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Article 25 : various paid leaves

25.1 Upon request, an employee is granted a paid special leave for the special circumstances listed in this Article. The length of the leave is determined in accordance with the terms of the articles below. The provisions of Article 25.7 of the current article do not apply to term employees.

25.2 Special leaves with pay require the written consent of the Dean or Director, or their delegates.

25.3 Special leave with pay cannot be granted for periods during which the University is closed.

25.4 Special leave as described in this Article cannot be utilized as annual leave or an extension of annual leave or any other leave or absence provided for in the Agreement, unless otherwise stipulated therein.

25.5  Bereavement leave

  • An employee shall be entitled to a leave of five (5) working days with pay in the event of the death of a close relative. The term "close relative" is limited to the employee's mother, father, foster mother, foster father, sister, brother, spouse, children, mother-in-law and father-in-law.
  • An employee shall be entitled to a paid leave of three (3) working days for the death of a grandchild of the employee or his spouse. Should the funeral take place more than 320 kilometers (200 miles) from Ottawa, the employee shall be entitled to one (1) additional day to attend the funeral.
  • An employee shall be entitled to a paid leave of one (1) working day for the death of a sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandparents, an uncle, an aunt, a nephew, a niece, a son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the employee or his spouse. Should the funeral take place more than 320 kilometers (200 miles) from Ottawa, the employee shall be entitled to one (1) additional day to attend the funeral.
  • The employee may use one of the paid leave in a) or b), to attend the burial or cremation that takes place outside the time period outlined in those paragraphs.
  • Should a request for additional bereavement leave occur during an ongoing bereavement leave, the Parties will discuss to determine the reasonable number of days to be granted given the situation.

25.6 An employee may also use accumulated vacation days or hours of accumulated overtime to extend the listed leaves.

25.7 Once during his employment at the University, an employee shall be granted five (5) working days of leave for his own wedding. The employee must submit this request at least four (4) weeks in advance.

25.8 An employee shall be granted one (1) working day of paid leave for moving his own permanent place of residence and must provide proof of change of address to the Health, Wellness and Leave Sector. Such leave can be used only once per calendar year.

Personal Leave

25.9 Special leave with pay up to an annual maximum of three (3) working days may be granted to an employee for any other circumstances deemed exceptional, except for which a predetermined leave is those prescribed above. In the event the employee has exhausted his days allotted he may use banked overtime hours or annual leave in its place.

25.10 Exceptional circumstances may include emergencies or family duties such as the temporary care of a family member who is sick, a doctor's or dentist's appointment for a family dependent who is unable to travel alone or an appointment with academic authorities. The employee must make all reasonable efforts to keep such absences from work to a minimum.

25.11 In addition to the special paid leave described above, staff members can be granted a special leave without pay as prescribed in the Employment Standards Act, “Personal Emergency Leave” for any of the following reasons:

  • A personal illness, an injury, or a personal medical emergency;
  • The death, illness, injury or medical emergency of an individual described in d) ; or
  • An urgent matter concerning an individual described in d)
  • For sections b) and c) above shall apply with respect to the following individuals:
    • The employee’s spouse;
    • Parent, step-parent, foster parent, child, step-child, foster child, grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild, or step-grandchild of the employee or of the employee’s spouse;
    • Spouse of the employee’s child;
    • Brother or sister of the employee;
    • Relative of the employee who is dependent on the employee for care or assistance.
  • A maximum of ten (10) working days per year may be granted for such occurrences. Each half-day of such leave shall count as a full working day. Reasonable proof of circumstances for such leave shall be provided to the supervisor.

Family Medical Leave

25.12 As outlined in the Ontario Employment Standards Act, employees are entitled to family leave for medical reasons of up to eight (8) calendar weeks to provide care or support to a close family member if a qualified health practitioner issues a certificate stating that the individual has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death occurring within a period of twenty-six (26) weeks or such shorter period as may be prescribed. Such leave is not paid by the University but the employee can claim federal Employment Insurance, provided that he meets the conditions.

In the case of the death of a close relative during family medical leave, an employee who receives Employment Insurance may request paid bereavement leave if applicable, as provided in Article 25.5.

Court Leave

25.13 Paid leave is granted to any employee who is called for jury duty or to appear as a witness in a court of law or before any statutory or legal body in Canada that has the power to compel witnesses to appear in a case where he is not one of the parties involved.

25.14 The employee shall inform the Dean or Director in writing as soon as possible and must substantiate his court appearance with the appropriate documents.

25.15 Pay received during court leave shall be decreased by any amount paid by the court for jury duty. Court leave does not apply to members who are serving a prison sentence.

25.16 An employee called before a civil or criminal court or administrative tribunal in a case where he is involved, the employee is eligible for leave without pay or can use days of annual leave to that effect.

Attendance at Compulsory Religious Services

25.17 Paid leave of absence is granted to all employees to attend compulsory religious services during work hours.