Union News - April 2024
It has come to our attention that some of our members who are on probation have received letters advising them that their probationary period is being extended past the standard one year. The seriousness of the matter warrants alerting our members that this is not something that should be occurring without good reason and only under limited circumstances.
Should you receive such a letter, please contact a member of your local executive. Through discussions with your local executive, it could be determined that, in their opinion, management may be abusing their authority and acting outside of their parameters.
The first exception to this would be if you have indicated that you require an accommodation, and the second would be if you are on Leave Without Pay. In these circumstances, when you request an accommodation or proceeds on LWOP, the clock stops (ie. “press pause”) until such time as the your accommodation is finalized and implemented OR you return from leave. Then the clock commences again, to a total of one year.
For instance, if during your probationary period you request an accommodation and it isn’t implemented for a period of time, for example for three months, the period of time that you are waiting for the implementation of your accommodation is excluded from your probationary period. Consequently, the end date for your probation is extended by the same amount of time.
Likewise, a period of Leave without Pay is excluded from the probationary period.
Examples:
- if you were hired on January 1st and five months later (June 1st) you request an accommodation, however the accommodation was not implemented for three months (September 1st), your probationary period would end three months later (April 1st).
- if you were hired on January 1st and proceeded on Leave Without Pay on November 1st and then returned on December 1st, the probationary period would end on February 1st.
Patricia Sleczkowski
Communications Committee