Leave with Pay

The vacation year is April 1 to March 31 of the following calendar year. On April 1st, employees who have completed six (6) months of continuous employment receive an advance of annual (vacation) leave credits in their myEMS (PeopleSoft) balance, as determined by their collective agreement. Annual (vacation) leave credits for part-time employees are pro-rated based on their weekly scheduled hours of work. Students, casual employees, term employees of less than three (3) months and part-time workers (who work one third or less than the normal weekly hours of a full-time employee) are not entitled to vacation leave credits; however, will instead be paid 4% vacation pay on all hours worked every pay period, including overtime.

Eligible employees are entitled to a maximum of five (5) days paid bereavement leave in the event of the death of a family member. The leave period determined by the employee must include the day of the funeral / memorial or begin within two (2) days following the day of death. Employees may request a single leave period of seven (7) consecutive calendar days or in two (2) periods that include up to a maximum five (5) paid workdays. The employee may be granted up to an additional three (3) days leave for travel related to the death. Proof (notice of death) requested at manager's discretion.

Court leave is granted to employees who are required to serve on a jury, be available for jury selection or receive a subpoena, summons or other legal instrument to attend as a witness in any proceeding. Proof requested at manager's discretion.

Leave for family-related responsibilities is a type of leave generally granted to employees for the following reasons:

• to accompany a family member to a medical or dental appointment, or for appointments with school authorities or adoption agencies;
• to provide for the immediate and temporary care of a family member;
• for needs directly related to the birth or adoption of the employee's child;
• to attend school functions.

The total leave with pay granted shall not exceed 37.50 or 40.00 hours in a fiscal year, depending on the respective collective agreement. Entitlement for part-time employees is pro-rated based on their weekly scheduled hours of work. Leave cannot be carried over to the next fiscal year nor can it be cashed out.

Employees may be eligible for up to half a day (3.75 or 4.00 hours) of paid leave to attend personal medical appointments for the purpose of routine, periodic check-ups of a preventative nature, such as annual physical examinations, periodic dental / eye examinations or procedures of a diagnostic nature. Pregnant employees attending routine medical appointments are entitled to up to three (3) instances of (3.75 or 4.00 hour) paid leave periods. Typically, these appointments are scheduled in advance and the absence is not due to illness or injury.

Please refer to Labour Relations Tools for information on submitting Leave for Union Business.

Personal leave is a type of leave used for personal reasons as determined by the employee. Eligibility to personal leave and the number of hours granted to a full-time employee per fiscal year is pursuant to their respective collective agreement. Entitlement for part-time employees is pro-rated based on their weekly work schedule. Personal leave cannot be carried over to the next fiscal year nor can it be cashed out.

Personnel selection leave is a type of leave used when an employee participates in a personnel selection process, including the appeal process if applicable, for a position within the public service as defined in the Federal Public Service Labour Relations Act.

Sick leave is a type of leave intended to protect an employee's income if they are incapable of performing their duties due to non-occupational illness or injury. Eligible employees earn 9.375 hours of sick leave credits for each month they work a minimum of 75 hours. Unused credits can be carried forward from one fiscal year to the next, however cannot be cashed out upon leaving the public service. Sick leave credits are pro-rated for part-time employees based on their weekly scheduled hours of work.

At their discretion, managers may advance credits if an employee becomes ill or sustains an injury and does not have sufficient sick leave credits to cover the leave period.

Full-time employees are automatically paid for any statutory or designated paid holidays, as defined by their respective collective agreement and the applicable terms and conditions of employment provided that they are not on leave without pay for the full day immediately before AND after the statutory holiday.

If you work a compressed work week and are thus scheduled to work more than the standard work day hours (7.5 or 8.0 hours) on the statutory holiday, you will be required to either make up the difference in time or submit a vacation leave request for the additional time.

Part-time employees are not eligible for statutory holiday pay, but instead receive a premium in lieu each pay period as defined by their respective collective agreement and the applicable terms and conditions of employment. It is important to note, however, that if a designated holiday falls on your scheduled workday, pay for the scheduled hours will be recovered from your salary.

