Personal Leave of Absence Policy

  1. POLICY

  • (a) Unless another specific leave of absence policy applies, employees on the active payroll may apply for a personal leave of absence at any time and this policy will apply. Before being eligible for a personal leave of absence, an employee is required to exhaust any time off in lieu of overtime or accrued vacation. The employee’s manager and/or the [General Manager] in their sole discretion may or may not grant personal leave. All requests for personal leave are deemed to be for personal reasons.
  • (b) The manager will judge the requests for leave on their merit having regard to following considerations:
    • The impact of the employee’s absence on operations;
    • The number of employees in the same department who are on vacation, leave who are anticipated will take vacation or leave during the same period;
    • The purpose of the leave;
    • The performance and length of service of the employee;
    • The frequency of such requests.

Leaves granted shall be without pay.

  • (c) Prior to responding to a request for personal leave, the manager shall consult with the [General Manager] or a designated nominee, for guidance in order that consistent and fair treatment may be assured.
  • (a) Unless specified otherwise herein, insured employee benefits programs are discontinued for the duration of any personal leave at [the end of the month in which the leave commenced.]
  • (b) Employees may make appropriate arrangements, in advance to [maintain] the following:
    • insured benefit plans related to life insurance accidental health and/or dental benefits beyond the period specified in paragraph 1.02 (a) by prepaying the necessary premiums, including the employer’s share, if any, prior to the commencement of the leave. The above stipulations must be permitted and approved by the benefits provider in the first instance.
  • A request for Personal Leave will not be granted if:
    • The purpose is to work for another employer; and
    • To serve a jail term.

  1. PURPOSE

  • The purpose of this Statement of Policy and Procedure is to:
    • Outline types of personal leave of absence that might be approved; and
    • Establish guidelines for the handling of such requests for personal leaves of absence.

  1. SCOPE

  • All Non-union employees are bound by this Statement of Policy and Procedure.

  1. RESPONSIBILITY

  • Managers are responsible as follows:
    • To respond to any request in a timely fashion;
    • To obtain any supporting documentation with respect to the reasons for the leave;
    • To notify Payroll of any approval requests for leave.
  • Employees are responsible as follows:
    • To submit their request for leave as soon as possible;
    • To obtain any supporting documentation with respect to the reason for leave. See Attachment A for this purpose.

  1. DEFINITIONS

  • “Working day” means a day on which the employee is regularly scheduled to work.

  1. REFERENCES and RELATED STATEMENTS of POLICY and PROCEDURE

Elections Act (British Columbia)

Employment Standards Act and Regulations (British Columbia)

SPP HR 4.05.BC – Pregnancy Leave

SPP HR 4.06.BC – Parental and/or Adoption Leave

SPP HR 4.07.BC- Bereavement Leave

SPP HR 4.12.BC – Emergency Leave (Family Responsibility Leave)

SPP HR 4.15.BC – Compassionate Care Leave

SPP HR 4.16.BC – Jury or Court Witness Leave

SPP HR 4.17.BC – Military Leave of Absence

SPP HR 4.24.BC – Critically lll Child Care Leave

SPP HR 4.25.BC – Crime-Related Child Death or Disappearance Leave

  1. PROCEDURE

  • Whenever possible, employees must exhaust time off in lieu of overtime and/or vacation before requesting personal time, except for statutory leaves of absence.
  • As far in advance of the date of commencement of the requested leave, employee requests for requested leave shall be submitted to the employee’s manager. See Attachment A Form for this purpose.
  • The employee’s manager may authorize request for personal leave without pay of three (3) working days or less.
  • The approval of both the employee’s manager and the [General Manager] is required if requests for personal leave without pay, in excess (3) working days, and all requests for personal leave with pay.
  • Provincial Election
    • An employee who is entitled to vote in a British Columbia provincial election is entitled to have four (4) consecutive hours free from employment during voting hours for general voting. lf the employee’s hours of employment do not allow for four (4) consecutive hours during voting hours, the employee will be allowed time off from employment to provide those hours. [Company] may set any time off required to best suit its convenience. No deduction in the employee’s pay will be made for the time off.
    • The following are not entitled to time off under this section:
      • election officials and individuals employed or retained by the chief electoral officer or a district electoral officer to work on general voting day;
      • individuals who, by reason of employment, are in such remote locations that they would be unable to reasonably reach any voting place during voting hours.
  • Payroll shall be provided with a copy of all approved Leave of Absence Request and Response forms. A copy shall be filed in the employee’s personnel file.

  1. ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A – Sample Leave of Absence Request and Response Form

ATTACHMENT A

Sample Leave of Absence Request and Response Form

Request for Leave of Absense