A day is a day - The EC Group
June 15, 2004
One of the Employer's key proposal at the bargaining table was to express all leave provisions in the collective agreement in hours, with one day being equal to 7.5 hours. Some leave provisions are already expressed in hours, vacation leave for example. Under the Employer's proposal, all leave provisions expressed in "days" would now be expressed in hours. There would be one exception - bereavement leave - which would continue to be expressed in days for compassionate reasons. In other words, bereavement leave would be granted in days, with one day being equal an employee's regular hours of work and could therefore be more than 7.5 hours for employees working variable hours.
On the surface, this proposal would be acceptable as the majority of EC members work a 7.5 hour day. However, based on recent adjudication decisions, our position at the Table was that other "compassionate leaves" such as family-related, personal and volunteer leaves be granted in "days" as to not penalize employees who work variable hours.
A number of adjudication decisions in the federal public service (neutral, third party decisions in disputes between unions and the Employer) have confirmed the Employer's obligation to provide compassionate leaves to employees based on the individual employee's normal hours of work even they worked more than 7.5 hours in a day. These decisions are available on the Public Service Staff Relations Board website.
In Phillips, (1991) the grievor worked variable hour shifts totaling 42 hours over a 5 day period. When the grievor sought a day of leave for family-related responsibilities to cover a fourteen-hour night shift, the Employer advised him that he had insufficient leave entitlement to his credit to cover the entire fourteen-hour shift. Although the Employer had previously interpreted a day as being equivalent to an employee's shift whatever its length, it chose to interpret a day for shift workers as being 8.4 hours (42 hours divided by five days). The adjudicator found that the Employer's view would be unfair for those employees who work long shifts. Moreover, since family illnesses do not run on the basis of 8.4 hours a day, the arbitrator ruled that a "day" would be considered as the entire length of the shift (i.e. the full 14 hours).
In King and Holzer, the grievors worked variable shifts and the length of their shifts was in excess of 7.5 hours per day. In the fiscal year, the grievors took the maximum five days of leave with pay for family-related responsibilities and the Employer paid those leaves on the basis of the length of the grievors' shifts. The Employer then reclaimed from the grievors the amounts in excess of 37.5 hours' pay (5 times 7.5 hours). The adjudicator found that the Employer's practice was unfair for those employees who work long shifts and that it violated the collective agreement. The adjudicator ordered the Employer to reimburse the grievors any money reclaimed.
In Stockdale, (2003) the grievors worked 12-hour shifts under a variable shift schedule arrangement and were granted 12 hours of volunteer leave and 12 hours of personal leave. Employees who took the leaves were then informed that they were only entitled to 7.5 hours for each day and they had to repay an additional 4.5 hours for each day to cover the shift. The Employer recovered the additional 4.5 hours for each leave day taken. The adjudicator found that variable shift workers are being penalized for taking leave entitlements that they have a right to take under their collective agreement, because in order for employees on variable hours to take personal leave or volunteer leave, they have to use additional leave credits (or unpaid leave). Employees on regular hours of work did not face the same dilemma. The grievors were therefore entitled to personal leave and volunteer leave for the full 12 hours of their shift and were entitled to a return of the 4.5 hours deducted from other leave banks for each leave request.
In Bouchard, the adjudicator came to the same conclusion as in Stockdale and found that the grievors were entitled to personal leave and volunteer leave for the full 10 hours of their shift.
This issue was not resolved at the EC bargaining table and the Employer has referred its proposal to insert a new sub-clause 19.02(b) in the Leave General Article which reads: earned leave credits or other leave entitlements shall be equal to seven and one-half (7 1/2) hours per day.
June 15, 2004
One of the Employer's key proposal at the bargaining table was to express all leave provisions in the collective agreement in hours, with one day being equal to 7.5 hours. Some leave provisions are already expressed in hours, vacation leave for example. Under the Employer's proposal, all leave provisions expressed in "days" would now be expressed in hours. There would be one exception - bereavement leave - which would continue to be expressed in days for compassionate reasons. In other words, bereavement leave would be granted in days, with one day being equal an employee's regular hours of work and could therefore be more than 7.5 hours for employees working variable hours.
On the surface, this proposal would be acceptable as the majority of EC members work a 7.5 hour day. However, based on recent adjudication decisions, our position at the Table was that other "compassionate leaves" such as family-related, personal and volunteer leaves be granted in "days" as to not penalize employees who work variable hours.
A number of adjudication decisions in the federal public service (neutral, third party decisions in disputes between unions and the Employer) have confirmed the Employer's obligation to provide compassionate leaves to employees based on the individual employee's normal hours of work even they worked more than 7.5 hours in a day. These decisions are available on the Public Service Staff Relations Board website.
In Phillips, (1991) the grievor worked variable hour shifts totaling 42 hours over a 5 day period. When the grievor sought a day of leave for family-related responsibilities to cover a fourteen-hour night shift, the Employer advised him that he had insufficient leave entitlement to his credit to cover the entire fourteen-hour shift. Although the Employer had previously interpreted a day as being equivalent to an employee's shift whatever its length, it chose to interpret a day for shift workers as being 8.4 hours (42 hours divided by five days). The adjudicator found that the Employer's view would be unfair for those employees who work long shifts. Moreover, since family illnesses do not run on the basis of 8.4 hours a day, the arbitrator ruled that a "day" would be considered as the entire length of the shift (i.e. the full 14 hours).
In King and Holzer, the grievors worked variable shifts and the length of their shifts was in excess of 7.5 hours per day. In the fiscal year, the grievors took the maximum five days of leave with pay for family-related responsibilities and the Employer paid those leaves on the basis of the length of the grievors' shifts. The Employer then reclaimed from the grievors the amounts in excess of 37.5 hours' pay (5 times 7.5 hours). The adjudicator found that the Employer's practice was unfair for those employees who work long shifts and that it violated the collective agreement. The adjudicator ordered the Employer to reimburse the grievors any money reclaimed.
In Stockdale, (2003) the grievors worked 12-hour shifts under a variable shift schedule arrangement and were granted 12 hours of volunteer leave and 12 hours of personal leave. Employees who took the leaves were then informed that they were only entitled to 7.5 hours for each day and they had to repay an additional 4.5 hours for each day to cover the shift. The Employer recovered the additional 4.5 hours for each leave day taken. The adjudicator found that variable shift workers are being penalized for taking leave entitlements that they have a right to take under their collective agreement, because in order for employees on variable hours to take personal leave or volunteer leave, they have to use additional leave credits (or unpaid leave). Employees on regular hours of work did not face the same dilemma. The grievors were therefore entitled to personal leave and volunteer leave for the full 12 hours of their shift and were entitled to a return of the 4.5 hours deducted from other leave banks for each leave request.
In Bouchard, the adjudicator came to the same conclusion as in Stockdale and found that the grievors were entitled to personal leave and volunteer leave for the full 10 hours of their shift.
This issue was not resolved at the EC bargaining table and the Employer has referred its proposal to insert a new sub-clause 19.02(b) in the Leave General Article which reads: earned leave credits or other leave entitlements shall be equal to seven and one-half (7 1/2) hours per day.