THE SEVEN OAKS SCHOOL DIVISION
AND
THE SEVEN OAKS TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION
LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING
ARTICLE 6.08 MATERNITY/ADOPTIVE/PARENTAL LEAVE
As an outcome of discussions to resolve grievances brought forward by Seven Oaks Teacher’s Association (SOTA), such grievances now withdrawn as per SOTA correspondence dated June 17, 2015 , the Seven Oaks School Division and the Seven Oaks Teachers Association ( the parties) agree that the existing wording in Article 6.08 of the 2014 to 2017 collective agreement will remain in force up to and including June 30, 2015. Existing wording reproduced below:
Existing Wording in Effect up to and including June 30, 2015:
6.08 Maternity/Adoptive/Parental Leave
1. Every female teacher shall be entitled to maternity leave and every teacher shall be entitled to adoptive leave in accordance with this article.
2. Every teacher shall be entitled to unpaid parental leave.
3. Except as otherwise provided therein the Manitoba Employment Standards Code will apply.
4. In addition, the Board shall, upon written request, grant further maternity/adoptive/parental leave up to an additional eighteen (18) months provided that the termination of such leaves coincides with either the first day of the Fall Term, the first day of school after January 1st, the first day of school after Spring break, or in the case of a teacher returning to a secondary school, the first day of the second semester.
5. The condition of the maternity/adoptive/parental leave shall be determined by the teacher and the Board to their mutual satisfaction.
6. The Board shall provide the teacher and the Association with a copy of the agreement reached in 5) above prior to the commencement of maternity/adoptive/parental leave.
7. Maternity/Adoptive/Parental Leave shall not constitute a break in employment for teachers under Teacher-General contracts or teachers under Limited Teacher-General contracts offered continued employment by the Division.
8. Upon expiry of the maternity/adoptive/parental leave, the teacher shall be reinstated in the position occupied by her/him at the time such leave commenced or in a comparable position prior to maternity/adoptive/parental leave.
9. A teacher taking maternity leave pursuant to this article shall receive pay for the period of leave up to seventeen (17) weeks in the amount of ninety percent (90%) of the salary being received at the time leave was taken, this pay to include any benefits received from Human Resources Development Canada to a Supplemental Employment Benefits (SEB) Plan. The implementation of this clause is subject to the successful arrangement of a Supplemental Employment Benefits Plan with Human Resources Development Canada.
10. In respect of the period of maternity leave, payments made according to the SEB Plan will consist of the following:
(a) For the first two weeks, payment equivalent to ninety percent (90%) of her gross salary, and
(b) Up to fifteen (15) additional weeks payment equivalent to the difference between the Employment Insurance benefits the employee is eligible to receive and ninety percent (90%) of her gross salary.
11. A teacher taking parental or adoptive leave shall receive pay for the period of leave up to ten (10) weeks of payment equivalent to the difference between the payment from HRDC and 90% of his/her salary. The ten weeks includes any waiting period required for employment insurance benefits.
The parties further agree that effective July 1, 2015 the existing Article 6.08 in the 2014 to 2017 collective agreement will be amended as follows:
6.08 Maternity/Adoptive/Parental Leave
1. Maternity and Parental/Adoptive Leaves shall be granted in accordance with The Employment Standards Code (Manitoba), which shall prevail if there is an inconsistency between the Code and this Article.
2. In addition, the Board shall, upon written request, grant further maternity/adoptive/parental leave up to an additional eighteen (18) months provided that the termination of such leaves coincides with either the first day of the Fall Term, the first day of school after January 1st, the first day of school after Spring break, or in the case of a teacher returning to a secondary school, the first day of the second semester.
3. The conditions of the maternity/adoptive/parental leave shall be determined by the teacher and the Board to their mutual satisfaction.
4. The Board shall provide the teacher and the Association with a copy of the agreement reached in 5) above prior to the commencement of maternity/adoptive/parental leave.
5. Maternity/Adoptive/Parental Leave shall not constitute a break in employment for teachers under Teacher-General contracts or teachers under Limited Teacher-General contracts offered continued employment by the Division.
6. Upon expiry of the maternity/adoptive/parental leave, the teacher shall be reinstated in the position occupied by her/him at the time such leave commenced or in a comparable position prior to maternity/adoptive/parental leave.
7. Top-Up Benefits
Effective July 1, 2015 a teacher taking Maternity Leave and/or Parental/Adoptive Leave pursuant to this Article shall be entitled to receive pay equivalent to ninety percent (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary at the time the leave commenced plus any subsequently negotiated salary adjustments for up to one hundred and thirty-five (135) teaching days, which pay will include any employment insurance benefits received in accordance with this Article. Effective July 1 2015 the Division shall pay a teacher on Maternity Leave and/or Parental/Adoptive Leave:
(a) if the teacher’s two (2) week or ten (10) day waiting period falls entirely on teaching days, ninety percent (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary plus up to seventy-five (75) teaching days of Maternity Leave Top-up calculated at the difference between the teacher’s employment insurance benefit and ninety percent (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary provided the teacher remains on either Maternity or Parental Leave and continues to receive employment insurance benefits;
(b) if the teacher’s two (2) week or ten (10) day waiting period falls partially or entirely within a non-teaching period, ninety percent (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary for any teaching days and up to eighty-five (85) teaching days of Maternity Leave top up calculated at the difference between the teacher’s employment insurance benefit and ninety percent (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary provided the teacher remains on either Maternity or Parental Leave and continues to receive employment insurance benefits;
(c) up to fifty (50) teaching days of Parental/Adoptive Leave top up calculated at the difference between the teacher’s employment insurance benefit and ninety percent (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary provided the teacher remains on Parental/Adoptive Leave and continues to receive employment insurance benefits.
For greater certainty, a teacher who is receiving employment insurance benefits shall be entitled to:
(a) one hundred and thirty-five (135) teaching days of pay and/or top-up benefits if the teacher takes both Maternity Leave and Parental/Adoptive Leave;
(b) eighty-five (85) teaching days of pay and/or top-up benefits if the teacher only takes Maternity Leave;
(c) fifty (50) teaching days of pay and/or top-up benefits if the teacher only takes Parental/Adoptive Leave;
unless the teacher takes a shorter period of Maternity Leave or Parental/Adoptive Leave in which case, the pay and/or top-up will be pro-rated to reflect the actual number of teaching days taken. The parties acknowledge that the top-up payments made by the Division for Maternity Leave may extend into the period of time that the teacher is on Parental Leave but the payment is intended to be a top-up of Maternity Leave benefits.
Non-Application
This Article shall not apply to any teacher who is employed on a term contract during the teacher’s first year of employment. All other teachers shall be eligible to receive the top-up benefits once they have been employed for a period of seven (7) months by the Division.
Dated at Winnipeg, Manitoba this _____ day of June, 2015.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD ON BEHALF OF THE ASSOCIATION
Chairperson of the Board President of the Association
Co-chair of Negotiations Chairperson of Negotiations
Secretary-Treasurer Secretary