21. Leaves
(i) Sick leave shall be calculated on the basis of twenty (20) days per year. For the purpose of computing sick leave for a fraction of a year, two hundred (200) days shall be considered to be the number of school days in a year.
(ii) Unused sick leave in any calendar year may be accumulated and carried forward to the next year up to the maximum of one hundred and forty-five (145) days (including twenty (20) days allowed for the year in which the illness occurred) subject to the following conditions:
(a) Upon commencement of duties in the first year, a teacher is entitled to twenty (20) teaching days.
(b) Upon commencement of duties in the second year, a teacher is entitled to twenty (20) teaching days and any unused sick leave from the first year.
(c) At the beginning of each succeeding year, a teacher is entitled to twenty (20) teaching days and any previously unused sick leave.
(iii) Employees shall be entitled to use up to an overall maximum of three (3) days of accumulated sick leave per school year to attend to the illness or injury of that teacher’s spouse, common-law partner, children, parents, brother or sister whether the family member is natural, in-law, step or foster. Where such cases occur, entitlement under this article may not be accessed concurrently by both caregivers who are employees within the scope of this agreement. Employees may be required to provide medical evidence that such leave was required. Such days shall be pro-rated based upon full-time equivalency for part-time employees. Section 7.1.1 is to be deleted from Appendix B re: Policy GCBD.
(iv) Absence for illness due to pregnancy shall be considered to be sick leave up to the day the teacher was last present for duty.
(v) No sick leave shall be granted during a period of leave of absence or sabbatical leave, and no days shall be added to the accumulated sick leave for such periods.
(vi) Deduction for full salary (one two-hundredth [1/200th] of annual salary rate for each day) shall be made when illness extends beyond the period provided for.
(vii) A teacher on extended sick leave, who advises the Division that the sick leave will be continuing for more than ten (10) consecutive days shall be advised by the Division of the following:
(a) the sick leave benefits which may be claimed under the Collective Agreement, and
(b) to contact The Winnipeg Teachers’ Association regarding services and benefits. A copy of the Cumulative Sick Leave Article shall be provided to the teacher.
(viii) 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 absence from work as a consequence of the on-the-job injury shall not be charged against the accumulated sick leave balance.
For the purposes of this section, “on-the-job injury” shall be defined as follows:
A disability resulting from an accident/incident occurring on Division premises or in the course of performing duties arising out of employment under contract with the Division.
(ix) Sick leave is not payable to a teacher:
(a) who is engaged in employment for wage or profit with another employer except when such employment occurs as a result of a program of rehabilitative employment approved by the Disability Insurance Plan.
(b) whose illness results from the use of drugs or alcohol and who is not receiving continued treatment from a licensed physician or in a recognized program of treatment for the use of drugs or alcohol.
(c) who, in respect of an illness or injury resulting from a motor vehicle accident, is receiving wage-loss replacement benefits from the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation 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 the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation.
Where an employee accesses their sick leave accumulation to top up their PIPP benefits (MPI wage loss replacement) a corresponding equal deduction from their sick leave accumulated balance will be taken.
(d) who is absent from work because of plastic surgery performed for cosmetic purposes except where the need for such surgery is attributable to an illness or injury.
(e) Certificates For Absence Due to Illness Teachers absent due to illness shall present a certificate to the principal on return to duty.
(i) If the absence does not exceed three (3) consecutive school days, the certificate may be a statement from the teacher on the form provided which shall be signed by the teacher and countersigned by the principal. At the option of the teacher, a regular medical certificate may be provided in place of the certificate mentioned above.
(ii) If the absence exceeds three (3) consecutive school days or is for a contagious disease or condition, the certificate shall be signed by a registered medical practitioner on the form provided for the purpose. If the teacher presents a certificate from a person other than a registered medical practitioner it shall be referred to the Superintendent or designate for acceptance.
(iii) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a teacher may be required to furnish a medical certificate for any absence for illness if requested to do so by the Superintendent or designate.
21.02 Leave for Pregnant Teacher
The Board 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 Board.
(a) “Sabbatical Leave”, for the purpose of this Collective Agreement shall mean leave of absence granted to a teacher for study or travel with part salary which shall be known as the Sabbatical Leave Allowance, paid by the Division to the teacher.
