and College objectives.

3.4  Benefits and Pension

3.4.1 Individuals on an unpaid leave of absence have the option of maintaining benefit coverage and pension contributions, provided that they pay both the employee’s and employer’s share of the costs.

4.  EXCLUSIONS

4.1  This policy does not apply to professional development leave, exchanges with other institutions, secondments, maternity leave, parental leave and leave under the Deferred Leave Plan.  The College also provides leaves in accordance with its legal obligations including organ donation leave , military reservist leave, personal emergency leave and family medical leave as prescribed in  the Employment Standards Act (Ontario).

5.  GENERAL

5.1  This policy is not intended to add to or detract from the entitlement to leave under applicable Collective Agreements.

PROCEDURE

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Ontario Public Service List of Religious Holidays

RELATED POLICIES
HR 15     Modified Workload/Return to Work  
HR 02     Professional Development Leave

RELATED MATERIALS

Academic Staff Collective Agreement

Support Staff Collective Agreement

Terms and Conditions of Employment for Administrative Employees