HOW MANY SICK DAYS DO I GET?
As of January 1, 2019, la loi sur les normes de travail (LNT) grants all employees with a minimum of three (3) months continuous service two (2) sick days per year – at Dawson, this is interpreted as being per academic year. These days do not roll over or accumulate. Any unused days will expire at the start of the following Fall semester.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I’M SICK?
You must notify the College as soon as possible, by contacting the absence reporting line of the Continuing Education office.
Upon your return to work, you will need to complete a Certificate of Absence form and submit it as soon as possible to Maeve Muldowney, Dean of Continuing Education and Community Services (CECS). If the absence is foreseen, you should submit the Certificate of Absence form to the Dean of CECS in advance. Note: The Certificate of Absence form can be found on the Dawson College website, under “Online Forms“.
The College will attempt to assign a substitute teacher. In the case when a substitute cannot be found, the College will contact students to notify them that the class is cancelled.
The College may ask you to make up for the missed hours at a later date. You are under no obligation to do so, but if you choose to, you will be remunerated as in the case of a substitution.
WILL I GET PAID?
According to the LNT, sick days are remunerated at “1/20th of the salary earned during the 4 full weeks of pay preceding the week of the holiday.” Note that if your workload is comprised of both Day and hourly-paid Continuing Education classes, the remuneration for the Continuing Education sick days will be based on the Continuing Education portion of your earnings from the preceding 4 weeks. It is important that you verify this amount when it appears on your pay statement. As a reminder, only two sick days per academic year are paid.
In the event that you act as your own substitute, you will be paid at your regular hourly rate.
CAN THESE SICK DAYS BE USED FOR OTHER ABSENCES?
According to the LNT (Loi sur les Normes du Travail), these sick days may be used for the following reasons:
- to fulfill family obligations related to the care, health or education of your child or the child of your spouse, or as a caregiver with a parent or other person whose state of health requires it
- in case of illness
- for organ or tissue donation
- following an accident, domestic violence, sexual violence or a criminal act
For more information: https://www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca/conges-et-absences/maladie-don-dorganes-ou-de-tissus-accident-violence-conjugale-violence-a-caractere-sexuel/index.html
ADDITIONAL LEAVES FOR SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES
Teachers do not have access to “personal days”. However, after notifying the College, teachers are entitled to paid leaves of absence in the following specific circumstances (Collective Agreement, 5-9.01):
- for the death of spouse, child or spouse’s child: five (5) working days;
- for the death of father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, step-father, step-mother, brother or sister: three (3) working days;
- for the death of brother-in-law, sister-in-law, step-brother, step-sister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandfather or grandmother; the day of the funeral; if the deceased resided with the teacher: three (3) working days;
In cases of medically assisted death, the above three leaves can start the day prior to the death.
- for the wedding of father, mother, child, sibling, half-sibling: the day of the wedding;
- for your own wedding: five (5) consecutive working days including the day of the wedding;
- for moving: the day of the move (once a year);
- for acts of God (disaster, fire, flood, etc.) which necessitate a leave from work: the number of days shall be set by the College after agreement with the teacher;
- for a quarantine ordered by competent medical authority: the number of days set by the competent medical authority.
For cases covered by 2., 3. and 4. you are entitled to a leave of one additional working day if the event takes place more than two hundred forty kilometres away. (5-9.02)
If you are called upon to serve on a jury or to appear as a witness in a case for which you are not one of the parties involved, you shall not incur any loss of salary or benefits. (5-9.04)
If you need a leave for a reason not covered by the leaves listed above, please reach out to the DTU to understand your rights.