Month Day, Year
Name
Company (Optional)
Street Address
City, Province, Postal Code
Dear CANDIDATE NAME,
**Note for PI – if you are aware of external funding received by PDF prior to your offer of
employment to the PDF, please notify your RASO who will assist you to revise this offer letter.
In addition, please do not indicate a salary amount including benefits. The salary amount must
be excluding benefits and payroll will automatically add the benefit amount on top of the salary
offered. This letter applies only to those working more than 24 hours per week.
On behalf of Ryerson University I am pleased to extend an invitation to you to conduct research
as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at Ryerson University. This letter outlines the nature and
conditions associated with your activities at the University.
Appointment:
1. Your appointment is a term appointment and your position is included as part of the
MAC “Post Doctoral Fellow” (PDF) employee group. Your appointment will take effect
on START DATE. This appointment will expire automatically on END DATE, without
further notice or payment in lieu of notice.
2. You will report directly to PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR NAME of the
DEPARTMENT/FACULTY.
3. (FOR NON CANADIAN CANDIDATES) Your appointment is subject to obtaining legal
authorization to work in Canada valid for employment at Ryerson University for the
duration of this appointment.
4. You shall be expected to discharge the duties and responsibilities associated with your
research role as outlined below:
 JOB SUMMARY and RESEARCH PROJECT OVERVIEW
 IF TEACHING IS A MINOR COMPONENT OF THE FELLOWSHIP, please outline
the details here.
5. Your hours of work shall be XXX hours per week
.
6. Your employment is subject to continued satisfactory performance and budget
approval. Satisfactory performance will be based on performance standards
established by PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR NAME, and will be reviewed during the
term of the contract.
7. Ryerson agrees to provide you with access to facilities and equipment as arranged by
mutual agreement, and approved by the Director/Chair of your academic unit.
Salary and Funding:
8. Your salary will be ANNUAL SALARY(excluding benefit costs) per annum. Your
salary will be paid on a bi-weekly deferred basis, and your first pay will be available
and/or deposited on First Pay Date. In order for the University to initiate your pay, you
will be required to input your banking information into eHR to facilitate direct payroll
deposit into your bank account. eHR is a fast and convenient way for you to access
your personal, payroll, and benefits information.
9. You are encouraged to apply for external funding while at Ryerson. Should you receive
a concurrent non-Ryerson personal salary award such as an NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR
PDF, you must report receipt of any such award to Ryerson University immediately.
Please notify your supervisor and Office of Research Services of such an award as they
will need to adjust the manner in which your compensation is paid out.
Group Benefits and Group RRSP
10. Effective on your start date, Ryerson will provide a comprehensive benefits package
including a Health Spending Account, Life Insurance, voluntary participation in a Group
Registered Retirement Savings Plan as well as Voluntary Accident Insurance and an
Employee Assistance Program (EAP). For more information, please visit the Human
Resources website at http://ryerson.ca/hr/benefits/benefits_by_group/index.html or
contact Pensions and Benefits at (416) 979-5000, extension 4146.
(a)
(FOR NON CANADIAN CANDIDATES) As an employee of Ryerson University
effective your hire date you are required to have provincial health insurance for
you and your family members. If you are not eligible for the provincial
government health care insurance program (OHIP), you must enroll in the
University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) until you are eligible for coverage
through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Information on UHIP, as well
as the application form can be found at http://www.uhip.ca. Please complete the
application and return it to the Human Resources Benefits Unit, Ryerson
University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3 on or before your
employment start date. Please note that coverage is mandatory and is effective
your start date or, if you arrive prior to your start date, your arrival date in
Canada, whichever is first, but no earlier than the 10th day of the month before
your start date.
(b)
(FOR NON-CANADIAN CANDIDATES) You are required to apply for provincial
health insurance under Ontario's Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Information on
the process and required forms can be found at
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/programs/ohip/.
(c)
(FOR NON-CANADIAN CANDIDATES) You are required to apply for your
Social Insurance Number. The information on obtaining a SIN can be found at
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/sin/index.shtml. Please note that
Ryerson requires this number in order to process your pay.
