Leave of Absence

18.01 In the event of a leave of absence without salary, the Resident may continue to pay for his or her own contributions during the leave.

18.02 Pregnancy Leave

18.01 (a) The Employer shall not terminate the employment of a Resident because of her pregnancy. Residents who miss time because of pregnancy and delivery shall be given an opportunity to fulfil educational requirements by making up time lost at prevailing salary rates.

18.01 (b) A pregnant Resident, is entitled to an unpaid leave of absence of up to seventeen (17) weeks, subject to the provisions regarding Pregnancy Leave Allowance set out below.

18.01 (c) A Resident shall, no later than the fifth (5th) month of pregnancy, forward to the Employer a written request for pregnancy leave.

18.01 (d) The Employer may, prior to approving such leave, request a certificate from a legally qualified medical practitioner stating that the Resident is pregnant and specifying the expected date of delivery.

18.01 (e) Pregnancy leave shall begin on such date as the Resident determines, but not sooner than sixteen (16) weeks preceding the expected date of delivery, and not later than the date of delivery.

18.01 (f) Pregnancy leave shall end on such date as the Resident determines, but not sooner than one (1) week after the date of delivery, and not later than seventeen (17) weeks after the pregnancy leave began.

18.01 (g) A pregnant Resident shall provide the Employer with at least four (4) weeks’ notice of the date she will begin her pregnancy leave. Such notice may be amended from time to time by the employee:

(i) by changing any date in the notice to an earlier date if the notice is amended at least two (2) weeks before that earlier date;
(ii) by changing any date in the notice to a later date if the notice is amended at least two (2) weeks before the original date.

18.01 (h) A Resident shall endeavor to provide the Employer with four (4) weeks’ notice, and in any event, shall not provide less than two (2) weeks’ notice of the date the Resident will return to work on completion of the pregnancy leave, unless the Resident gives notice pursuant to Article 18.03(f).

18.01 (i) Where notice as required under Article 18.01(g) or 18.01(h) is not possible due to circumstances beyond the control of the Resident, the Resident shall provide the Employer as much notice as reasonably practicable of the commencement of her leave or her return to work.

18.01 (j) If a pregnant Resident cannot reasonably perform the duties of her position or the performance of the Resident’s work is materially affected, she shall be granted sick leave in accordance with the provisions of Article 18.06 until she delivers, unless the Employer can reasonably modify the Resident’s duties for the period required or temporarily reassign the Resident to alternate duties or another classification. Maritime Resident Doctors shall support any modification of duties or temporary re-assignment as provided in this provision.

18.01 (k) Where a Resident reports for work upon the expiration of the period referred to in Article 18.01(f), the Resident shall resume work in the same position she held prior to the commencement of the pregnancy leave, with no loss of status or benefits accrued to the commencement of the pregnancy leave.

18.01 (l) A Resident on pregnancy leave, parental leave or adoption leave may continue his or her medical, extended health and any other benefit plan coverage provided he or she continues to pay for his or her contributions during the leave.

18.01 (m) While on pregnancy leave, a Resident shall continue to accrue and accumulate service and seniority credits for the duration of her leave, and her service and seniority shall be deemed to be continuous.

18.01 (n) Leave for illness of an employee arising out of or associated with the Resident’s pregnancy prior to the commencement of, or the ending of, pregnancy leave granted in accordance with Article 18.01(b), may be granted sick leave in accordance with the provisions of Article 18.06.

18.02 Pregnancy Leave Allowance

18.02 (a) A Resident entitled to pregnancy leave under the provisions of this Agreement, who provides the Employer with proof that she has applied for, and is eligible to receive employment insurance (E.I.) benefits pursuant to Section 22, Employment Insurance Act, S.C. 1996, c.23, shall be paid an allowance in accordance with the Supplementary Employment Benefits (S.E.B.).

