Policy 9

Leaves for Regular Non-Unionized Administrative and Support Staff

Responsible Service:
Human Resources

Date and Instance of Approval:
February 14, 2023
Executive Committee of the Board of Governors

  1. PURPOSE:

    1. The purpose of this Policy is to outline general principles that will serve to establish the standards for the management of various types of leaves of absence permitted by the University
  2. DEFINITIONS:
    1. The following words and expressions have the corresponding meaning for the purposes of applying this Policy and the Procedures for Leaves for Regular Non-Unionized Administrative and Support Staff:  

      Confidential category (NC): Grouping of non-managerial positions that are non-unionized because of the nature of the role and includes support, administrative, and technical positions.

      ESA : refers to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 of Ontario, its regulations, any successor legislation governing minimum employment standards in Ontario, all which as may be amended from time to time.

      Management category (NM): Grouping of managerial, specialists, and professional positions that are non-unionized because of the nature of the role.

      Regular staff member: Any part-time or full-time staff member who holds an indeterminate position.
       
  3. APPLICATION:
    1. This Policy applies to regular staff members that are non-unionized administrative and support staff occupying positions classified by the Human Resources in the Confidential (NC) or Management (NM) categories.
    2. This Policy is to be read and applied in conjunction with Procedure 18-11 Sick Leave for Regular Non-Unionized Administrative and Support Staff and Procedure 18-12 Leave Other Than Sick Leave for Regular Non-Unionized Administrative and Support Staff.  
       
  4. PRINCIPLES:
    1. The University seeks to attract and retain qualified talented staff members with a range of relevant skills and experiences to successfully carry out the University’s activities and to deliver on the University’s strategic objectives.  Accordingly, the University recognizes time off for such things as vacation (annual leave), illness or injury (sick leave), bereavement leave, maternity (pregnancy) and parental leave and other various leaves of absences.
    2. Leaves of absences and their management and administration should be designed to achieve the following objectives:
      1. attraction of high-quality competent workforce
      2. retention of high-performing staff
      3. reinforcement of a work culture that values equity, diversity and inclusion
      4. balance of the need for regular and punctual attendance from staff members for the proper and efficient operations of the University with a staff member’s need to be away from work for personal reasons, and
      5. fair treatment in the management and administration of permissible leaves
    3. Generally, staff members must notify their supervisor about their absence and request a leave of absence as far in advance as possible where the staff member will be absent from work or for any part of the workday.  It is recognized that there may be instances beyond the staff member’s control that may affect the timeliness of notifying and /or requesting a leave of absence, for example, sudden injury or illness, emergency or other unavoidable circumstances.  
    4. When requesting a leave or reporting an absence, the staff member should provide enough information to allow the supervisor or other relevant authority at the University to understand the reason for the leave or absence and when the staff member expects to return to work.
    5. To request a leave of absence, staff members must make a request to the supervisor and follow the Procedures established pursuant to this Policy or other instruction or directive relevant to the type of leave of absence requested.
    6. Staff members whose absence exceeds their entitlement to a particular leave or who otherwise do not adhere to the relevant Procedure or related follow-up or instructions, may result in measures to manage staff member attendance or their absence may be treated as an unapproved leave and/or as an improper use of leaves and could be grounds for administrative or disciplinary measures up to and including termination.
    7. The leaves outlined in the Procedures established pursuant to this Policy are inclusive of and subject to the staff member’s leave entitlements under the ESA.
       
  5. RESPONSIBILITIES:
    1. Human Resources Service is responsible for the following:
      1. developing, maintaining and implementing written administrative procedures for the approval of the Vice-President, Finance and Administration related to the determination and administration of leaves for regular non-unionized support staff positions.
      2. ensuring that leaves are established and maintained in compliance with applicable legislation, including without limited to, the ESA and the Ontario Human Rights Code.
    2. The Associate Vice-President, Human Resources has authority to make final decisions over all leave-related matters and disputes.
       
  6. REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION:
    1. The Vice-President, Finance and Administration is responsible for ensuring a periodic review of this Policy every five years or as necessary.
    2. Human Resources is responsible for the implementation of the Policy.
       
  7. APPROVAL AND AMENDMENTS:
    1. The Vice-President, Finance and Administration is responsible for recommending amendments to this Policy for approval by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors.
    2. Notwithstanding clause 7.1 of this Policy, the Secretary-General may amend this Policy without the need to submit such amendment to the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors for approval if such amendment is required to,
      1. update or correct the name or title of a position, unit, law, regulation, policy, procedure or authority; or
      2. correct punctuation, grammar, typographical errors, revisions to format and other technical revisions, where appropriate, if the correction does not change the meaning of a provision or make such other correction if it is patent both that an error has been made and what the correction should be; or
      3. correct the form of expression of a provision in French or in English to be more compatible with its form of expression in the other language; or
      4. Make consequential amendments to conform with or arising from another University by-law, resolution, policy or procedure.
    3. The Vice-President, Finance and Administration may establish, amend, abrogate or make exception to Procedures for purposes of the effective implementation of this Policy, provided that such procedures or exceptions are consistent with the provisions of this Policy.

Policy 9a, which was abolished by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors on February 14, 2023, is available at the following link.  Policy 9a is provided for reference as it is referred to in the Collective Agreement between the University of Ottawa and the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO).