SEVEN OAKS TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION

EFFECTIVE PERIOD: 2018/07/01 - 2022/06/30

ARTICLE 6: Leaves of Absence

6.01 Parental Leave

"Parent" includes a natural parent or person with whom a child is placed for adoption or legal guardianship and a person who is in a relationship of some permanence with a parent of a child and who intends to treat the child as their own.

1. Upon the occasion of the birth/adoption of a teacher’s child, they shall be granted a one day absence with pay for the actual occasion of birth/adoption and one further day of leave with pay to be taken within fifteen (15) days of the event.  Leave of absence with pay shall be provided when the day of birth or the additional day falls on a regular school day.

 

2. Requests for parental or adoptive leave shall be submitted prior to such leave.

6.02 Leave of Absence With Pay

A leave of absence shall be granted without any deduction in salary for the following reasons, subject to the approval of the Superintendent:

1. To attend conventions or meetings of organizations with programs relevant to the teacher's work;

 

2. To deliver addresses before educational bodies;

 

3. To attend examinations in order to secure a higher certificate or to secure university standing;

 

4. To attend convocation to receive a university degree.

 

Up to one (1) day to attend the secondary or post-secondary graduation of the teacher’s child, spouse and/or partner.

6.03 Leave of Absence Without Pay

A teacher may be granted, upon request, leave of absence without pay subject to the following conditions:

1. Applications for such leave shall be submitted to the Board by November 30th if the leave is to be granted in the current school year or by April 1st if the leave is to be granted in the following school year.

 

2. A teacher granted leave of absence shall be regarded as still on staff and the leave of absence shall not constitute a break in tenure nor shall it reduce the number of day’s accumulated sick leave.

 

3. Teachers engaged in educational duties during this leave of absence shall during that period accrue increments as outlined in Article 4.02.

 

4. A teacher, after leave of absence, shall return to a teaching salary as per Article 4.02.

 

5. A teacher who is returning from a leave of absence shall, whenever possible, be placed in the position held prior to the commencement of the leave.  Where that is not possible, consideration will be given to placing the teacher in a position that is comparable in relation to age of students and content of subject matter.

6.04 Executive Leave

A teacher, being a member of the Manitoba Teachers' Society Executive Committee or of the Executive Committee of any branch thereof or any special committee of the Society, or being appointed an official representative or delegate of the Society, or any branch thereof, or being a Society appointee to a committee of the Department of Education, and being authorized by the Executive Committee of the Society to attend a meeting of the Committee of which they are a member or to act as a representative or delegate of the Society or any branch of the Society in a matter of Society business requiring absence from school shall have the right to attend such meeting or to act as such representative or delegate and shall be excused from school duties for such purposes on not more than a total of twelve (12) teaching days in any school year, provided that a substitute satisfactory to the Board can be secured and that the cost of providing said substitute is assumed by the Society and shall not be charged upon the Board concerned.  No additional leave of absence shall be taken for the purpose mentioned above, except with the consent and approval of the Board.

6.05 President Leave

1. President Leave/Vice-President Leave - Manitoba Teachers’ Society

1. A teacher elected President/Vice-President of The Manitoba Teachers' Society shall be granted leave for the duration of their full term.

 

2. A teacher who is returning from being President/Vice-President of The Manitoba Teachers' Society shall, whenever possible, be placed in the position held prior to the commencement of the leave.  Where that is not possible, consideration will be given to placing the teacher in a position that is comparable in relation to age of students and content of subject matter.

2. President /Vice-President Leave – Seven Oaks Teachers' Association

1. A teacher who is elected President and/or Vice-President of the Seven Oaks Teachers’ Association shall be granted leave for the full term of their presidency or vice-presidency.

 

2. The amount of leave granted the President and/or Vice-President of the Association will be in an amount that may be mutually agreeable to the Board and the Association.

 

3. The Association agrees to reimburse the Division for the costs of leave granted the President and/or Vice-President of the Association.

 

4. A teacher who is elected President and/or Vice-President of the Seven Oaks Teachers’ Association, and who has a partial teaching load, shall if possible, be accommodated in the same school in a position that is comparable in relation to age of students and/or subject matter to the position they held the previous year.

 

5. In the event that the President or Vice-President is unable to continue their full term of office due to extended illness beyond twenty (20) working days, the following shall apply:

• Upon notification by the Local Association, the leave of absence will be terminated.

• Upon termination of the leave of absence, the President or Vice President shall be returned to an assignment consistent with Article 6.05 2) (d).

• The President or Vice President shall thereafter be entitled to access their accumulated sick leave bank.

• The Local Association shall determine if another teacher will be elected or appointed as President or Vice President to fulfil the remainder of the term of office.

• Should another teacher be elected or appointed as President or Vice President in accordance with the above, Article 6.05 2) shall apply.

6.06 Judicial and Witness Leave

A teacher called upon to serve as a juror or subpoenaed witness shall be granted leave without any deduction in salary.  Any monies received by the Teacher from the courts shall be assigned to the school board. 

6.07 Religious Leave

A teacher under contract shall be given leave of absence up to a maximum of three (3) days per school year without loss of pay for major religious holy days observed by the teacher and designated as a day of obligation by the teacher’s religion.

 

Teachers shall not absent themselves from duty for reasons of religious holy days without first notifying the Superintendent or their designate.

