Item 8 – General Leaves

Application for general leaves must be approved by the supervisor, and then forwarded to Connection Point for processing. Some leaves will be granted automatically as per the university’s policies and provincial employment standards, and others may be granted if the request is reasonable, the leave is not unduly disruptive to the operations of the unit, and it is possible to replace the employee on a temporary basis. Refer to The Saskatchewan Employment Act for additional unpaid leaves of absence that are provided for under the provincial employment standards. Casual employees are not entitled to leaves.

a) Notice is required at least four weeks in advance and longer where possible (e.g., parental leave).  Requests for leaves must be approved by the supervisor and forwarded for processing as appropriate. Some types of leaves will automatically be approved based on university policy and provincial employment standards. Exceptions to the four-week notice requirement can be made when the date of departure is not and cannot reasonably be known, and includes bereavement leave, compassionate care leave, interpersonal violence leave, critically ill child care leave, crime-related child death or disappearance leave and citizenship ceremony leave.

b) Continuation of Benefits through a leave can be arranged by an employee with Connection Point when eligible. The university’s costs of benefit coverage during any paid leavewill be paid by the university subject to any restrictions imposed by legislation or the benefit plan. The university’s costs of benefit coverage during any (full or partial) will be paid by the employee, unless stated otherwise in the leave section. The benefit coverage is subject to any restrictions imposed by legislation or the benefit plan.

There will be no continuation of part time benefits for any type of leave. Employees who are provided part time benefit coverage must be actively at work during a month in order to be covered by the benefits plan for that month.

c) Leaves are not normally granted for employees to pursue alternate employment, although special circumstances may receive consideration.

Types of General Leaves are described below, and managers and employees are encouraged to reach out to their HR SBA for assistance.

Personal Leave (paid)

Employees are entitled to paid leave to attend to emergent, personal, or family situations for a maximum of three (3) days per year. This leave is intended for situations that need to be attended to but may not normally be scheduled in advance. It is not considered an automatic annual entitlement nor is it cumulative. In emergent situations, the employee will inform their supervisor as soon as possible regarding the need to take such a leave, including start and end dates. In non-emergent situations, the employee and the supervisor will consult in advance to determine how the request might be accommodated.

Unpaid Leaves

Maternity, adoption or parental leave

For parents who are caring for a newborn or recently adopted child as outlined below:

1. Maternity Leave – employees who declare in writing to Human Resources to be the biological mother of a newborn infant are entitled to seventeen (17) weeks of maternity leave without pay. The leave may commence at any time during the twelve (12) week period prior to the infant’s estimated date of birth and shall be of uninterrupted duration. A medical certificate from a qualified medical practitioner must be provided with the written declaration. The certificate must confirm the pregnancy and give the estimated date of birth.
2. Adoption Leave – employees who declare to be caring for a recently adopted child are entitled to seventeen (17) weeks of leave without pay. The employee is normally required to make application to Human Resources at least four (4) weeks prior to the date of adoption. If the employee cannot give four (4) weeks’ notice, the university will accept as much notice as is given to the adoptive parents by the Department of Social Services.
3. Parental Leave – employees who qualified for maternity or adoption leave or who declare to be the parent of a newborn infant or of an adopted child are also entitled to thirty-five (35) weeks of parental leave without pay. The maternity/adoption and parental leaves must be taken in one continuous period.

Bereavement

Bereavement leave allows employees up to five (5) days of unpaid leave in situations of the death or life-threatening illness of a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, or other person who would ordinarily be considered a member of the employee’s immediate Family. Employees should notify their supervisor at their earliest convenience.

Compassionate care 

Compassionate care leaves allow employees unpaid time off for personal reasons such as the care of a family member. Permission should be obtained from the supervisor prior to taking such leave so that arrangements can be made to carry on with the employee’s duties during the absence. Upon receipt of written application for the leave, the supervisor, taking the particular circumstances of the situation into consideration, will authorize the leave with or without pay and benefits. Employees are entitled to up to 28 unpaid weeks for compassionate care of an immediate family member. Any additional time or details shall be arranged between an employee and the supervisor. Leaves will be approved based on operational requirements and will not be unreasonably denied.

Education

Education leaves are normally unpaid, are to a maximum of one (1) year, are subject to approval by the supervisor, and will be granted if the leave is not unduly disruptive to the operations of the unit, and it is possible to replace the employee on a temporary basis.

Other 

Leave of absence without pay may be granted to enable employees to spend time away from the university. Such leaves are subject to approval by the supervisor, and will be granted if the leave is not unduly disruptive to the operations of the unit, and it is possible to replace the employee on a temporary basis. Such leaves may be granted for up to a maximum of one (1) year. Unpaid leaves of a longer duration require support of the supervisor and the associate vice-president of Human Resources.

Unpaid Leaves (automatically granted)

Unpaid leaves that are granted automatically based on university policy and provincial employment standards include:

• Organ donation
• Reserve Force service
• Court attendance
• Leave to hold political office
• Critically ill childcare
• Interpersonal violence
• Crime-related child death or disappearance.

Additional information about these leaves is available in the Saskatchewan Employment Act.