Questions of the Week – October 2024
2024-10-11
Q: A significant cold is going through my family. Am I required to provide a medical note if I can’t work?
A: Employees shall notify their manager if they’re unable to attend work because of injury or illness, according to Article 9.3.2 of the Collective Agreement. Article 9.3.5 of the Collective Agreement states that “[a]fter an Employee has been absent on sick leave for either 10 successive working days, or for 18 working days in a calendar year, then the Employer may require the Employee to provide a statement from the Employee’s personal physician specifying the nature and prognosis of the illness.” The language therefore allows the employer to ask for a statement after 18 sick days in a calendar year or 10 consecutive sick days. With that said, nothing in the contract language compels them to ask for a statement at all.
—
Q: I’ve been invited to a meeting with my manager which seems like it may involve a reprimand. What do I do?
A: We’ve recently republished an essay by Labour Relations Representative Michael Thompson that provides greater detail on this issue. Michael notes “[w]here there is a possibility of discipline, most employers will ensure that the employee has union representation to guard against the discipline imposed (if any) being set aside at a later date by an arbitrator.” If, after reading Michael’s essay, the best course of action remains unclear, please contact us.
2024-10-04
Q: I’m interested in a management selection committee going on in my Department that already has an FSA appointee. Can the FSA appoint me as a non-voting observer?
A: Article 3.f. of the Quad Agreement MemAg (p.142) allows the selection committee (but not the Union) to appoint a non-voting member where additional expertise is needed. It’s up to them to appoint on that basis. On selection committees for FSA members, however, Article 5.2.3.2.1 says that “the Union may sit as an observer on the Selection Committee as full participant except with no vote” (p. 22).
—
Q: Is it possible to regularize as an FSA member at BCIT without an ongoing position? I believe this happened in my Department and I find it very confusing.
A: After an employee regularizes, the employer is obligated to find them a position, even if it is a limited-term contract (in which case the employer would need to find the member additional work thereafter). Regularization is dictated by Article 4.6 (p. 20) of the Collective Agreement and its subclauses. The Article states that “[a]fter two (2) years of employment as a Temporary Employee, an Employee will become a Regular Employee,” then lists four conditions. The last of which, 4.6.1.4, says that regularization will occur “[p]rovided the position or a similar one is to be filled, or the same primary functions or similar functions are to be carried out.” While the employer is obligated to fulfill the duties of regularization, this may not be as simple as a newly regularized worker stepping into the same position they held while on contract.
Leave a reply →