In this Agreement the term “equivalent” means serving the Division as an employee for a like amount of time, which may be either part to full-time or a combination thereof.
(b) The Sabbatical Leave Allowance shall be:
(i) For travel – $1,500.00 per annum
(ii) For study – $3,000.00 per annum or two-thirds (⅔) of the teacher’s annual scheduled salary including increases negotiated during the sabbatical leave, whichever is the greater.
In this Agreement the term “Salary” includes department heads’, assistant department heads’ allowance and negotiated increases in such allowance.
(c) In cases where the allowance is $3,000.00 or less, the teacher shall serve the Division not less than the equivalent of one (1) year following return or be required to repay the full amount of the allowance.
In cases where the allowance is more than $3,000.00, the teacher shall be required to serve the Division not less than the equivalent of three (3) years following return. If a teacher serves less than the equivalent of three (3) years, the allowance shall be repaid in accordance with the following scale:
(i) If service is for less than the equivalent of one (1) year following return, the full amount shall be repaid.
(ii) If service following return is equivalent to one (1) year or more but less than the equivalent of two (2) years, the amount to be repaid shall be the difference between the total Sabbatical Leave Allowance and $3,000.00.
(iii) If the service following return is equivalent to two (2) years or more, but less than the equivalent of three (3) years, the amount to be repaid shall be one-half ( ) of the difference between the total allowance and $3,000.00.
(d) Only teachers who have completed or are completing ten (10) years of teaching service with the Division may apply for Sabbatical Leave for the purpose of travel and only teachers, either part or full-time, who have completed or are completing the equivalent of seven (7) years of teaching service with the Division may apply for Sabbatical Leave for the purpose of study provided that such leave may not be granted more often than once in the equivalent of ten (10) years thereafter.
(e) Not more than two (2) percent of the full-time teaching staff as at June 30th of the year previous to that in which the Sabbatical Leave is to start shall be absent on Sabbatical Leave in any school year.
(f) Sabbatical Leave shall normally be given for one (1) full school year. It shall begin with the opening of the fall term and extend to the close of the spring term. Where it is deemed advisable, this regulation may be modified to grant Sabbatical Leave for less than a full school year or for one (1) full year not coterminous with the school year, in which case, the teacher shall receive one two-hundredth (1/200th) of his/her regular annual salary for each school day taught and one two-hundredth (1/200th) of the Sabbatical Leave Allowance for each school day in the period of Sabbatical Leave.
(g) The application for Sabbatical Leave shall be filed with the Superintendent not later than the fifteenth (15th) day of October of the school year preceding that for which leave is desired, and must be accompanied by the following:
(i) In the case of leave for study: A statement outlining the course to be studied and an estimate as to the value of the leave to the teacher and to the Division.
(ii) In the case of leave for travel: A statement outlining the proposed travel and an estimate as to the value of the leave to the teacher and to the Division.
(h) The Superintendent shall present all applications for Sabbatical Leave to the Board together with his/her recommendations.
(i) Teachers on Sabbatical Leave are permitted to accept scholarships or fellowships. They shall not engage in full-time remunerative employment, except as approved by the Superintendent during seven-twelfths (7/12ths) of their period of leave.
(j) The teacher on leave shall receive the Sabbatical Leave Allowance in regular monthly instalments, provided a satisfactory undertaking to serve the Division for the equivalent of one (1) year following return to duty has been filed with the Secretary-Treasurer, where the allowance is $3,000.00 or not less than the equivalent of three (3) years where the allowance is more than $3,000.00.
(k) In the event of a teacher dying while on Sabbatical Leave, the amounts paid prior to the date of death shall not be recoverable by the Board.
(l) In the event of a teacher on Sabbatical Leave accepting remunerative employment except as herein provided, or, in the event of the teacher deciding not to return to the Division teaching staff at the expiration of such leave, all monies paid as Sabbatical Leave Allowance shall be recoverable by the Board.
(m) Special emergencies which may arise in connection with Sabbatical Leave and which do not appear to be covered by this Agreement shall be referred to the Superintendent for his/her consideration, and recommendations may be made to the Board if he/she deems it necessary.
