SICK LEAVE AND LONG-TERM DISABILITY (Articles 12.01 to 12.11 apply to full-time nurses only)
12.01 The Hospital will assume total responsibility for providing and funding a short-term sick leave plan at least equivalent to that described in the 1980 Hospitals of Ontario Disability Income Plan brochure. Effective January 1, 2006, new hires will be covered under the 1992 Hospitals of Ontario Disability Income Plan. The Hospital will pay 75% of the billed premium towards coverage of eligible employees under the long-term disability portion of the Plan (HOODIP or an equivalent plan). The employee will pay the balance of the billed premium through payroll deduction. For the purpose of transfer to the short-term portion of the disability program, employees on the payroll as of the effective date of the transfer with three (3) months or more of service shall be deemed to have three (3) months of service. For the purpose of transfer to the long-term portion of the disability program, employees on the active payroll as of the effective date of the transfer with one (1) year or more of service shall be deemed to have one (1) year of service.
12.02 Effective the first of the month following the transfer, all existing sick leave plans in the Participating Hospitals shall be terminated and any provisions relating to such plans shall be null and void under the respective Collective Agreements except as to those provisions relating to payout of unused sick leave benefits which are specifically dealt with hereinafter.
12.03 Existing sick leave credits for each employee shall be converted to a sick leave bank to the credit of the employee. The sick leave bank shall contain the unused sick leave days to the credit of the nurse on the effective date of the transfer to the Plan set out in Article 12.01. The "sick leave bank" shall be utilized to:
(a) Supplement payment for sick leave days under the new plan which would otherwise be at less than full wages, and;
(b) Where a payout provision existed under the former sick leave plan in the Collective Agreement, payout shall be made on the termination of employment, or in the case of death, to the nurse's estate. The parties may agree to voluntarily cash out existing sick leave banks. The amount of the payout shall be a cash settlement at the nurse's then current salary rate for any unused sick credits to the maximum provided under the sick leave plan in which the nurse participated as of October 23, 1981;
(c) Where, as of the effective date of transfer, an employee does not have the required service to qualify for payout on termination, her or his existing sick leave credits as of that date shall nevertheless be converted to a sick leave bank in accordance with the foregoing and the nurse shall be entitled to the same cash out provisions as set out in paragraph (b) above providing the nurse subsequently achieves the necessary service to qualify for payout under the conditions of the sick leave plan in which she or he participated as of October 23, 1981;
(d) Where a payout provision existed under the former sick leave plan in the Collective Agreement, a nurse who, as of the date of this award, has accumulated sick leave credits and is prevented from working for the Hospital on account of an occupational illness or accident that is recognized by The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board as compensable within the meaning of the Workplace and Safety Insurance Act, the Hospital, on application from the nurse, will supplement the award made by The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board for loss of wages to the nurse by such amount that the award of The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board for loss of wages, together with the supplementation of the Hospital, will equal one hundred per cent (100%) of the nurse's net earnings to the limit of the nurse's accumulated sick leave credits. Nurses may utilize such sick leave credits while awaiting approval of a claim for WSIB benefits.
12.04 When a nurse has completed any portion of her or his regularly scheduled tour prior to going on sick leave benefits or WSIB benefits, the nurse shall be paid for the balance of the tour at her or his regular straight time hourly rate. This provision will not disentitle the nurse to a lieu day under Article 15.05 if she or he otherwise qualifies.
12.05 Any dispute which may arise concerning a nurse's entitlement to short-term or long- term benefits under HOODIP or an equivalent plan may be subject to grievance and arbitration under the provisions of this Agreement. The Union agrees that it will encourage a nurse to utilize the carrier’s medical appeals process, if any, to resolve disputes.
12.06 Nurses presently employed who are covered by a long-term disability plan in effect as of the date of this award, may elect to be covered by HOODIP or to continue their present coverage.
12.07 The Hospital further agrees to pay employees an amount equal to any loss of benefits under HOODIP for the first two days of the fourth and subsequent period of absence in any calendar year.
12.08 The Hospital will notify each nurse of the amount of unused sick leave in her or his bank annually.
12.09 For nurses whose regular hours of work are other than the standard work day, the short-term sick leave plan will provide payment for the number of hours of absence according to the scheduled tour to a total of 562.5 hours. All other provisions of the existing plan shall apply mutatis mutandis.
12.10 Absences due to pregnancy related illness shall be considered as sick leave under the sick leave plan.
12.11 A nurse who is absent from work as a result of an illness or injury sustained at work and who has been awaiting approval of a claim for WSIB benefits for a period longer than one complete tour or more may apply to the Hospital for payment equivalent to the lesser of the benefit the nurse would receive from WSIB if the nurse's claim was approved, or the benefit to which the nurse would be entitled under the short-term sick portion of the disability income plan (HOODIP or equivalent plan). Payment will be provided only if the nurse provides evidence of disability satisfactory to the Hospital and a written undertaking satisfactory to the Hospital that any payments will be refunded to the Hospital following final determination of the claim by The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. If the claim for WSIB benefits is not approved, the monies paid as an advance will be applied towards the benefits to which the nurse would be entitled under the short-term portion of the disability income plan. Any payment under this provision will continue for a maximum of fifteen (15) weeks. (Articles 12.12, 12.13 and 12.14 apply to both full-time and part-time nurses)
12.12 Nurses returning to work from an illness or injury compensable from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board will be assigned light work as necessary, if available.