Sick Leave Coverage:
11. During the term of your appointment you may access the Sick Leave provisions which
are available to you. In the case of injury and/or illness you will continue to be paid for
10 days per calendar year (pro-rated based on start date of contract). These days are
not cumulative and will not be carried over from year to year. You must report any sick
leave days in eHR (online absence management system).
Please note you may need to provide a medical certificate to Human Resources to verify
the leave.
Vacation:
12. As a Post Doctoral Fellow you will earn one (1) vacation day per month to a maximum
of twelve (12) days per appointment year. Vacation leave is based on operational
requirements and therefore must be requested and approved by your Supervisor on the
University’s online absence management system. There shall be no carry over of
vacation credits to the next appointment year and no payout of vacation credits when
the contract ends. Vacation is either taken or forfeited.
Pregnancy, Parental and Adoption Leave
13. In the event that you become a parent during your appointment period, you will be
eligible for pregnancy, parental and/or adoption leave. For further information please
call Human Resources Client Services at (416) 979-5075
Relocation Expenses (If applicable must be approved by Dean’s Office and HR in
advance)
Given that your appointment is for two years or more, Ryerson University’s relocation
expense policy applies. Forms are available on the HR website at:
http://ryerson.ca/hr/policy/policies.html
By your acceptance of the allowance you will agree that should you resign from your
employment by Ryerson for any reason whatsoever, prior to your contract end date, you
will upon the cessation of such employment, reimburse Ryerson for the allowance paid
to you. Such reimbursement will be made on the following basis:
a) If your resignation occurs within one year, the entire allowance paid by Ryerson shall
be refunded.
b) If your resignation occurs prior to the end of your contract, 75% of the allowance paid
by Ryerson shall be refunded.
University Policies
14. As an employee of Ryerson University, your employment relationship will be governed
by the terms and conditions of this employment contract as well as policies and
procedures of the University. Copies of the relevant policies can be found at:
http://www.ryerson.ca/policies/ and http://www.ryerson.ca/ors/policies/.
15. You should note that the policies, rules and regulations may be subject to change, at
the University’s discretion, and such alterations and amendments shall automatically
apply to you.
In particular, I draw your attention to the following:
 Conflict of Interest:
A conflict of interest occurs when personal interests interfere with the independent
judgment required by employees in order to perform their duties and responsibilities in
the interest of the University. A breach of a conflict of interest has the effect of eroding
the trust and confidence in the integrity of the University by the public, as well as the
confidence and trust necessary between the University and its employees. All
employees have a legal duty of faithfulness and honesty to the University.
 Civility in the Workplace:
Ryerson University is committed to fostering an atmosphere of civility and mutual
respect. Creating and maintaining a civil culture and environment is a shared
responsibility of all stakeholders in the Ryerson community. Each individual, irrespective
of affiliation, status or membership, has a responsibility to behave in a manner that
sustains and fosters a climate and reinforces the values and principles articulated in
these guidelines. Please refer to the Guide to Civility Policy for additional information.
 Discrimination and Harassment Prevention:
Ryerson University is committed to fostering a collegial study and work milieu that is free
of discrimination and harassment and one in which all individuals are treated with
respect and dignity. Every member of the Ryerson University community has a right to
equal treatment with respect to employment and with respect to the receipt of education
services and related services and facilities without discrimination or harassment. Every
member of the Ryerson University community is responsible for creating an environment
which is free of discrimination and harassment. Please refer to the Discrimination and
Harassment Prevention Policy for additional information.
 Employment Equity:
It is critical to Ryerson's success to remove barriers and promote the inclusion of all
Ryerson employees, including those from equity-seeking groups. If you have not already
done so, please take a moment to complete the Diversity Self-Identification in eHR. Your
information will help us determine where we are now so we can set realistic equity,
diversity and inclusion goals and measure our progress. While you might not identify as
a member of an equity group, or may not want to answer all of the questions, we still
need you to complete the Diversity Self-Identification. You have the option to select
"Prefer not to answer" or "No" for each identification question. Visit
www.ryerson.ca/diversityselfid for more information and instructions.
