Dependent and elder care leave (OPS)

It can be difficult to balance caring for loved ones with your work.

That’s why AMAPCEO has negotiated paid leave so you can provide unforeseen care for your family. These provisions are defined in Article 23 of your Collective Agreement.

The ability to collectively negotiate the terms and conditions of your employment, including this type of paid leave, is an important advantage of being a unionized professional.

Securing this leave time is a strong first step towards meeting the needs of today’s workers and their families.

Eligibility

All employees are eligible for dependent or elder care leave.

Dependent and elder care leave

You are entitled to take up to two days of paid leave each year to attend to unforeseen dependent or elder care matters.

These paid leave days will be counted against your three days of special or compassionate leave.

If you take dependent and elder care leave, and it is discovered later that you did not have any special or compassionate leave days remaining, you will have to use other credits (e.g., vacation, overtime) to offset your time away from work.

You will continue to accrue credits and be covered by your benefit plan while on dependent or elder care leave.

Defining dependents and elders

“Dependent” and “elder” may include anyone with whom you have a close personal relationship and to whom you are providing care. This could extend beyond traditional definitions of family status.

You do not have to provide your Employer proof of a relationship or tell them the nature of the care to access dependent and elder care leave.

How to take dependent and elder care leave

If you need to take dependent and elder care leave, inform your supervisor as soon as you can.

As this type of leave is for unforeseen care issues, it may not always be possible to provide your supervisor with very much notice, but you should attempt to provide them with as much reasonable notice as possible.

The amount of notice considered “reasonable” will mostly depend on the circumstances. For example, if your child is sick in the morning and can’t attend school, you will only be able to provide your supervisor  short notice that you will be using one dependent and elder care leave day.

Your supervisor must approve your leave if it is for unforeseen circumstances and you still have special or compassionate leave days remaining. You do not have to provide them with detail of the nature of the care.

If you need more than two days

Between your Collective Agreement, the Employment Standards Act, and your available credits (e.g., vacation, overtime), you may have additional options. Please see the fact sheet on leaves of absence and the fact sheet on special and compassionate leave.

You may also wish to contact an AMAPCEO Workplace Representative for assistance.

If you have questions or need assistance

Please contact an AMAPCEO Workplace Representative near you. They do not have to be in your Ministry.

Workplace Representatives are trained union members who have volunteered to confidentially assist members like you in the workplace. They should be your first point of contact in seeking information and representation with an issue at work.

Your Workplace Representative may ask you to use the union’s secure web-based system, RADAR, to provide details about your situation. RADAR will help you and your Workplace Representative keep track of things without the privacy concerns that could come from using the Employer’s email system.