ARTICLE · 18 JUNE 2018

Flexible Paid Time Off Is No Substitute For Personal Emergency Leave

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

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In a recent labour arbitration decision, an arbitrator upheld two grievances filed by a trade union against an employer (the Company) that refused to allow employees to take personal emergency leave if they had already used all the "floater days" that they were allowed under a collective agreement (the Collective Agreement).

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Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

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In a recent labour arbitration decision, an arbitrator upheld two grievances filed by a trade union against an employer (the Company) that refused to allow employees to take personal emergency leave if they had already used all the "floater days" that they were allowed under a collective agreement (the Collective Agreement).

The standard the union was seeking to enforce came into effect when the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) was amended on January 1, 2018, to allow for personal emergency leave days, which, subject to some limitations elsewhere in the ESA, allows for two paid days of leave and a further eight unpaid days of leave in the following situations (s. 50):

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