FYI

FYI – Overnight Field Trip LOU

For those to whom it would be useful:

We have a Letter of Understanding with the school district that governs overnight field trips. These are the standards it lays out:

  • If it has been determined necessary for a CUPE employee to go on an overnight trip, the opportunity should be offered to employees in order of seniority, first only to CUPE employees on site, and if all of them turn it down, to all CUPE employees.
  • While on the trip, the worker will earn their normal wage for their current job classification. They will be paid for a minimum of 14 hours per day with no overtime.
  • If an emergency requires the employee to work more than 14 hours per day, they will be paid time-and-a-half for any additional hours.

FYI – “No Unpaid Work”

At this time of year, there are many requests for our members to volunteer their time after work. Here is a relevant line from the K-12 President’s Council’s Provincial Framework Agreement; the document that lays out a province-wide standard for school support workers:

In accordance with the Employment Standards Act, no employee shall be required or permitted to perform unpaid hours of work.

We hope this is helpful. Have a wonderful holiday season!

FYI – Vacation

The amount of vacation time each CUPE476 member is entitled to each year is determined by the number of years they have worked for the school district:

  • Less than 1 year: 0.834 days per month
  • After 1 year: 2 weeks per year
  • After 2 years: 3 weeks per year
  • After 7 years: 4 weeks per year
  • After 15 years: 5 weeks per year
  • After 20 years: 6 weeks per year

The amount an employee is entitled to is based on 2% of their previous year’s earnings per week. This does not include income not paid by the district (LIF funds are exempt, for example) (Collective Agreement, Section 22.01).

In addition, starting on their tenth year of service and every five years after that, the employee will receive a single week of supplementary vacation (22.02).

Broadly speaking, CUPE476 members can be divided into twelve-month and ten-month workers, with ten-month workers being laid off at the end of the school year. Both groups of workers are entitled to vacation time. however, due to the nature of our work, the way those vacations are distributed is different.

  • Twelve-month employees can take vacations throughout the year, they must request time off for vacations one month in advance.
  • Ten-month employees are paid out for their vacation time on each paycheque, and are expected to take their vacation during the breaks in the school year. This restriction does not apply to supplementary vacation.