Health Care Members: important info about Leaves of Absence & Vacations

If you are a Heath Care Member covered by the Community Subsector Collective Agreement, you can request a general ‘leave of absence’ (LOA) without pay. After you submit your request, it will be either approved or denied by your employer depending on the availability of other employees who are able to cover your work. (See Article 20.4 of your Collective Agreement.)

Please be aware that if you exceed 20 LOA days within a year, you will be billed for benefits for each day you have gone over. (See Article 20.5 of your Collective Agreement.)

Regular workers are entitled to take vacation time based on years of service. (See Article 18 of your Collective Agreement.)

If you have been denied a general LOA and told you must use your vacation days first (as you have not booked or used them entirely for the year), please call your Union Representative immediately as this is a violation of your rights under the Collective Agreement.