(n) There shall be no accumulation of sick leave during the period a teacher is absent on Sabbatical Leave.
NOTE: Article 9.04 of this Agreement, provides that periods of Sabbatical Leave shall be included as “teaching experience” while in the employ of the Division.
21.04 Leave for Professional Business
A member of The Winnipeg Teachers’ Association shall be excused from school duties to attend meetings of the Association or of The Manitoba Teachers’ Society or to act as an official representative of the Association or of the Society for not more than a total of five (5) teaching days in any school year provided that a substitute satisfactory to the Division has been secured and that the cost of providing the substitute plus 10 per centum (10%) is assumed by the Association or the Society. No additional leave of absence shall be taken for the above mentioned purposes except with the consent of the Division. Leave of absence from school duties for the purpose of collective bargaining, including arbitration, with the Division, shall not be counted. When, for the purpose of negotiating a Collective Agreement with the Division or renewal thereof, meetings with the representatives of the
Association are convened during regular working hours of the Association’s members, the Division will grant leave, with salary at the applicable rates set out herein, for not more than six (6) members of the Association attending such meetings. Negotiations for the purposes of this section shall not include conciliation or arbitration proceedings.
A teacher employed by the Division who is elected President of the Association or President or Vice-President of The Manitoba Teachers’ Society shall at the termination of the teacher’s leave of absence return to the same position the teacher formally held provided the teacher has on or before April 1st in the year of the leave advised the Superintendent of Schools in writing of the teacher’s intention to return to the position at the commencement of the next teaching year. If the teacher fails to inform the Division in writing of the teacher’s intention to return, the Division shall not be required to assign the teacher to the teacher’s former position with the Division and the Division is relieved of any obligation to the teacher in this respect.
If a position held by the President prior to taking a leave of absence will no longer exist when the teacher resumes employment with the Division, the Division will offer the teacher another position which will be as similar to the previous position held by the teacher as can be reasonably established.
21.05 Maternity Leave/Adoptive Leave/Parental Leave
General
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. After a teacher has applied for Maternity and/or Parental/Adoptive Leave as provided for in Article 21.05 3) 4) and 5), the parties shall enter into a written agreement that: (a) an employee who returns to teaching duties within the same school year shall be reinstated to the position occupied by the teacher prior to commencing the the leave
(b) where the Maternity or Parental/Adoptive Leave spans two (2) school years, the teacher will be reinstated to either the same position occupied by the teacher at the time the leave commenced or a comparable position with no less than the same wages and benefits;
(c) the date the teacher will resume teaching duties unless the Division agrees to extend the leave;
(d) the Division will pay the employer’s portion of the benefits contained in Articles 19.01 and 19.03 for the leave periods.
3. The teacher and the Division may mutually agree to extend the length of the leave if the teacher so desires. Any such arrangements to be confirmed in writing by the Division and will be in accordance with the Code of Rules.
Maternity Leave
4. Every female teacher who has been employed by the Division for seven (7) months shall be entitled to Maternity Leave of up to seventeen (17) weeks if she:
(a) submits an application for leave at least four (4) weeks before the date she wishes her leave to commence and indicates the date she wishes to resume her teaching duties; and
(b) provides a medical certificate giving the estimated date of delivery.
Parental/Adoptive Leave
5. Every teacher who has been employed by the Division for seven (7) months shall be entitled to Parental/Adoptive Leave of up to thirty-seven (37) weeks if the teacher submits an application for leave at least four (4) weeks before the date the teacher wishes the leave to commence, indicates the date the teacher wishes to resume teaching duties, and in the case of adoption provides documentation of the estimated date the teacher is to gain custody of a child.
Top-Up Benefits
6. 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 salary the teacher was receiving at the time the leave commenced 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.
