Social Leaves Policy

1.  Purpose

1.1 The purpose of this policy is to recognize that employees will sometimes need time off for life events and provides guidelines in that regard.

2. Scope

2.1 This policy applies to all regular non-unionized administrative and support staff, with the exception of University Executives ("E").

3. Definitions

3.1 “Day of leave” means a full period of twenty-four (24) hours.

3.2 “Relative” means in addition to the employee’s spouse, the child, father, mother, brother, sister and grandparents of the employee or the employee’s spouse as well as those persons’ spouses, their children and their children’s spouses (which includes the employee’s and the employee’s spouse’s grandchildren).

The following are also considered to be an employee’s relative for the purposes of this policy:

(a) a person having acted, or acting, as a foster family for the employee or the employee’s spouse;

(b) a child for whom the employee or the employee’s spouse has acted, or is acting, as a foster family;

(c) a tutor or curator of the employee or the employee’s spouse or a person under the tutorship or curatorship of the employee or the employee’s spouse;

(d) an incapable person having designated the employee or the employee’s spouse as mandatary; and

(e) any other person in respect of whom the employee is entitled to benefits under an Act for the assistance and care the employee provides owing to the person’s state of health.

3.3 “Spouse” means either of two persons who

(a) are married or in a civil union and cohabiting;

(b) being of opposite sex or the same sex, are living together in a de facto union and are the father and mother of the same child;

(c) are of opposite sex or the same sex and have been living together in a de facto union for one year or more;

4. Policy

4.1 Bereavement

4.1.1 An employee shall be entitled to the following bereavement leaves without loss of regular salary.

4.1.2 In the event of the death or funeral of a spouse or child, or the child of the spouse, the employee shall be entitled to five (5) consecutive working days.

4.1.3 In the event of the death or funeral of a mother, father, or, mother or father of the spouse, the employee shall be entitled to three (3) consecutive working days.

4.1.4 In the event of the death or funeral of a brother, sister, or, brother or sister of the spouse, the employee shall be entitled to three (3) consecutive working days.

4.1.5 In the event of the death or funeral of a grandparent or grandchild, the employee shall be entitled to two (2) consecutive working days.

4.1.6 In the event of the death or funeral of an aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, daughter-in-law or son-in-law, sister-in-law or brother-in-law the employee shall be entitled to one (1) working day.

4.1.7 One (1) additional day will be granted if the employee must travel more than 160 kilometers from their place of residence to attend the funeral.

4.1.8 In addition to the above, in the event of the death of an employee's spouse, child, father, mother, brother or sister, or the spouse's child, father, mother, brother or sister, the employee may take an unpaid leave, accumulated vacation and/or accumulated overtime, not to exceed fifteen (15) working days.

4.2 Marriage or Civil Union

4.2.1 An employee will be entitled to five (5) working days of paid leave in the event of their marriage or civil union. The employee may add to this leave an unpaid leave, accumulated vacation and/or accumulated overtime, not exceeding fifteen (15) working days.

4.2.2 An employee shall be entitled to a paid leave on the day of the wedding or civil union of their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister or child of the spouse.

4.3 Moving

4.3.1 An employee shall be entitled to one (1) day of paid leave per reference year for the purpose of moving to a new permanent residence.

4.4 Legal duties

4.4.1 1 An employee will be granted paid leave if they are called to perform jury duty or to act as a witness in a legal proceeding in which they are not a party. However, the employee shall be required to remit to the University any pay received for the fulfillment of these duties. If such pay is greater than their regular salary, the University will reimburse the difference to the employee.

4.4.2 An employee will be granted paid leave if in the course of their duties, they are called upon to act as a witness in a legal proceeding in which they are not a party. The employee will be paid at the overtime rate for any period during which their presence is required in court outside of their regular hours of work.

4.4.3 If the presence of an employee is required in a civil, administrative, or penal court, in a legal proceeding in which they are a party, they shall be entitled to make use of any accumulated vacation, accumulated overtime or personal leave, or may apply for an unpaid leave.

4.5 Family or parental leave or absences

4.5.1 An employee may be absent from work, without pay[1], for ten (10) days per year to fulfill obligations relating to the care, health or education of the employee’s child or the child of the employee’s spouse, or because of the state of health of a relative or a person for who the employee acts as a caregiver, as attested by a professional working in the health and social services sector and governed by the Professional Code.

4.5.2 The leave referred to in paragraph 4.5.1 may be divided into days. A day may also be divided if the University consents thereto.

4.5.3 An employee may be absent from work, without pay, for a period of not more than sixteen (16) weeks over a period of twelve (12) months where they must stay with a relative or a person for whom they act as a caregiver, as attested by a professional working in the health and social services sector and governed by the Professional Code, because of a serious illness or a serious accident. Where the relative or person is a minor child, the period of absence is not more than 36 weeks over a period of 12 months.

4.5.4 If a minor child of an employee has a serious and potentially mortal illness, attested by a medical certificate, the employee is entitled to an extension of the absence described in paragraph 4.5.3 which shall end at the latest one hundred and four (104) weeks after the beginning thereof.

4.5.5 The University will continue to pay its share of the costs of those benefit plans which the employee chooses to continue during the unpaid leave, subject to the employee’s regular payment of his/her contributions payable under those plans.

4.5.6 Upon their return to work at the end of the unpaid social leave, the employee will be reinstated into the position held at the commencement of the unpaid social leave. If the employee’s position has been abolished, the employee will be accorded all the rights and privileges that would have been granted had the employee been at work.

4.6 Procedure

4.6.1 The employee must advise the University of their absence for one of the reasons provided in this policy as soon as possible. With regards to family or parental leave or absence, the employee must take reasonable steps within their power to limit the leave and the duration of the leave.

4.6.2 The University may request that the employee provide a document attesting the reasons for the absence.

4.6.3 Social leaves will not be granted if they coincide with vacation or any other leave provided by University policy, except when an employee is called upon to act as a witness in a legal proceeding in which the employee is not a party but which pertains to University business.