 

The following notification period shall apply:

 

1. Teachers on staff requiring religious holy leave during the school year shall provide notice in writing on the prescribed form as soon as possible after the start of the school year however not later than September 30^{th .}

 

2. In instances where religious holy leave is required prior to September 30^th in the school year notice shall be given within ten (10) working days after the start of the school year, unless the holy day falls within the first ten (10) working days of the school year where the notice shall not be less than five (5) working days.

 

3. Where the appropriate notice has not been given religious holy day’s leave will be provided and the teacher’s regular salary will be deducted the substitute teacher rate in the teacher’s salary classification.

 

The parties agree that this Article constitutes reasonable accommodation for religious holy leave.

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 1^st, 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 them 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:

1. 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;

2. 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;

3. 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:

1. 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;

2. eighty-five (85) teaching days of pay and/or top-up benefits if the teacher only takes Maternity Leave;

3. fifty (5O) 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.

6.09 Personal Leave

1. Absences for emergency purposes or in extenuating circumstances as determined by the Superintendent, shall be either at:

1. no cost to the teacher involved, or

2. at the actual cost of a substitute required to replace the teacher during the period of such absence.

The decision as to whether (a) or (b) above shall apply shall be made by the Superintendent based upon the nature of the emergency or circumstances.

 

2. In the event of the death of a member of a teacher's immediate family or relative, no deduction from salary shall be made for the teacher's absence up to a maximum of five (5) days.  Should more than five (5) days absence be required Article 6.09 (1) shall apply.

 

3. Request for absences for other personal reasons must be submitted to the Superintendent for approval.

The absence shall be:

1. Two (2) personal days per school year at no cost to the teacher involved (no reason required), one (1) day may be carried over for one year. These days will not be used for extending holidays.

2. at no cost to the teacher involved, or

3. at the actual cost of a substitute required to replace the teacher during the period of such absence, or

4. without pay (per diem rate).

The decision as to whether (b), (c), or (d) above shall apply will be made by the Superintendent based upon the nature of the circumstances.

6.10 Sick Leave

1. When a teacher is sick, that teacher shall be entitled to a leave of absence called sick leave, and shall be entitled to be paid full salary during such leave.

 

2. Each teacher shall be credited with twenty (20) teaching day’s sick leave with full salary at the beginning of each year of continuous employment as a teacher with this School Division.

 

3. All unused sick leave in each year shall accumulate from year to year to a maximum of one hundred and twenty-five (125) teaching days.

 

4. Each teacher shall be notified in November of each year of their total accumulation of sick leave.

 

5. After an absence of three (3) consecutive teaching days a teacher may be required to produce a certificate from a duly qualified practitioner for any illness certifying that such teacher was unable to carry out duties due to illness.

 

6. The Board may grant, at its discretion, additional sick leave with pay.

 

7.  

1. No teacher shall suffer a loss of sick leave due to injuries sustained on the job and/or school sponsored extra curricular activities and related supervision.  The teacher injured shall be placed on sick leave, short term and/or long term disability insurance until they are able to return to work.  When the teacher returns to work, the Board will re-instate their sick leave entitlement accumulated prior to the injury.

2. 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 the 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.

3. In accordance with administrative guidelines and within the maximum set out above, 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.

4. “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.

 

8. Any teacher, who for reason of illness or injury exhausts their sick leave allocation and is placed on short term and/or long term disability, shall receive:

1. a pro rata share, or 5 days of the 20 day sick leave allocation, whichever is greater, if returning during the school year, or

2. 20 days of sick leave if returning at the beginning of the succeeding school year.

6.11 Family Leave

Each teacher shall be entitled to use up to four (4) days of sick leave per school year to attend to the illness or accident, injury or medical appointment of spouse, children and/or parents.  Such leave is non-cumulative from one school year to the next school year.

6.12 Deferred Salary Leave Plan

A Deferred Salary leave may be granted at the discretion of the Board to eligible teachers according to a separate Deferred Salary Leave Agreement between the Association and the Board.

6.13 Leave For Civic Duties

Teachers holding elected civic positions shall have the right to attend to civic duties during school time, to a maximum of ten (10) teaching days per school year, the first five (5) of which shall be charged to said teacher at the teacher's own substitute rate as stipulated in Article 5.01 regardless of whether a substitute is engaged or not.  The latter five (5) days if taken, shall be deducted from salary at the teacher's per diem rate.  A request for days in excess of the ten (10) days as allowed above must be approved by the Superintendent and will be deducted, if approved, at the teacher's per diem rate.

6.14 Part-time Leave of Absence Without Pay

1. Any teacher may, without prejudice to their current proportion of assignment, request a part-time leave of absence without pay.  The teacher shall specify the proportion of time and the period for which the part-time leave is requested at the time of submitting such request.

 

2. The granting of such leave shall be conditional upon:

1. the receipt by the division, of application for leave by November 15^th if leave is requested for the Spring Term of the current school year; and by April 1^st if the leave is requested for the Fall Term of the next school year; and,

2. the procurement of a suitable replacement for the assignment from which leave is requested so as to minimize disruption of the education of the children affected.

 

3. A teacher, after leave of absence, shall return to a teaching assignment equal in proportion to the one from which leave was granted.

 

4. A teacher, who is returning from such leave of absence shall, whenever possible be placed in the position held prior to commencement of the leave.  Where that is not feasible, consideration shall be given to placement in a position, upon the teacher’s preference, that is comparable in relation to age of students and content of subject matter.

 

5. Provision made in sub-articles 5.10, 5.11, 5.12 and 5.13 shall continue to apply.