HUMAN
RESOURCES
ATTENDANCE
SUPPORT
416
POLICY
It is the policy of the Board to promote regular attendance at work through an
approach that is consistent with employee wellness. The Board takes a
comprehensive approach in responding to personal illness, injury and medical
disability.
Administrative Detail
1.
It is the responsibility of the appropriate Superintendent to
administer this policy in accordance with the Attendance Support
Handbook.
2.
It is the responsibility of School Administrators and Supervisors to
communicate the contents of this policy to their staff annually.
3.
The collection, control, use and necessary disclosure of personal
information provided for the purpose of determining eligibility for
sick leave benefits or for providing employees with disability
management services shall be in accordance with the Municipal
Freedom of Information Act, the Occupational Health and Safety
Act, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and other applicable
legislation.
4.
The appropriate Superintendent shall review this policy on a regular
basis or as required by legislative change.
5.
This policy operates in conjunction with, but does not supercede,
the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Occupational Health and
Safety Act, and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
6.
The Attendance Support Policy does not impact existing benefits
and rights accorded under the various Collective and Employment
Agreements.
7.
The Attendance Support Policy is intended to provide a
comprehensive approach to employee attendance by incorporating
existing services such as the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
and the Workplace Early Intervention Program (WEIP).
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HUMAN
RESOURCES
A.
ATTENDANCE
SUPPORT
PROCEDURES MANUAL
416-A
RATIONALE
Regular attendance at work depends on medical fitness for duty,
organizational health and employee engagement.
The Board has
developed the Attendance Support Policy and Procedures to prevent or
reduce absenteeism and to support employees when their absence rate
exceeds the threshold set by the Board.
B.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Attendance Support Policy are to articulate the
Board’s expectations with respect to attendance at work, provide fair and
equitable access to sick leave benefits, establish board-wide consistent
standards and procedures regarding attendance, and compliance with
Collective and Employment Agreements.
C.
PROCEDURES
The Attendance Support Procedures are built upon the foundation
established in the Attendance Support Policy. The procedures have been
separated into eight main components:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
1.
Prevention;
Reporting Absences;
Communicating with Supervisor;
Communicating Expectations;
Monitoring Attendance;
Managing Attendance;
Referral to WEIP and/or EAP for assistance, and
Documentation.
Prevention
UGDSB will offer to assist employees who experience difficulty in
achieving regular attendance.
2.
Reporting Absences
a)
Employees are expected to make every reasonable effort to
attend work as scheduled. The Board recognizes that there
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will be times when employees are unable to attend work due
to unexpected personal illness or injury.
3.
b)
Employees are required to report all absences in accordance
with reporting regulations as per their Collective
Agreements, working conditions, documents, or in
accordance with Human Resources Attendance Reporting
Procedures.
c)
If the absence is due to personal illness or non-occupational
injury, this must be indicated to the supervisor. Employees
are not required to provide a diagnosis or any other personal
health information directly to their supervisor. Employees
should also indicate the expected duration of the absence (if
possible).
d)
If the illness or injury is work-related the employee is
required to report this to their supervisor.
Communicating with Supervisor
Once a period of absence commences, the employee and
supervisor are required to maintain regular contact. The schedule
for contact should be determined based on how long the absence is
expected to last. For absences expected to be 5 days or less, the
requirement for subsequent contact will be established by the
supervisor.
4.
Communicating Expectations
a)
The Board will periodically communicate to Supervisors a
threshold for average expected short-term absences (total
number of days lost due to sick leave absences of 5 days or
less).
b)
Supervisors are expected to communicate these Board
expectations to their staff.
c)
Employees who expect that they will be unable to meet the
Board’s expectations due to a current medical condition
should communicate this to their supervisor. Employees are
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not required to provide a diagnosis or any other personal
health information directly to their supervisor.
5.
Monitoring Attendance
a)
6.
Principals/Supervisors are expected to regularly examine
their employee attendance records. During the review of
attendance records, Principals/Supervisors should identify
cases which may necessitate a meeting with the employee.
Following are examples of cases that should be discussed:
i)
when absences can be reliably predicted (e.g.
Mondays and Fridays);
ii)
when rationale for the absences is of concern, or
iii)
when sick leave usage is above the Board average.
b)
Not all such cases require attention. If the Principal/
Supervisor has current medical restrictions and limitations
from the WEIP that support the pattern or volume of sick
leave use, a meeting is not required.
c)
If the employee indicates that they had a medical condition,
or a number of illnesses/injuries supporting the past pattern
of absence, but they currently have no disability, the
supervisor should indicate that they expect an improvement
in attendance.
Managing Attendance
a)
Principals/Supervisors are expected to meet with employees
who have an unexplained pattern of absence or have sick
leave usage that exceeds the Board threshold. This is a
non-disciplinary meeting.
Represented employees may
invite a union or employee representative to participate in
this meeting.
b)
The purpose of the meeting is to confirm that the employee’s
use of sick leave is appropriate and to determine a path
forward.
The employee is not required to provide a
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diagnosis or any other personal health information directly to
their supervisor.
7.
8.
Referral to WEIP for Assistance
a)
It is important to reassure the employee that the Board is
interested in assisting them to improve their health and
attendance.
b)
If the employee indicates they have a medical condition that
supports their past pattern of absence and they expect this
to continue, the Supervisor should refer the employee to the
WEIP.
c)
The WEIP will provide the Supervisor with further information
on how to support the employee.
Documentation
The outcome of the meeting should be documented through a
referral to WEIP (if required) with copies to all involved parties,
including the employee representative.
D.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1.
The following parties have duties and responsibilities to ensure the
success of the policy: employees, School Administrators/
Supervisors, Human Resources Department, and Superintendents.
2.
Details relating to these duties and responsibilities will be specified
in the Attendance Support Handbook.
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