In general, the following statutory holidays are recognized by the federal government:

• New Year's Day
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Thanksgiving
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day
• Provincial or Civic holiday in the employee's province of work

Volunteer leave is a type of leave used for employee participation in a volunteer activity of their choosing. Eligibility to volunteer leave and the number of hours granted to a full-time employee per fiscal year is pursuant to the respective collective agreement. Entitlement for part-time employees is pro-rated based on their weekly work schedule. Volunteer leave cannot be carried over to the next fiscal year nor can it be cashed out.

• Current Fiscal Year

  Leave with pay requests are reported and approved in myEMS (PeopleSoft) during the fiscal year in which the leave is taken. The fiscal year begins April 1st and ends March 31st of the following calendar year.

  Important: Employees who have transferred to ESDC from another government department will not have access to MyEMS (PeopleSoft) until their transfer is finalized. As this could take several weeks, those employees must submit all paid leave manually, following the same procedures shown below for submitting leave for prior fiscal year(s).

  Employee Responsibilities

  For step-by-step instructions on requesting full, partial or half days, refer to the employee procedures found in the PSGuide - myEMS (PeopleSoft).

  1. Review your leave balances myEMS (PeopleSoft) to ensure you have sufficient credits to cover your absence request.

     Note: Certain leave credits, such as personal and volunteer, will only show a negative balance once the hours are taken, up to the maximum entitlement.
     Employee Self Service > Time > Absence Balances

  2. Create your absence request using the drop-down menu to select the applicable absence type and submit for approval.

     Employee Self Service > Time > Request Absence

  Manager Responsibilities

  For step-by-step instructions, please refer to the manager procedures found in the PSGuide - myEMS (PeopleSoft).

  1. Approve or deny the leave request in myEMS (PeopleSoft). You may also forward the absence request for alternate approval, if required.

     Manager Self Service > Approvals

  2. In situations where the employee does not have access to myEMS (PeopleSoft), the manager must enter the leave on the employee's behalf.

     Manager Self Service > Team Time > Request Absence

• Prior Fiscal Year(s)

  Leave with pay requests from prior fiscal years must be submitted for manual processing. If you are submitting an amendment to a previous GC178, you must complete a new form (select Amendment to Original box). Crossing off information and resubmitting the same form will not be accepted.

  Employee Responsibilities

  1. Complete and sign a Leave Application and Absence Report (GC-178) using the applicable leave code, noting the following requirements:
  2. Do not combine paid and unpaid leave on the same form.
  3. Ensure all personal information matches your MyEMS (PeopleSoft) profile (paylist number box may be left blank).

  4. The start / end dates and total hours of your leave must be clearly indicated on the form.

     Note: As there is only one row available per leave code, you must complete separate forms for each period. For clarity, partial days should always be submitted on a separate form.

  5. Forward the completed GC178(s) to your manager for signature and approval.
  6. Once the approved leave form is returned from your manager, you must submit the completed GC178 for manual processing via the HRSC Portal:
     • Section: I am an Employee…
     • Select: "PeopleSoft Related Request".
     • Category: Select "Leave/Absence Management".
     • Sub-Category: Select "Leave Balances".
     • Effective Date: Input the date of the leave submitted.
     • Importance: Normal.
     • Complete the Manager's Information section.
     • Comments: Identify the leave type / code(s) / period.
     • Attach the completed GC178.
     • Submit your request.

  Manager Responsibilities

  1. You must sign and approve the employee's GC178, then return to the employee so that they may submit it for manual processing.
  2. If the employee is unable to do so, Managers must submit the application on their behalf via the HRSC Portal:
     • Section: I am a Manager…
     • Select: "PeopleSoft Request" under the PeopleSoft Related Request heading.
     • Complete the Employee Information section.
     • Category: Select "Leave/Absence Management".
     • Sub-Category: Select "Leave Balances".
     • Effective Date: Input the earliest date of the leave submitted.
     • Importance: Normal.
     • Comments: Identify the leave type / code(s) / period.
     • Attach the completed GC178.
     • Submit your request.

• Leave types
• Personal Leave/Volunteer Leave - Information Notices
• Sick leave - Canada.ca
• FAQs on Medical and Dental Appointments
• Time Off for Personal Medical and Dental Appointments