Changes to Sick Leave Provisions for Teachers
In the 2023 collective agreement bargaining round, there were some significant changes to the sick leave provisions for all teachers.
This article provides an overview of these changes and where to go for more information.
The teacher employment agreements set out how much sick leave a teacher can take, whether they can carry sick leave forward, and under what circumstances sick leave can be disregarded.
Entitlement
The basic sick leave entitlement for teachers is ten days a year. An extra entitlement of leave is granted at the start of their teaching service.
There are tables in the collective agreements and online to show you how this works.
If your teacher is not covered by the individual employment agreement linked to the current collective agreement, then their entitlements will continue to be those set out in their existing Individual Employment Agreement.
Anticipation of sick leave
If teaching employees do not use all their sick leave in a year, it can be carried forward.
Under certain circumstances and with approval from your board, a teacher may be allowed to anticipate sick leave from their next year's sick leave allocation.
Disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave means time off for sickness or injury that meets one of the conditions listed in the teaching employment agreement.
This leave, if approved, isn’t deducted from your employee’s sick leave balance.
Your school board cannot approve disregarded sick leave for teachers. It must apply to the Ministry on behalf of your employee.
Fixed term or relieving teachers shall only be granted disregarded sick leave, where they have been in continuous employment before the date of application.
Disregarded sick leave provisions are set out in the teaching collective agreements.
Sick leave entitlement translation
Sick leave entitlements for teachers employed before 28 January 2024 were adjusted in line with the settlement of the collective agreements.
The new sick leave balances for teachers, employed before 28 January 2024 will be the new translated entitlement, less any sick days previously taken.
No teacher would translate to a balance that was less than their balance prior to translation. No teacher will be disadvantaged in the translation of entitlements.
Questions a principal could ask
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Does our leave process reflect the changes in sick leave entitlements for teachers?
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Do we have a process for dealing with requests to anticipate leave?
Templates, resources, and references
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