Article 28 – Other Leaves of Absence

In addition to the leaves provided for under The Saskatchewan Employment Act and outlined in this Article, the Employer may, in its sole discretion, grant leaves of absence with or without pay to Employees for legitimate reasons. Requests for such leave shall not be unreasonably denied.

With the exception of bereavement leave, any leave of absence granted with pay will only apply to regularly scheduled hours.

None of the leaves of absence under this section shall extend the end date of the term of employment.

Subject to the approval of the person designated by the Faculty or Department where the Employee works, supported by a copy of the invitation to participate at an academic conference relevant to the Employee's discipline, an Employee shall be granted Academic Conference Leave without pay which is normally no more than five (5) days between September 1 and the following August 31. At least two (2) weeks’ notice must be provided to the person designated within the Faculty or Department where the Employee works. Additional leave without pay for this purpose shall not be unreasonably denied.

An Employee may be absent without loss of pay for up to two (2) days per term for personal reasons. The Employee shall provide reasonable notice of such leave to the person designated by the Faculty or Department where the Employee works.

An Employee may request and shall be granted bereavement leave for up to five (5) consecutive days, three (3) of which will be without loss of pay, in the event of the death of the Employee's spouse, common-law spouse, parent (including step-parent or foster parent), child (including step-child and foster child); sibling (including step-sibling or foster sibling), grandparent, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, or any relative permanently residing in the same home as the Employee.

An Employee may request and shall be granted bereavement leave for one (1) day without loss of pay in the event of the death of the Employee's aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, brother-in-law or sister-in-law.

It is recognized by the Parties that the circumstances which call for leave in respect of bereavement are based on individual circumstances. On request, the Employer may, after considering the particular circumstances involved, grant leave with or without pay for a period greater than and/or in a manner different than that provided above. In particular, the employer may consider granting reasonable travel time in addition to the leave granted under this Article.

An Employee may be eligible for compassionate care leave in accordance with the terms of The Saskatchewan Employment Act to provide care or support to a member of the Employee’s family who has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death.

When Employees are summoned for jury duty or as court witnesses, they shall not suffer any loss of salary or wages while so serving, except in situations where they are testifying on their own behalf.

Upon written request to the person designated by the Faculty or Department where the Employee works, an Employee may arrange for leave without affecting the leave allowances afforded in this agreement by way of exchanging duties with another qualified Employee, for periods not to exceed two (2) weeks at a time. Such mutual arrangement will not result in additional cost to the Employer. Permission for such exchanges shall be requested as far in advance as possible. Exchanges must be approved by the Supervisor and shall not be unreasonably denied.

1. An Employee who is pregnant, or who is the primary caregiving parent for an adopted child, shall upon request be granted leave without pay for a period of up to seventy-eight (78) weeks ending not later than seventy-eight (78) weeks after the date of birth or custody of the child. The Employee shall provide the Employer notice in writing at least four (4) weeks in advance of the anticipated commencement of the leave. In the case of an adoption, the Employee shall make every reasonable effort to provide such advance notice.
2. An Employee who is not the birth mother, or who is not the primary caregiving parent to a newly adopted child, shall upon request be granted leave without pay of up to sixty-three (63) weeks. The Employee shall provide the Employer notice in writing at least four (4) weeks in advance of the anticipated commencement of the leave.

Effective September 1, 2017, the Employer will provide annually to the Union an amount equivalent to 624 hours at the applicable hourly rate to compensate members of the Union for conducting executive business.

The Employer agrees to allow members to attend to Union business, including conferences, conventions training and collective bargaining, including preparatory meetings therefor, without pay during regular hours of work, subject to the normal operating requirements of the department. Time off to attend to Union business will not be unreasonably denied.

An Employee may be eligible for Critically Ill Family Care Leave in accordance with the terms of The Saskatchewan Employment Act. Critically Ill Child Care Leave is an unpaid job-protected leave of up to thirty-seven (37) weeks that allows parents to care for a critically ill or injured child. Critically Ill Adult Leave is an unpaid, job protected leave of up to seventeen (17) weeks for the care of an adult family member who is critically ill or injured.

An Employee shall be eligible for ten (10) days of leave if the Employee, a child of the Employee, or a person for whom an Employee is a caregiver experiences interpersonal or sexual violence, as defined in The Saskatchewan Employment Act. Employees may take five (5) days as paid leave and the balance as unpaid leave.