Attention UW Members: Vacation and Banked Time Use/Carryover
As the end of 2017 is approaching and members of our union may be hearing from their departments in the near future about the use and potential carryover of banked time and vacation, we wanted to ensure our membership know their rights according to their collective agreement.
At The University of Winnipeg, article 14.2 of the collective agreement speaks to vacation time:
- Normally each employee will earn vacation entitlement in one vacation year and take all of that vacation entitlement in the next following vacation year. However, subject to the written approval of the appropriate Manager, up to ten working days of vacation may be taken in advance provided it has been earned, plus up to five working days of vacation may be carried over from the normal vacation year for a combined advance and carryover total of up to fifteen working days of vacation.
- By no later than December 31 of each vacation year, the Employer shall ensure that vacations have been arranged such that all vacation leave will have been taken except for approved carryover.
In other words, an employee may carry over up to 5 unused vacation days from the 2017-18 fiscal year to the 2018-19 fiscal year. However, the employee must let the department know prior to December 31 that they wish to carry over vacation days. For any unused vacation days that will not be carried over, the employee must schedule the use of those vacation days and let their department know of their plans to use it up.
At The University of Winnipeg, article 12.5 and 12.5.1 of the collective agreement speaks to the banking of authorized overtime:
- Provided the needs of the department can be met, the time off will be taken at a time requested by the employee. At any point during the fiscal year all accumulated hours in excess of 112 hours shall be paid.
- Any accumulated hours not received as time off by the fiscal year end shall be paid, or the employer and the employee may mutually agree to have unused accumulated overtime taken off in the following fiscal year.
In other words, it is up to an employee to decide when they want to use their banked time during the year. If they do not use up their banked hours by March 31, they will be paid out for them unless the employee, with permission of their department head, chooses to carry over their amount of banked hours into the 2018-19 fiscal year. It is important to note that the decision to use banked time is at the request of the employee. Your department cannot require you to use banked time (to reduce your bank) before using vacation time, or vice versa.
If you find yourself in a situation where the above policies are not being adhered to, please do not hesitate to contact the AESES office for assistance. We can be reached via email at aeses@aeses.ca or by phone at 204-949-5200.