7. Effective July 1, 2017, the Division shall pay a teacher on Maternity Leave and/or Parental/Adoptive
Leave:
(a) if the teacher’s one (1) week or five (5) day waiting period falls entirely on teaching days, ninety (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary including any subsequently negotiated salary adjustments plus up to eighty (80) days of Maternity Leave Top-up calculated at the difference between the teacher’s employment insurance benefit and ninety (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary including any subsequently negotiated salary adjustments provided the teacher remains on either Maternity or
Parental Leave and continues to receive employment insurance benefits;
(b) if the teacher’s one (1) week or five (5) day waiting period falls partially or entirely within a non-teaching period, ninety (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary including any subsequently negotiated salary adjustments for any teaching days in that period, 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 (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary including any subsequently negotiated salary adjustments 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 (90%) of the teacher’s gross salary including any subsequently negotiated salary adjustments provided the teacher remains on Parental/Adoptive
Leave and continues to receive employment insurance benefits.
For greater certainty, a teacher who takes both Maternity Leave and Parental Leave and is receiving employment insurance benefits shall be entitled to receive pay and/or top-up benefits from the Division of up to one hundred and thirty-five (135) teaching days, a teacher who takes only Maternity Leave and is receiving employment insurance benefits shall be entitled to receive pay and/or top-up benefits for up to eighty-five (85) teaching days, and a teacher who takes only Parental/Adoptive
Leave and is receiving employment insurance benefits shall be entitled to receive pay and/or top-up benefits for up to fifty (50) teaching days. 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
7. 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 entitled to receive the top-up benefits once they have been employed for a period of seven months by the Division.
21.06 Absence for the Purpose of Writing Examinations
With the approval of the Superintendent leave shall be granted to teachers to attend examinations in order to secure a higher certificate or to secure university standing. The Superintendent may grant all or a portion of such leave with or without loss of salary.
21.07 Court Appearances
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 in a court action or is summoned for jury duty, provided however, the employee shall remit to the Division any remuneration which the employee may receive because of an appearance in court as a witness or as a juror.
To be eligible for leave with pay an employee is required to submit details of the requirement for jury or witness duty at the earliest possible date.
Any time during regular school hours that an employee is not required to be at court the employee shall be available for duties at the school.
The Division shall act reasonably and fairly in regard to all circumstances. An employee required to attend a court proceeding as a party to that proceeding in relation to the employee’s personal private affairs shall receive a leave of absence without pay for the required absence.
21.08 Application of Teacher Lay off Procedure Article While on Leave
Notwithstanding any other agreement between the Division and teacher while on a leave of absence, a teacher’s continued employment shall be determined in accordance with Article 20 – Lay off Procedure.
21.09 Religious Holy Leave
Teachers shall not absent themselves from duty for reasons of religious holy days without first securing permission from the Superintendent. All requests for such approval shall be made through the principal on the form prescribed.
(a) No deduction from salary shall be made when teachers are absent for observance of religious holy days, up to a maximum of three (3) days per school year.
(b) When teachers are absent for observance of religious holy days in excess of three (3) days per school year a teacher may receive regular salary less the rate for a substitute in the teacher’s salary classification.
(c) The following notification period will apply:
(i) for teachers requiring religious holy leaves prior to October 15th, ten (10) working days’ notice in writing shall be given to the Division, for teachers requiring religious holy days October 15th or later, notice in writing of leave required for that school year shall be given by September 30th.
(i) for those teachers commencing employment with the Division at a time other than the start of the school year and who require religious holy leave, notice in writing, shall be given to the Division within ten (10) working days of active employment.
(d) Where the appropriate notice has not been given to the Division, the Division shall provide religious holy days and that leave, at the Division’s discretion, may be with pay or at regular salary less the rate for a substitute in the teacher’s salary classification, or with one two-hundredths (1/200ths) salary deduction per day. The Division shall act reasonably and fairly having regard to all circumstances.
(e) Religious Holy Leave shall be extended to include individuals teaching in the Adult EAL Program. It is agreed for the purposes of this Article, Religious Holy Days shall be defined as “major religious holy days observed by the teacher and designated as a day of obligation by the teacher’s religion.”
21.10 In the event that an employee is requesting a short term leave of absence which is not otherwise set forth in this Agreement, the Division may grant such leave with or without pay in accordance with its policy, a copy of which is attached hereto as Appendix “B” to this Agreement. This clause is only for the information of the Association membership and an employee should see the Division policy manual for details.