A. It is agreed by the parties that sick leave entitlement shall only be granted by the Division where a teacher is unable to be at work and perform his or her regular duties as a result of illness or injury.
B. Sick leave is not payable to a teacher who is engaged in any employment for a wage or profit during any period for which he or she claims benefits under the Division’s sick leave plan.
C. Sick leave is not payable to a teacher whose illness or injury results from a motor vehicle accident and is receiving wage loss replacement benefits from Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) to the extent that such benefits and paid sick leave exceed the teacher’s normal salary. In such cases the teacher shall reimburse the Division the amount of benefit received from MPI.
D. A full-time teacher who is under contract to the Division as of the first (1st) day of the fall term shall be credited with twenty (20) days sick leave (subject to a maximum accumulation of 124 days) (Effective September 2015 the maximum accumulation shall be one hundred and thirty (130) days.) on that date except that a new employee must actually teach for at least one day before any sick leave days are credited to this teacher. A full-time teacher coming under contract at a later date in the school year shall be credited with a pro-rata share of twenty (20) days, calculated to the closest whole day. A regular part-time teacher is entitled to a pro-rata share of twenty (20) days sick leave per year and the principle of accumulation, and the total to be accumulated, applies as to a full-time teacher.
Notwithstanding the above, a teacher who reduces his or her contract time and subsequently accesses the Disability Benefits Plan and is penalized by suffering a reduction in pay that she or he would not have suffered had his or her sick leave credits not been converted, will be treated as if his or her sick leave credits were not converted. The maximum conversion shall not exceed the required days set out in the Disability Benefits Plan.
E. Unused sick leave shall accumulate to a maximum of one hundred and twenty-four (124) days. (Effective September 2015 the maximum accumulation shall be one hundred and thirty (130) days.) In each year of employment (i.e. school year) the number of sick days used shall be deducted from the total accumulation. The first day of the fall term, twenty (20) days shall be added to that total, to a maximum of one hundred and twenty-four (124) days. (Effective September 2015 the maximum accumulation shall be one hundred and thirty (130) days.)
F. Teachers employed on a fixed term contract shall be entitled to sick leave during the term of the contract under the same terms and conditions as a teacher regularly employed by the Division. Sick leave shall accrue to a maximum of one hundred and twenty-four (124) days (Effective September 2015 the maximum accumulation shall be one hundred and thirty (130) days.) when a teacher is employed by the Division on successive term contracts. Contracts shall be deemed to be successive when:
1. A teacher is employed under more than one term contract in a school year;
2. The interruption between term contracts is less than a school year.
G. Teachers employed on a part-time basis who have a Form 2, Teacher General, or Limited Term Teacher-General contract with the Division shall be granted sick leave with pay pro-rated based on full-time equivalence.
H. Sick leave shall not continue to accrue while on any leave of absence without pay with the exception of Article 6.05 B.3.
I. Each teacher shall be notified at the November pay period of his or her total accumulation.
J. In the case of a lengthy or recurring illness, a teacher may apply for special consideration whereby the Division may pay that teacher’s salary until he or she is eligible for benefits under Employment Insurance or Disability Benefits Plan or such lesser period as the Division may decide.
K. On-The-Job-Injury. When a teacher suffers an on-the-job-injury and is absent from work as a result of that injury, the Division shall continue to pay the salary of that teacher during such absence, limited to the extent of the accumulated sick leave balance at the time of suffering the on-the-job-injury. The period of time absent from work as a consequence of an on-the-job-injury shall not be charged against the accumulated sick leave balance.
The Division may reimburse out of pocket expenses incurred by the teacher as a result of an on-the-job-injury to a maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per school year where that teacher has certain expenses beyond the maximum coverage provided for in the Extended Health Plan or incurs certain expenses related to medical items not covered by the Extended Health Plan and where such expenses are not covered by another Party or Plan.
In accordance with administrative guidelines the Division shall reimburse teachers for the above-mentioned expenses (e.g. drug costs, physiotherapy, etc.) for a period of up to twelve (12) months following the injury or accident.
"On-the-job-injury" means a disability resulting from an accident or injury occurring in the course of performing duties arising out of employment under contract with the Division.
L. The Division shall provide full sick leave entitlement to a pregnant teacher who, as a result of her condition either before or after delivery, is unable to be at work and perform her regular duties for a valid health-related reason(s). The pregnant teacher shall follow current proof of claim procedures for sick leave entitlement as may be required by the Division.
M. The Division shall indemnify and save harmless the Association from any and all losses, costs, liabilities or expenses suffered or sustained by the Association as a result of any legal action arising from the wage loss replacement benefit from MPI (Article 6.00 C); however, should the Division so require, it shall be permitted to take over and conduct such legal action and make such settlement thereof as it shall see fit.