In this semi-regular section of the newsletter, we’ll take a deeper dive into your collective agreement, and explain some of the most commonly misunderstood articles. Your collective agreement is your best protection in the workplace, and so it’s all the more important to understand your rights. Let’s dive in!
In this edition, we’ll be looking at leave with pay for family-related responsibilities. Here are the corresponding articles which cover this kind of leave, depending on your employer and collective agreement:
CFIA – article 46
Treasury Board PA – article 44
Treasury Board SV – article 46
Treasury Board TC – article 47
Treasury Board EB – article 22.13
Even though the article numbers differ from one collective agreement to another, all the provisions are essentially the same.
Myth vs reality
Myth: In order to take family-related leave, it must be to care for either a blood relative or spouse.
Reality: All of our collective agreements have a stipulation under the family leave article which states that “family” can also be defined as “a person who stands in the place of a relative for the employee whether or not there is any degree of consanguinity between such person and the employee”. As an example, this could be someone who stands in the place of a mother, such as an aunt, a cousin or even a friend fulfilling this role, and the person need not reside with you.
Myth: The collective agreements grants the employer discretion to deny any family-related leave request.
Reality: Our collective agreements state that “the Employer shall grant leave with pay under the following circumstances [emphasis added]” and then goes on to list the circumstances under which family-related leave with pay must be granted. If your request meets one of the circumstances (e.g. “to provide for the employee’s child in the case of an unforeseeable closure of the school or daycare facility”), the employer does not have the discretion to deny the request.
Myth: It is reasonable for the employer to ask any question they want regarding your leave request.
Reality: There are reasonable and unreasonable questions that the employer may ask. Examples of reasonable questions from the employer include “which family member is the leave for?” and “how long will the leave be?”. Unreasonable questions include “have you looked for alternate options for care?” or asking for medical information of the family member you are caring for. (Of course, some exceptional circumstances might justify the employer probing for additional information, such as in the case of a member who has committed time fraud in the past.)
Additionally, we want to draw your attention to an interesting and useful clause in our collective agreements. You have the right to a certain number of hours per year (typically 15 hours of paid leave from the total number of hours allotted for family-related leave) to use in order to consult a professional. Our collective agreements stipulate that this could be a legal or paralegal representative (for non-employment related matters), a financial professional, or “other professional representative”. This last title leaves some room for flexibility in terms of the type of professional consulted, so that this clause could also potentially be used to meet with a real estate agent or a professional home contractor, for example.
(Tip: check the exact wording of your collective agreement to find out how many hours you’re entitled to here by doing a control+F search of “professional representative”.)
As a worker, and as a union member, your collective agreement is a powerful tool. It is important to understand it, but more importantly, to take advantage of the benefits and rights it affords you. After all, these are rights that were fought for and won by people just like you.
When in doubt, you can always get in touch with a Local Union representative with questions concerning your collective agreement.
We hope you have enjoyed this new segment in our monthly newsletter, and we’ll be back with more soon!