WESTERN TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION

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

4:01 Leave of Absence for Executive Duties

A teacher, being a member of the Manitoba Teachers' Society Executive Committee, or being appointed an official representative or delegate of the Society to attend a meeting of the committee of which he or she is a member, or to act as a representative or delegate of the Society or of any branch thereof in a matter of Society business requiring absence from school, shall have the right to attend such meeting and shall be excused from school duties for either purpose or both purposes for not more than a total of six (6) teaching days in any school year, provided that a substitute satisfactory to the Division can be secured. The Division is to pay the substitute teacher and bill the Manitoba Teachers' Society for the cost of a substitute. No additional leave of absence beyond six (6) days for any individual in a school year shall be taken for the purposes mentioned above except with the consent and approval of the Division. In all cases the teacher shall notify the Division thereof prior to taking such a leave.

No teacher who is entitled to leave under this article shall be allowed to take leave on parent teacher days, professional development days, administrative days, days before or after Christmas or spring break unless the Division has expressly given consent to do so by the Superintendent.

4:02 Compassionate Leave

Each teacher shall be allowed compassionate leave without loss of salary up to but not exceeding five (5) days in any one school year for each case of death or serious illness of father, mother, child, spouse, and common law partner.

Each teacher shall be allowed compassionate leave without loss of salary up to but not exceeding four (4) days in any one school year for each case of death or serious illness of sister, brother, grandparents, father in-law, mother in-law, sister in-law, brother in-law, son in-law, daughter in-law, and grandchildren.

Each teacher shall be allowed compassionate leave without loss of salary of up to one (1) day for grandparents of spouse, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.

In all cases the teacher concerned shall notify the Division prior to taking such a leave.

4:03 Deduction For Leave Of Absence

In all cases of absence other than those covered by this Agreement, the Board, upon the request of the teacher, will consider the request and at its discretion identify the terms under which such leave may be taken.

At the discretion of the Board the teacher shall:

(a) receive full pay, or (b) be deducted the per diem rate of his/her regular salary, or (c) be deducted l/240th of his/her regular salary, or (d) pay cost of the substitute.

It is agreed by the parties that sick leave entitlement shall only be granted by the Division where an employee is unable to be at work and perform his/her regular duties as a result of illness or injury.

Teachers in the employ of the Division shall commence each school year with twenty (20) sick leave days, provided they have worked one full day in the new school year, plus all previously unused sick leave subject to a maximum accumulation as outlined below. Subject to Subsection B of this article, such leave shall not exceed twenty (20) teaching days in any school year.

Where the employment of a teacher is continued for more than one (1) year, the unused portion of sick leave in any year shall be carried forward and accumulated from year to year to a maximum of:

40 teaching days in the second year;

60 teaching days in the third year;

80 teaching days in the fourth year;

100 teaching days in the fifth year,

120 teaching days in the sixth year.

Effective Date of Signing of this Agreement, 130 teaching days in the seventh and subsequent years.

Any teacher hired other than at the beginning of the school year shall be entitled to a fraction of the twenty (20) day sick leave equal to the fraction of the remaining year.

Any teacher returning from sick leave and starting a new school year other than at the start of the new school year, shall be entitled to a fraction of the twenty (20) day sick leave equal to the fraction of the remaining year.

A teacher does not accumulate sick leave days while on sick leave.

Teachers employed on a part-time basis who have a contract with the Division, shall be granted sick leave with pay pro-rated based on full-time equivalents.

Sick leave shall not continue to accrue while on any leave of absence without pay.

A teacher shall be required to furnish a medical certificate when requested by the Division.

It is agreed that the 5/12 share of the Employment Insurance premium rebate shall be returned to the Association on or before February 28.

The Western Teachers Association and teachers shall be notified by the end of September of each year the total accumulated sick leave entitlement of each teacher.

4:05 Sick Leave for Family

Each teacher is permitted to use up to 5 days sick leave per year to attend to family related medical issues.

This leave is for serious medical issues for members of the teacher’s immediate family. Immediate Family is defined as spouse, common law partner, child, parents, and any other relative permanently residing with the teacher. In extraordinary circumstances, the Board may consider requests for Family Sick Leave for other relatives on a case by case basis. Teachers should use local services where possible and arrange appointment times that would minimize their absence.

This leave is non cumulative from one school year to the next school year.

This leave is pro-rated for part-time teachers.

A doctor’s certificate may be requested.

4:06 Maternity/Parental Leave

Every teacher shall be entitled to maternity/parental leave after seven (7) months of service.

The conditions of maternity/parental leave shall be determined by the teacher and the Division to their mutual satisfaction.

Following satisfactory agreement, the Division shall provide the teacher with a written memo of agreement.

Maternity/parental leave shall not constitute a break in employment.

At the termination of the maternity/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 without less than the same salary and benefits.

Supplemental Employment Benefits Plan

Maternity or Parental leaves shall be in accordance with the Employment Standards Code of the Province of Manitoba.

Top-Up Benefits

(a) Effective July 1, 2017 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 (gross salary means 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.

(b) Effective July 1, 2017 the Division shall pay a teacher on Maternity Leave and/or Parental/Adoptive Leave:

(1) if the teacher’s one (1) week or five (5) day waiting period falls entirely on teaching days, ninety percent (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary plus up to eighty (80) 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 one (1) week or five (5) 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 (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.

c) 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.

4:07 Leave for Jury and Witness Duty

All employees covered by the collective agreement will be granted leave without deduction of salary for court appearances if the employee is subpoenaed to be a witness or summoned for jury duty in a court of law; provided, (a) the employee shall remit to the Division all monies received (less monies received for meals, transportation and lodging) because of an appearance in a court of law; and, (b) that the court action is not against Western School Division. Any time during normal school hours that the employee is not required to be in a court of law he shall make himself available for school duty.

4:08 Leave for Graduation/Convocation

A teacher may be absent from school without loss of salary for one day in any school year to attend his/her own graduation/ convocation. A teacher may be absent from school without loss of salary for one day to attend the graduation of his/her child or spouse / common law partner from Grade 12 and/or a post secondary institution.

With reasonable notice to the Superintendent and subject to the availability of a suitable substitute teacher, teachers will be granted personal leave of two (2) teaching days per school year at no deduction of salary. Teachers may not take this leave on any teacher in-service, parent-teacher day, administrative day(s) or pupil evaluation days as designated by the School Division or School.

4:10 - Major Religious Holy Days

A teacher under contract shall be given leave of absence up to a maximum of three (3) days per school year without loss of salary 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 Designate.

The following notification period shall apply:

teachers on staff requiring religious holy leaves 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. Teachers employed after September 30^th shall provide written notice within ten (10) calendar days of their commencement of employment;
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;
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 1/200ths of the salary for that day.

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