12.13 A nurse who transfers from full-time to part-time may elect to retain her or his accumulated sick leave credits to be utilized during part-time or subsequent full-time employment as provided under the sick leave plan in which the nurse participates as of October 23, 1981.
12.14 If the Employer requires the employee to obtain a medical certificate, the employer shall pay the full cost of obtaining the certificate.
Illness or Disability If, because of Employee’s illness or other disability for a continuous period of more than 45 days, Employee is unable to render the services required by the Company as provided herein, the Company may terminate Employee’s employment hereunder by written notice to Employee at least 30 days in advance of such termination. Upon such termination Employee shall not be entitled to any further payments of any nature, except for payment of (a) any earned but unpaid Annual Base Salary, (b) any unpaid bonuses and (c) unreimbursed business expenses (collectively, “Payable Amounts”). All Payable Amounts shall become due and payable on the date of such termination.
Sick Leave Abuse When the Employer suspects sick leave abuse, the employee will be provided the opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding their sick leave use prior to disciplining the employee, or making reference to sick leave use in the employee’s performance evaluation. The Employer may not adopt or enforce any policy that counts the use of paid sick leave time as an absence that may lead to or result in disciplinary action for an authorized purpose. The Employer may not discriminate or retaliate against an employee for the use of paid sick leave for an authorized purpose.
Sick Leave Pay A Nurse granted sick leave shall be paid for the period of such leave at her or his regular hourly rate of pay and the number of hours thus paid shall be deducted from the accumulated sick leave credits of the Nurse.
Sick Leave Incentive The City will institute a sick leave incentive based on the usage of the bargaining unit; further, the City will pay each person who qualifies during January of each year. The incentive will be calculated and monitored by the Personnel Department and will be based on the pay periods during a calendar year. The incentive shall be awarded only when the bargaining unit's average sick leave usage is less than the City average and the following conditions are met: When the bargaining unit's sick leave usage is greater than forty (40) hours but less than the City average, the City will pay each member using between zero (0) and sixteen (16) hours of sick leave, eight (8) hours pay and any member using more than sixteen (16) but equal to or less than twenty-four (24) hours, four (4) hours pay. When the bargaining unit's average sick leave usage is equal to or less than forty (40) hours, the City will pay each member who used between zero (0) and sixteen (16) hours, sixteen (16) hours of pay at their current hourly rate. Those members who used more than sixteen (16) but equal to or less than twenty-four (24) hours, will receive eight (8) hours of pay.
Retirement, Death or Disability If the Executive’s employment terminates during the Term of this Agreement due to his death, a disability that results in his collection of any long-term disability benefits, or retirement at or after age 62, the Executive (or the beneficiaries of his estate) shall be entitled to receive the compensation and benefits that the Executive would otherwise have become entitled to receive pursuant to subsection (d) hereof upon a resignation without Good Reason.
Personal Illness or Disability The bargaining unit member may use all or any portion of his/her leave to recover from his/her own illness or disability, or for the illness or disability of any member of his/her immediate family as defined below, which shall include all disabilities caused or contributed to by pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth and recovery.
Maternity Disability Leave Parental Leave
Sick Leave Buy Back To encourage and reward employees who maintain good job attendance, the parties agree to the following incentive award: Employees who utilize two (2) sick leave days or less each assigned school calendar year and year-round employees who utilize three (3) sick leave days or less during each assigned school calendar year - upon request – shall receive payment for up to eight (8) days of sick leave, provided the employee worked the full assigned calendar year.* The following procedures apply to the payment of sick leave under this section.
1. An employee must have a minimum of twenty-five (25) days of accumulated sick leave remaining after the payment for unused sick leave under this section.
2. The payment of this incentive shall be paid to eligible employees no later than October 31st of the school year following the school year in which the employee qualified for the incentive pay.
3. For purposes of this section, sick leave shall be defined pursuant to all sections of F.S.1012.61.
4. Days for which such award payment is received shall be deducted from the accumulated leave balance.
5. Payment shall be equal to the number of eligible days times the affected employees daily rate of base pay times eighty percent (80%).
Death or Disability The Executive's employment shall terminate automatically upon the Executive's death during the Employment Period. If the Company determines in good faith that the Disability of the Executive has occurred during the Employment Period (pursuant to the definition of Disability set forth below), it may give to the Executive written notice in accordance with Section 12(b) of this Agreement of its intention to terminate the Executive's employment. In such event, the Executive's employment with the Company shall terminate effective on the 30th day after receipt of such notice by the Executive (the "Disability Effective Date"), provided that, within the 30 days after such receipt, the Executive shall not have returned to full-time performance of the Executive's duties. For purposes of this Agreement, "Disability" shall mean the absence of the Executive from the Executive's duties with the Company on a full-time basis for 180 consecutive business days as a result of incapacity due to mental or physical illness which is determined to be total and permanent by a physician selected by the Company or its insurers and acceptable to the Executive or the Executive's legal representative.
