Policy 47

Working Conditions for Non-Unionized Administrative and Support Staff employed under fixed-term employment agreements

Adoption date: September 28, 2015
Amendments date : June 11, 2024
Approved by Executive Committee of the Board of Governors
Responsible Service: Finance and Administration

  1. PURPOSE:
    1. The purpose of this Policy is to set out general principles for terms and conditions of employment of Non-Unionized Administrative and Support Staff employed under fixed-term employment agreements.
  2. DEFINITIONS:

    1. The following words and expressions have the corresponding meaning for the purposes of applying this Policy, the Procedure for Working Conditions for Non-Unionized Administrative and Support Staff Employed Under Fixed-Term Employment Agreements and any other procedure adopted pursuant to this Policy from time to time:  

      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 and whose compensation is paid for from University’s operating funds.

      Confidential Research (NR): Grouping of non-managerial positions that are non-unionized because of the nature of the role or the source of funding is a research agreement or research trust fund.

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

      Full-time Student: means an individual enrolled at the University in full-time studies of 12 units or more during a term or as otherwise defined in the University’s Academic Regulation.

      Management category (NM): Grouping of managerial, specialist, and professional positions that are non-unionized because of the nature of the role and whose compensation is paid for from University’s operating funds.

      Management Research (NMR): Grouping of managerial, specialist, and or professional positions that support and manage research projects and research activities, paid for through a research agreement or research trust fund, that are non-unionized because of the nature of the role functions of the position.

      Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff: staff members with a University employment contract for a fixed term and occupying a University position in one of the following categories: Confidential (NC), Confidential Research (NR), Management (NM), or Management Research (NMR) and whose regular working hours are a minimum of 15 hours per week and a maximum of 35 hours per week.

      Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff Position: a University position from one of the following categories: Confidential (NC), Confidential Research (NR), Management (NM), or Management Research (NMR) with regular working hours of a minimum of 15 hours per week and a maximum of 35 hours per week staffed by a Non-unionized Contractual administrative and Support Staff member.

      Research Sponsor: refers to a funding agency, council, foundation, organization, individual or other entity, public or private, international, federal, provincial or foreign, awarding, granting or providing funds for research.

      Research Sponsor’s Policies and/or Requirements: an expression used to encompass all of the policies, rules, requirements, directives, guidelines, regulations, processes, terms and conditions of a research agreement, research contract or research grant or any other terms, conditions or requirements (all of which may be amended from time to time) imposed by the Research Sponsor regarding the award, the  administration and management of the research funds and the conduct the research.

      Retired Employee: former employee of the University retired from their University position with a retiree status and are in receipt of their pension benefit pursuant to the University of Ottawa Retirement Pension Plan.

  3. APPLICATION:
    1. This Policy applies to Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff and to Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff Positions.
    2. This Policy does not apply to University positions that have regular working hours under 15 hours per week.
    3. This Policy must be read and applied in conjunction with Administrative Procedure 18-47 on Working Conditions for Non-Unionized Administrative and Support Staff employed under fixed-term employment agreements, with any applicable Research Policies and/or Requirements and with any other procedure adopted pursuant to this Policy.
  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 to support its mission of education and research and to deliver on its strategic objectives.
    2. The University shall establish and maintain terms and conditions of employment of Non-Unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff that meet the following guiding principles:
       
      1. attract a high-quality competent workforce;
      2. retain high-performing staff;
      3. reinforce a work culture that values equity, diversity and inclusion;
      4. maintain a balance between internal equity and external competitiveness with the labour market;
      5. balance of the need for regular and punctual attendance by staff members for proper and efficient University operations and research with a staff member’s need to be away from work for personal reasons;
      6. result in fair treatment in the management and administration of permissible leaves; and
      7. result in the University being regarded as a transparent, fair and equitable employer.
         
    3. The terms and conditions of employment of Non-Unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff as established by the University from time to time are inclusive of and subject to the staff member’s entitlements under the ESA and can vary based on the staff member’s hours of work and/or length of continuous service.
  5. Staffing, duration of employment
    1. The creation of a Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff Position and the staffing of it must be for the purpose of the University meeting a specific work need (operational, administrative or research), over a specified period of time.
    2. Regular working hours for a Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff Position must be a minimum of 15 hours per week and cannot exceed 35 hours per week.
    3. Full-time Students are not eligible for hire in a Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff Position.
    4. A Retired Employee must have a minimum period of 13 weeks between their University retirement date and the start date of employment in a Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff Position to be eligible for hire in a Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff Position.  A Retired Employee occupying a Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff Position cannot work more than 23 hours per week.
    5. The duration of a fixed-term employment contract for a Management (NM) position or a Confidential (NC) position cannot exceed a period of three (3) years. In exceptional circumstances, and with the written approval of the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources, these functions may continue on a contractual basis.
    6. A Management Research (NMR) position or a Confidential Research (NR) position cannot be made into an indeterminate position or created as an indeterminate position without prior consultation with Human Resources and without obtaining the prior approval of the Vice President of Research and Innovation and the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.
  6. Research Sponsor’s Policies and/or Requirements
    1. The terms and conditions of employment of a staff member occupying Management Research (NMR) position or a Confidential Research (NR) position shall always be subject to and conditional upon applicable Research Sponsor’s Policies and/or Requirements and/or available funding.
    2. If there is a conflict or other discrepancy between a Research Sponsor’s Policies and/or Requirements and/or available funding, this Policy, a procedure adopted pursuant to this Policy or other term or condition of employment established by the University, the matter must be brought to the attention of the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources to resolve the conflict or discrepancy or otherwise decide on term or condition of employment at issue.  If the Research Sponsor’s Policies and/or Requirements are silent on a specific term or condition of employment, this Policy, procedures adopted pursuant to this Policy or the specific term and condition of employment established by the University will apply.
  7. RESPONSIBILITIES
    1. The Associate Vice-President, Human Resources is responsible for the following:
      1. developing, maintaining and implementing written administrative procedures and recommending any changes to them related to the working terms and conditions for Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff for the approval of the Vice-President, Finance and Administration.
      2. making final decisions on matters and disputes related to the working conditions of Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff.
      3. ensuring consistent application and interpretation of procedures related to the working conditions of Non-unionized Contractual Administrative and Support Staff.
  8. REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION
    1. The Vice-President, Finance and Administration is responsible for the periodic review of this Policy, as necessary.
    2. Human Resources is responsible for the implementation of the Policy.
  9. 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 9.1 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.