(b) In respect to the period of pregnancy leave, payments made according to the S.E.B. Plan will consist of the following:

(i) Where the Resident is subject to a waiting period of two (2) weeks one (1) week before receiving E.I. benefits, payments equivalent to seventy-five per cent (75%) of her weekly rate of pay, less any other deductions received by the Resident during the benefit period;
(ii) Where the Resident has served the one (1) week waiting period in Article 18.02 (b)(i), one additional payment equivalent to the difference between the weekly E.I. benefit the employee is eligible to receive and ninety-three (93) percent of their weekly rate of pay, less any other earnings received by the employee during the benefit period which may result in a decrease in the E.I. benefits to which the employee would have been eligible if no other earnings had been received during that period.
(iii) where the Resident has served the one (1) week waiting period in (i), up to a maximum of five (5) additional weeks, payments equivalent to the difference between the weekly E.I. benefits the Resident is eligible to receive and ninety-three per cent (93%) of her weekly rate of pay, less any other earnings received by the Resident during the benefit period which may result in a decrease in the E.I. benefits to which the Resident would have been eligible if no other earnings had been received during the period.
(iv) It is understood that employees entitled to the seven (7) weeks Pregnancy Leave Allowance as provided in this article may be eligible for an additional Parental Leave Allowance which combined with the Pregnancy Leave Allowance may result in eligibility up to a maximum of seventeen (17) weeks allowance.

(c) For the purpose of this allowance, a Resident’s weekly rate of pay will be one-half (1/2) the bi-weekly rate of pay to which the Resident is entitled for her classification on the date immediately preceding the commencement of her pregnancy leave. In the case of a part-time Resident, such weekly rate of pay will be multiplied by the fraction obtained from dividing the Resident’s time worked (as defined for the purpose of accumulating service) averaged over the preceding twenty-six (26) weeks by the regularly scheduled full-time hours of work for the Resident’s classification.

(d) Where a Resident becomes eligible for a salary increment or pay increase during the benefit period, benefits under the S.E.B. plan will be adjusted accordingly.

(e) The Employer will not reimburse the employee for any amount she is required to remit to Human Resources Development Canada, where her annual income exceeds one and one-half (1 ½) times the maximum yearly insurable earnings under the Employment Insurance Act.

18.03 Parental Leave

18.03 (a) A Resident who becomes a parent for one or more children through the birth of the child or children is entitled to an unpaid leave of absence of up to seventy-eight (78) weeks.

18.03 (b) Where a resident takes pregnancy leave pursuant to Article 18.01 and the Resident’s new born child or children arrive in the home of the Resident during pregnancy leave, parental leave begins immediately upon completion of the pregnancy leave and without the Resident returning to work and ends not later than sixty-one (61) weeks after the parental leave began.

18.03 (c) Where a Resident did not take pregnancy leave pursuant to Article 19.06, parental leave begins on such date as determined by the Resident, coinciding with or after the birth of the child or children first arriving in the home of the Resident, and ends not later than thirty-five (35) weeks after the parental leave begins or seventy-eight (78) weeks after the child or children first arrive in the home of the Resident, whichever is earlier.

18.03 (d) Notwithstanding Article 18.03(b) or (c), where a Resident has begun parental leave, and the child to whom the parental leave relates is hospitalized for a period exceeding, or likely to exceed one (1) week, the Resident is entitled to return to and resume work in the position held immediately before the leave began. The Resident is entitled to only one (1) interruption and deferral of each parental leave.

18.03 (e) The Resident shall give the Employer two (2) weeks notice of the date the Resident will begin parental leave.

18.03 (f) The Resident shall give the Employer two (2) weeks notice of the date the Resident will return to work upon completion of the parental leave.

18.03 (g) Where a Resident reports for work upon the expiration of the period referred to in Article 18.03, the Resident shall resume work in the same position he or she held prior to the commencement of the parental leave.

