Parental/Adoption Leave a) A full-time or regular-part time nurse who commenced employment with the Employer at least thirteen (13) weeks before the expected date of delivery or date of custody of a child and is a parent, shall be entitled to thirty seven (37) weeks of parental or adoption leave of absence without pay, in accordance with the provisions of the Employment Standards Act of Ontario, except as amended in this Article.
b) The nurse shall advise the Employer in writing seven (7) weeks in advance, but not later than two (2) weeks in advance, of the date the parental/adoption leave is to commence and end. Such leave must commence no later than thirty-five (35) weeks after the child was born or came into the custody, care or control of the parent.
c) The nurse shall re-confirm her intention to return to work or may request changes to dates originally approved in subsection b) above by written notification to be received by the Employer at least seven (7) weeks in advance thereof. The nurse shall be reinstated to her former position unless the position has been discontinued in which case she shall be placed in a comparable position.
d) A full-time nurse’s seniority, vacation and sick leave shall continue to accrue during parental and adoption leave. However, the nurse will not be paid for named holidays occurring during such leaves of absence. A regular part-time nurse who is on an approved parental/adoption leave shall accrue seniority while on such leave, calculated on the basis of averaging her hours over the twenty (20) week period immediately preceding the week in which her leave commences.
e) During the nurse's parental or adoption leave, the nurse shall continue to participate in the pension plan and insured benefit plans (applicable to full-time nurses only) she is enrolled in immediately prior to commencing her leave, unless she gives the Employer seven (7) weeks advance written notice before her leave is to commence that she does not intend to do so. The nurse shall be required to prepay her share of any premiums and pension contributions.
f) A nurse returning from parental/adoption leave shall be paid at the same step in salary scale that she had attained prior to going on such leave of absence. Should an anniversary increment fall during such leave of absence, the nurse shall receive her anniversary increment upon her return to employment.
g) Nurses hired to replace nurses who are on approved parental/adoption leave, may be released and such release shall not be the subject of a grievance or arbitration. If retained by the Employer, the nurse shall be credited with seniority from her date of hire subject to successfully completing her probationary period.
