Bereavement Leave

Employees who experience the death of a family member as defined below shall be entitled to five (5) working days of bereavement leave with pay.

Family, for the purposes of bereavement leave, means father, mother (or alternatively stepfather, stepmother, or foster parent), brother (including step-brother), sister (including step-sister), spouse (including common-law partner spouse employee with the Employee), child (including child of common-law partner), stepchild or ward of the Employee, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, the grandparents, any person over whom the Employee has legal responsibility, any other person who would ordinarily be considered a member of the employee’s immediate family, and any person permanently residing in the Employee’s household or with whom the Employee permanently resides.

It is recognized by the parties that the circumstances which call for leave in respect of bereavement are based on individual circumstances. On request, the Employer may, after considering the particular circumstances involved, grant leave with or without pay for a period greater than and/or in a manner different than that provided above, and such request shall not be unreasonably denied.

Religious Observance Leave

The Employer will make every reasonable effort to accommodate the interests of employees in the observation of their religious holidays, which are in addition to the holidays provided for in Article 28.01.

Where there is a conflict between an Employee’s scheduled work and the Employee’s observance of the religious holiday, the Employee, in consultation with their Faculty Supervisor, shall be allowed to reschedule their work.

Compassionate Care Leave

An employee may be eligible for compassionate care leave in accordance with the terms of The Saskatchewan Employment Act to provide care or support to a member of the employee’s family who has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death.

Jury Leave

Employees summoned for jury service shall be entitled to a leave of absence without loss of pay or benefits, sufficient for the purpose of the discharge of the Employee’s jury duties.

Remuneration paid to the Employee by the court must be remitted to the University within thirty (30) days of receipt.

Union Leave

1. Employees participating during normal work hours in a grievance meeting, Occupational Health and Safety meeting, a Joint Committee meeting with the Employer, or any other meeting called by the Employer, shall not be considered to be on leave.
2. Subject to operational requirements, the Employer shall grant Union leave without pay in order to serve the Union. The Employer shall recognize a negotiating team consisting of up to three (3) Employees.
3. Employees who are members of the negotiating team shall not lose pay during any negotiating meetings with the Employer, or during a reasonable number of preparatory meetings, held during the Employee’s regular working hours.
4. Effective January 16, 2019, the Employer will provide annually to the Union an amount equivalent to a quarter of the pay of one Post-doctoral Fellow at the base rate to compensate members of the union for conducting executive business.

Maternity, Adoption and Parental Leaves

An employee shall qualify for maternity/adoption/parental leave (leave of absence without pay) after 13 weeks continuous employment with the University of Saskatchewan.

Maternity Leave

A member who declares in writing to Human Resources to be the biological mother of a newborn infant is entitled to eighteen (18) consecutive weeks of maternity leave without pay.

The member is required to apply for this leave at least four (4) weeks prior to the expected commencement of the leave.

The leave must commence on the date of the infant’s birth or at any time during the twelve (12) weeks period prior to the infant’s estimated date of birth and shall be of uninterrupted duration.

The member must provide a certificate from a qualified medical practitioner to Human Resources. The certificate must confirm the pregnancy and give the estimated date of birth.

Adoption Leave

A member who declares in writing to Human Resources to be the adoptive parent of an adopted child is entitled to eighteen (18) consecutive weeks of adoptive leave without pay.

The member is required to apply for this leave at least four (4) weeks prior to the expected date the member begins to care for the child (“care date”). If the member cannot give four (4) weeks notice, the University will accept as much notice as is given to the adoptive parents by Saskatchewan Social Services.

The leave must commence on the care date, or at any time during the twelve (12) week period prior to the estimated care date, and shall be of uninterrupted duration. The member must provide official confirmation of custody to Human Resources.

Parental Leave for Parents who took leave under 31.09 or 31.10

A member who qualified for maternity or adoption leave is also entitled to thirty-four (34) consecutive weeks of parental leave without pay.

The parental leave is in conjunction with the maternity or adoption leave and must be taken in one continuous period.

Parental Leave for Parents other than those described in 31.09 and 31.10

A member who did not qualify for maternity or adoptive leave and who declares to be the parent of a newborn infant or of an adopted child is entitled to thirty-seven (37) consecutive weeks of parental leave without pay.

The member is required to apply for this leave at least four (4) weeks prior to the commencement of the leave or as soon as possible in extenuating circumstances. The leave may commence at any time during the twelve (12) week period prior to the estimated date of the infant’s birth or the day the child comes into the member’s care and must be completed within fifty-two (52) weeks from the estimated date of the infant’s birth or the day the child comes into the member’s care. This leave shall be of uninterrupted duration.

The member must provide official confirmation of the infant’s birth or an official confirmation of custody of the adopted child to Human Resources.

Length and timing of the leave shall be consistent with the provisions in The Saskatchewan Employment Act.

Supplemental Benefits Plan

After twelve (12) months of continuous service, a member who qualifies for a leave as defined under Article 31.09, 31.10, 31.11 or 31.12 and is in receipt of Employment Insurance (EI) benefits is eligible to receive supplemental benefits. The Employer will provide a supplemental benefit of 95% (inclusive of EI) of weekly earnings (based on his/her pre-leave earnings) for a period of up to fifteen (15) weeks (including the 1 week waiting period) for Post-doctoral Fellows and for a period of up to twenty-one (21) weeks (including the 1 week waiting period) for Research Associates. In no case will the total amount of supplemental benefits, employment gross benefits, and any other employment earnings received by the member exceed 95% of the member’s regular weekly earnings (based on his/her pre-leave earnings).

Eligible employees as per Article 31.13 in receipt of extended parental EI benefits, shall receive supplemental benefits in the dollar amount equivalent to what they would have received during a twelve (12) month leave with standard EI benefits.

Benefit Coverage

During receipt of supplemental benefits, the University shall pay its respective shares of the cost of continuing benefit coverage. During the unpaid portion of the leave, the member will be eligible to continue their benefits by paying the full cost of the benefits coverage, unless prohibited by the benefit plan.

Breastfeeding

In the event that a female employee wished to breastfeed her infant at work, and provided the worksite is in an appropriate location as determined by the employee and the manager, the employee shall be allowed time off with pay for up to one (1) hour per day for this purpose, provided she has received approval from the appropriate manager. This arrangement may be provided for a maximum of six (6) months in duration.

Maternity-related Reassignment

The Employer shall modify the job functions of an employee who is pregnant or nursing during the period from the beginning of pregnancy to the end of the fifty-second (52^nd) week following the birth if any of her current functions may pose a risk to her health or the health of the fetus or child. At the request of the employer, employees must provide medical information substantiating the need for modification of job functions.

Other Leave

In addition to the leaves outlined in this Article, the Employer may grant leaves of absence with or without pay to Employees for legitimate personal reasons. Requests for such leaves shall not be unreasonably denied.