18.03 (h) While on parental leave a Resident shall continue to accrue and accumulate service and seniority credits for the duration of his or her leave, and his or her service and seniority shall be deemed to be continuous.

18.03 (i) The Resident shall have the option of maintaining the benefit plans in which the Resident participated prior to the commencement of the Resident’s parental leave.

18.03 (j) The Employer shall notify the Resident of the option and the date beyond which the option referred to in Article 18.03(i) may no longer be exercised at least ten
(10) days prior to the last day on which the option could be exercised to avoid an interruption of benefits.

18.04 Parental Leave Allowance

18.04 (a) A Resident entitled to parental leave under the provisions of this Agreement, who provides the Employer with proof that she has applied for and is eligible to receive employment insurance (E.I.) benefits pursuant to the Employment Insurance Act, 1996, shall be paid an allowance in accordance with the Supplementary Employment Benefit (S.E.B.) Plan.

(b) In respect to the period of parental leave, payments made according to the S.E.B. Plan will consist of the following:

(i) Where the Resident is subject to a waiting period of one (1) week before receiving E.I. benefits, one payment equivalent to seventy-five percent (75%) of her weekly rate of pay, less any other earnings received by the Resident during the benefit period;
(ii) Where the Resident has served the one (1) week waiting period in Article 18.04 (b)(i), one additional payment equivalent to the difference between the weekly E.I. benefit the employee is eligible to receive and ninety-three (93) percent of their weekly rate of pay, less any other earnings received by the employee during the benefit period which may result in a decrease in the E.I. benefits to which the employee would have been eligible if no other earnings had been received during that period.
(iii) Up to a maximum of ten (10) additional weeks, payments equivalent to the difference between the weekly Standard E.I. benefits the employee is eligible to receive and ninety-three per cent (93%) of her weekly rate of pay, less any other earnings received by the employee during the benefit period which may result in a decrease in the E.I. benefits to which the Resident would have been eligible if no other earnings had been received during the period.
(iv) Where the employer is in receipt of Extended E.I. benefits, the payments will be equivalent to the difference between the Weekly Standard E.I. benefit the employee would have been eligible to receive and ninety-three percent (93%) of the employee's weekly rate of pay.
(v) For the purposes of this article, "Standard E.I. Parental Benefits" means the E.I. benefits paid to an employee who is taking a parental leave of up to thirty-five (35) weeks and "Extended E.I. Parental Benefits" means the E.I. benefits paid to an employee who is taking a parental leave of greater than thirty-five (35) weeks.

(c) For the purposes of this allowance, a Resident’s weekly rate of pay will be one half the bi-weekly rate of pay to which the employee is entitled for her classification on the day immediately preceding the commencement of the parental leave. In the case of a Part-Time Resident, such weekly rate of pay will be multiplied by the fraction obtained from dividing the Resident’s time worked (as defined for the purpose of accumulating service) averaged over the preceding twenty-six (26) weeks by the regularly scheduled full-time hours of work for the Resident’s classification.

(d) Where a Resident becomes eligible for a salary increment or pay increase during the benefit period, payments under the SEB Plan will be adjusted accordingly.

(e) The Employer will not reimburse the Resident for any amount she is required to remit to Human Resources Development Canada where her annual income exceeds one and one-half (1 ½) times the maximum yearly insurable earnings under the Employment Insurance Act.

18.05 Adoption Leave

18.05 (a) A Resident who has been employed with the Employer for at least one (1) year, who becomes a parent for one or more children through the placement of the child or children in the care of the employee for the purposes of adoption of the child or children pursuant to the law of the Province is entitled to an unpaid leave of absence of up to seventy-eight (78) weeks, or more, if required by the adoption agency.

18.05 (b) The Employer shall require a Resident who requests Adoption Leave pursuant to Article 18.04(a)to submit a certificate from an official in the Department of Community Services, or equivalent, to establish the entitlement of the employee to the Adoption Leave.