 Confidentiality:
In the course of employment you may become privy to information or documentation
pertaining to confidential matters; or you may be involved in processes in which
confidential matters or incidents are discussed. You will be expected as part of your
employment contract to maintain this confidentiality and refrain from divulging any
information which may damage reputations or influence proceedings. As such you will
be expected to refrain from discussing or releasing such information in any form
whatsoever except as required by University policy or legal requirements. Enclosed,
please find the Ryerson University Confidentiality Agreement. You are obliged to review
this documentation and return a signed copy for inclusion in your employee file.
 Environmental Health and Safety:
The University recognizes that, integral to the attainment of its mandate, is the
assurance that every individual at Ryerson has the right to learn in a healthy and safe
environment and in turn, is expected to be actively involved in integrating the risk
management into all of their activities.
 Intellectual Property:
In addition, you agree to all of the terms and conditions outlined in the attached letter of
understanding regarding Intellectual Property.
Employment Requirements
16. As a condition of employment, you are required to complete the Accessibility for
Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Customer Service Standard eLearning training
within two (2) weeks of your appointment start date. To access the training modules,
you will be required to login to http://www.ryerson.ca/accessibility/commitment/aodaeLearning.html using your Ryerson email user ID and password, which will be provided
to you upon commencement of your appointment. Should you have completed the
training in light of a previous appointment at the University you are not required to redo
the training. Please print your certificate and provide a copy to me within two (2) weeks
of your appointment start date.
17. You are required to complete the Workplace Violence Prevention and Response
eLearning within two weeks of your appointment start date. To access the modules,
visit www.ryerson.ca/workplaceviolence and click on eLearning. Log in using your
my.ryerson user ID and password, which will be provided to you when you begin your
appointment. Please print your certificate and provide a copy to me within two (2)
weeks of your appointment start date.
18. Entitlement to work in Canada for Ryerson University – you are required to be legally
authorized to work in Canada for the duration of your employment with the University. It
is your responsibility to obtain necessary work permits, including any extensions. You
must provide a copy of your work permit to HR and to your supervisor. For your work
permit application, post-doctoral fellows who are employed by a Canadian university,
the 2011 NOC code should be used which is 4011.
19. You are required to provide an official transcript (original copy in a sealed envelope) of
your post-secondary education as designated in order to meet minimum educational
standards of the position for which you have been hired. Please have the granting
institution forward a copy of your transcript to Human Resources Department no later
than six (6) weeks from the date of hire.
20. Upon assuming your responsibilities you will be required to obtain an Employee Photo
ID card from the One Card Office located in Jorgenson Hall, Lower Ground Level –
JOR-02. An authorization form, which you must take with you when you visit the One
Card Office, will be provided to you on your start date. The telephone number for the
One Card Office is (416) 979-5000, extension 7565.
Notice and Severance
21. Your employment may be terminated upon the following basis:
a) At any time with mutual written consent;
b) By yourself upon providing the University with one (1) months’ written notice;
c) During the term of your employment Ryerson University may, notwithstanding any
other provision of this Employment Agreement, terminate your employment at any
time without cause. In such a situation, the University will provide you with payment
in lieu of notice consistent with the Employment Standards Act provisions.
To provide you with an opportunity to discuss any questions you may have related to your
employment at Ryerson, I would ask that you set up an appointment with our Human Resources
Client Services Advisor, ADVISOR NAME (416-979-5000 ext.XXXX), OR (name of RASO or
Administrative Assistant to CRC) shortly after your start date.
We look forward to having you join Ryerson’s research team and hope that you find your
experience with us both rewarding and challenging.
Yours truly,
PI NAME
Please signify your acceptance of this invitation and its associated terms and conditions, by
signing this letter and returning a copy to me as soon as possible.
Signature
C.c.
Chair/Director
Office of Research Services
Human Resources
Pensions and Benefits
Date
LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING RE: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (attached to letter of
offer)
As a Post Doctoral Fellow you will likely be engaged with other members of the Ryerson and the
broader academic community in research and scholarship activities that may generate
intellectual property. This Letter of Understanding provides guidance around your rights in
intellectual property arising from your activities as a Ryerson Post Doctoral Fellow.
