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Voluntary Unpaid Leave of Absence Program (VLAP): Q & A How many VLAP days can I use? You can apply for up to 5 occurrences. If you are a full time employee one day is one occurrence, if you request a half day that is still one occurrence. For less than full time the same rule applies. One occurrence is one absence on a working day. Can I request more than 5 days? If you request more than 5 days the balance may become your Once in a Life-time days. If you are adding onto a leave that is generally approved and not considered as a Once in a Lifetime, i.e. wedding of son/daughter you need to state that in your letter of request. The maximum leave that would be approved is a total of ten days at any one time. How do I apply for the unpaid days? Use the short term leave request form on the staff website. Your supervisor needs to sign the request prior to submission. Submit to Human Resource Dept as an email attachment, or fax directly to HR dept: 705 737 6996 attention Kim Lintack or Lisa McArthur. Keep a copy for your records with the date of submission recorded. Do I need to include why I want to take the VLAP days? You are not required to give a specific reason for the request. You just state that you are requesting (number) of days VLAP program Are there timelines to submit the request? If you want the pay deductions to be spread out over the remaining pay periods you must have your application in by Oct 30. If you decide at a later date that you would like to apply you may do so but the deductions will come off the pay period following the leave. Remember that there is not automatic approval. Operation needs will be considered: how many requests have been received for the dates you are requesting, whether there are sufficient supply staff available. The earlier the better if you are requesting a popular time period-i.e. week before or after March Break. Do I have to take all of the days together? No, you may request the days in any sequence. Can I take part days? You can request five occurrences. If you request a half day it is counted as one occurrence.

If plans change, can I cancel the request? No, once you have submitted the request it cannot be cancelled. You will have to take unpaid days. However, dates may be changed based on operational needs when a change request is submitted. Send an email to HR Kim Lintack or Lisa McArthur stating the situation and request for a date change for unpaid days. Can I request a VLAP day on a PD Day? You can request it as long as it is not a mandatory training day. However, Dec 20th is now being considered to be a mandatory training day for EAs, BUT it is also being considered that on this day only request for VLAP days may be approved. Are there any blackout dates? Teaching staff do have dates that are considered blackout. Our agreement does not specify blackout periods but the employer will base the approval on operational needs of the system and students. What about December 20th? The Ministry of Education has only recently released to SCDSB that Dec. 20th is a paid working day for support staff. Previously it was still considered to be a non working unpaid day. Based on this, some members booked trips to leave on that date. If you have already made plans and booked trips, submit the request for a VLAP day on Dec 20 to HR as soon as possible. You may be asked to provide proof of booking dates. Are the days automatically approved? No. The approvals will be based on operational needs. The employer will determine that there are sufficient supply staffs available and that there will be sufficient permanent staff available in each worksite. The employer will not approve a large number of staff members off during the same time period. Should I wait for the approval before booking any tickets? Yes, do not assume you will receive approval. Please wait for written notice of approval. If there is a short turn-around time for your request follow up with a call to the HR department when you have submitted your request to ensure it is being dealt with expeditiously. Is this leave in addition to my Once in a Lifetime leave opportunity? Yes, this is not classed as a Once in a Lifetime leave. It is also separate and above any other leave requests you may submit. If I am approved for this leave can I apply for another leave in the same school year? Yes you can.

How is the pay deducted? Wages will be deducted over the remaining pay periods of the year- if you apply prior to Oct 30. The deductions will start with the pay following the approval. If you do not apply prior to Oct 30 the pay will be deducted on the pay period immediately following the leave. What happens with my pension contributions? You will be offered the opportunity to buy the leave period. You would be responsible for both the employee and employer premium cost. It would be approximately the cost that you pay in a two week pay period. How long do I have to buy back the pension? Usually one year. If you do not receive a letter offering the buyback, contact payroll-nonteaching. It is less expensive to purchase the year of the leave. The cost increases significantly with the more time that passes between the leave and the buyback. Will my vacation entitlement be affected? You will be working fewer hours/days so earning less over the year. Entitlement will change as vacation is a % of you annual rate. Will I have to pay my own benefits while I am on unpaid leave? During the short leave the employer continues to contribute their premium share. Do I need to arrange a supply? You can pre book a supply ahead of time through SCARRI. If the leave is not approved, or you change your dates you will need to cancel the assigned supply in the system with as much lead time as possible. Delaying the cancellation could create shortages throughout the system and put other staff in precarious situations if positions go unfilled. What code do I use? The code will be assigned for you with the letter of approval.

Contacts:
Education Centre: 705 734 6363 Human Resources fax: 705 737 6996 Lisa McArthur-HR Officer lmcarthur@scdsb.on.ca Kim Lintack- HR Officer klintack@scdsb.on.ca