18.05 (c) Adoption leave begins on such date as determined by the Resident, coinciding with the child or children first arriving in the home of the Resident, and ends not later than thirty-five (35) weeks after the adoption leave begins or seventy-eight (78) weeks after the child or children first arrive in the home of the Resident, whichever is earlier.

18.05 (d) Notwithstanding Article 18.04(b), where a Resident has begun adoption leave, and the child to whom the adoption leave relates is hospitalized for a period exceeding, or likely to exceed one (1) week, the Resident is entitled to return to and resume work in the position held immediately before the leave began. The resident is entitled to only one (1) interruption and deferral of each adoption leave.

18.05 (e) The Resident shall give the Employer two (2) weeks notice of the date the Resident will begin adoption leave.

18.05 (f) The Resident shall give the Employer two (2) weeks notice of the date the Resident will return to work upon completion of the adoption leave.

18.05 (g) Where a Resident reports for work upon the expiration of the period referred to in Article 18.04(a) the Resident shall resume work in the same position he or she held prior to the commencement of the adoption leave.

18.05 (h) While on adoption leave, a Resident shall continue to accrue and accumulate service and seniority credits for the duration of his or her leave, and his or her service and seniority shall be deemed to be continuous.

18.06 Adoption Leave Allowance

18.06 (a) A Resident entitled to adoption leave under the provisions of this Agreement, who provides the Employer with proof that he or she has applied for and is eligible to receive employment insurance (E.I.) benefits pursuant to the Employment Insurance Act, 1996, shall be paid an allowance in accordance with the Supplementary Employment Benefit (SEB) Plan.

(b) In respect to the period of adoption leave, payments made according to the SEB Plan will consist of the following:

(i) Where the Resident is subject to a waiting period of one (1) week before receiving E.I. benefits, payments equivalent to seventy-five percent (75%) of her weekly rate of pay, less any other earnings received by the Resident during the benefit period;
(ii) Where the Resident has served the one (1) week waiting period in Article 18.04 (b)(i), one additional payment equivalent to the difference between the weekly E.I. benefit the employee is eligible to receive and ninety-three (93) percent of their weekly rate of pay, less any other earnings received by the employee during the benefit period which may result in a decrease in the E.I. benefits to which the employee would have been eligible if no other earnings had been received during that period.
(iii) Up to a maximum of ten (10) additional weeks, payments equivalent to the difference between the weekly Standard E.I. benefits the employee is eligible to receive and ninety-three per cent (93%) of his or her weekly rate of pay, less any other earnings received by the employee during the benefit period which may result in a decrease in the E.I. benefits to which the Resident would have been eligible if no other earnings had been received during the period.
(iv) Where the employee is in receipt of Extended E.I. benefits, the payments will be equivalent to the difference between the Weekly Standard E.I. benefit the employee would have been eligible to receive and ninety-three (93%) of the employee's weekly rate of pay.

(c) For the purposes of this allowance, a Resident’s weekly rate of pay will be one- half the bi-weekly rate of pay to which the employee is entitled for his or her classification on the day immediately preceding the commencement of the adoption leave. In the case of a Part-Time Resident, such weekly rate of pay will be multiplied by the fraction obtained from dividing the Resident’s time worked (as defined for the purpose of accumulating service) averaged over the preceding twenty-six (26) weeks by the regularly scheduled full-time hours of work for the Resident’s classification.

(d) Where a Resident becomes eligible for a salary increment or pay increase during the benefit period, payments under the SUB Plan will be adjusted accordingly.

(e) The Employer will not reimburse the Resident for any amount he or she is required to remit to Human Resources Development Canada where his or her annual income exceeds one and one-half (1 ½) times the maximum yearly insurable earnings under the Employment Insurance Act.