The University may from time to time revise or enact policies concerning the ownership of
intellectual property created at the University. Such policies or revisions may affect the rights
set out herein. For certainty, you agree that in so far as any such policies or revisions made in
the future shall concern intellectual property you create in the course of your work as a Ryerson
Post Doctoral Fellow, those policies shall apply to you and may supersede the rights set out
below.
Copyright
Copyright applies to all original scholarly, scientific, literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and
recorded works in any material form. Any copyright in any assessment, grading, report, or
correspondence produced by you in the course of your normal administrative duties within the
University vests with the University. Moreover, copyright in any modifications you might make
to works provided to you to assist you in carrying out your duties, such as a laboratory manual,
or any work produced and designed to assist in the day-to-day administration, operation and/or
management of the University's affairs shall vest in the University.
In circumstances where the University commissions work from you that are outside the normal
duties and obligations of your Fellowship any variation of rights will be expressly agreed upon in
a separate agreement. Such an agreement and all such commission contracts shall be in
writing. Such agreements shall, at least, address the following matters:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
definition of the material(s) to be produced;
scheduling and funding of the project;
ownership and use of the material(s);
rights of revision; and
definition, distribution and timing of payment.
Except as set out above, and subject to any arrangements entered into with third party sponsors
of research, the University shall not claim ownership of copyright in works created by you (other
than software which for the purposes of this letter shall be treated as an invention as set out
below) in the course of your research and scholarship activities, however you hereby grant the
University a non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable and non-transferable license to use such
works in other, non-commercial teaching and/or SRC activities of the University subject to
copyright requirements of academic journals and other vehicles of scholarly publication. This
license shall not apply to any personal documents, including unpublished lecture notes, course
notes, lab notes or any work-in-progress. You may withdraw the right to use because of dating
or other bona fide scholarly reasons provided that the University has reasonable notice of the
change being sought and has been unsuccessful in effecting such change.
Inventions
In this agreement, inventions refers to all intellectual property created by you that can be owned
by a person but excludes know how, data and works to which copyright alone attaches, but
includes software.
Unless otherwise set out herein, the University makes no claim to any rights to any invention
made by you in the course of your research and scholarship activities at the University. As
between you and the University, the rights to such invention and any patents arising from them
shall vest in you. You are obligated to disclose to the University in writing any such inventions
you may make for which you wish to claim ownership. The University shall be deemed to have
and you hereby grant to the University a non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable and nontransferable license to use any such inventions created by you in the course of your activities as
a Ryerson Post Doctoral Fellow solely for the University's internal use. Such right shall not
include the right to exploit commercially any such invention, improvement, design or
development, or to license anyone to do so.
In the event that you wish to commercially exploit any such invention, you may choose to
undertake commercialization activities on your own, in which case the University shall be
annually entitled to 10% of gross revenues arising from the commercialization, unless the
University provided extraordinary support to the creation of the invention in which case the
University shall recover those costs by taking not more than 50% of the gross revenues in each
year until such time as the University has recovered its extraordinary support. Thereafter, the
University shall receive 40% of gross revenues in each year. "Extraordinary support" shall be
understood as including support which is greater than the ordinary support provided to a
Ryerson Post Doctorial fellow and does not include the fellow’s regular salary, allowances and
benefits; personnel, equipment, supplies and facilities funded by regular Departmental or School
or Faculty or Library or Counseling Services budgets; or normal use of the Library and
University computing facilities.
You may choose to offer the University the opportunity to commercially exploit any such
invention. If the University accepts such an offer, which it is under no obligation to do so, you
shall enter into an agreement with the University assigning the invention to the University in
return for a share of commercialization revenue.
Collaborative or Sponsored Research
Should you be involved in any research or other activities that are governed by an agreement
between the University and a third party that deal with the disposition of intellectual property
arising from the research or activities, the terms of that agreement shall govern the disposition
of intellectual property arising from the research and shall supersede any rights set out above.
Prior to participating in any research project you should consult with your supervisor to
determine whether there are any third party arrangements that will affect the disposition of
intellectual property.