18.06 (A) Resident Parental and Adoption Leave

During the term of the current collective agreement between Maritime Resident Doctors and the Employer the following provisions shall apply:

(i) A Resident is entitled to leave for seven (7) consecutive calendar days without loss of pay following the birth of his or her child. The Resident shall be responsible for giving as much notice as is reasonable and possible to ensure that professional and patient care responsibilities are met.
(ii) A Resident is entitled to leave for seven (7) consecutive calendar days without loss of pay at the time of the adoption of a child. The Resident shall be responsible for giving as much notice as is reasonable and possible to ensure that professional and patient care responsibilities are met.

18.07 Sick Leave

Residents are entitled to up to ninety (90) working days [eighteen (18) calendar weeks] of sick leave per annum without loss of salary. For greater certainty, Residents are entitled to up to ninety (90) working days (eighteen (18) calendar weeks) of sick leave per year. For the purpose of this Article alone, a year shall commence July 1. Educational requirements not met will be made up at the discretion of the program director of the Resident’s own Program. A Resident who is on sick leave at the end of his/her residency program shall be able to complete the balance of his/her sick leave for such illness notwithstanding the termination of the period of residency. The Employer may require reasonable proof of illness for any period claimed. The Employer may require a resident to provide an Attending Physician’s Report for any period of illness or injury that exceeds five (5) days.

18.08 Bereavement Leave

18.08 (a) In the event of a death in the immediate family, a Resident shall be granted up to seven (7) calendar days of leave of absence without loss of pay for the purpose of attending the funeral and other matters related to the deceased effective the date the death occurs.

18.08 (b) For the purpose of this Article, immediate family shall include: parent, spouse, brother, sister, child, legal guardian/ward, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild.

18.08 (c) In the event of the death of a son-in-law or daughter-in-law, a resident shall be given one (1) day leave of absence without loss of pay for the purpose of attending the funeral. An additional two (2) consecutive days of travel time shall be provided without loss of salary if the Resident must travel outside the base in which he/she is stationed, to attend the funeral.

18.08 (d) Special circumstances may be reviewed by the program director of the Resident’s own Program and dealt with as special leave under this Agreement.

18.09 Educational Leave

In addition to vacation, Residents are eligible for up to seven (7) days leave with pay for education opportunities (e.g. to attend conferences, seminars, or fellowship interviews, etc.). This shall not be deducted from vacation entitlement and shall be determined in consultation with the program director of the Resident's own Program. Days in addition to this entitlement may be granted in consultation and with the approval of the Program Director of the Residents own program.

18.10 (a) Each Resident shall be entitled to leave without loss of regular pay for the purpose of taking any Canadian professional certification examination; for example Royal College examinations, CFPC. This leave shall include the exam date(s) and reasonable traveling time to and from the site of the examination. This leave shall not be deducted from vacation leave. Arrangements to take such leave are to be made in consultation with the Program Director of the Resident’s own Program.

(b) A Resident writing the CFPC exams shall be granted seven (7) consecutive days without on-call or clinical duties, immediately prior to sitting the exam. A Resident writing the Royal College exams shall be granted eight (8) days in two blocks of four (4) consecutive days in order to study for qualifying or licensure examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Arrangements to take such leave are to be made in consultation with the Program Director of the Resident’s own Program.

18.11 Unpaid Leave

Subject to any legislated restriction, if any unpaid leave is legislated or instituted by government and applies to Residents, the Resident may take this leave at a time agreed upon by the Resident and the program director of the Resident’s own Program.

18.12 Special Leave

Where in the opinion of the Resident’s Program Director circumstances are warranted, he or she may recommend to the Employer that it provide special leave with or without pay to a Resident. Upon the Program Director’s recommendation, such leave will not be unreasonably withheld.

Leave with pay may be granted for family illness, emergencies which cannot be served by others or attended to by the employee during off duty, or medical/dental appointments.

One (1) day per four (4) months of active service (prorated for part time Residents) of paid floating leave will be granted per year. Requests for floating leave will be made to the Program Director with as much notice as possible. This leave will not be carried over or paid out if it is not used.