Union News - October 2023
A member who is given the opportunity to act in a position higher than their substantive position for a substantial period will have received incremental pay increases over the period of their acting assignment, per the Collective Agreement. An issue can arise when the member is offered an indeterminate position at this acting level or higher.
The Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment requires that when a member receives a promotion1 while in an acting position, their rate of pay will be calculated based on their substantive position, not the rate of pay that they have been receiving in their acting position. This can result in a member receiving no increase in their rate of pay or, in some cases, a reduction in their rate of pay.
Many members have been dismayed to discover this fact only when they received their first full pay in the permanent position. Even if the rate of pay is not lower, but remains stagnant, they will fall behind co-workers who remain in acting positions at the same level, as the increment date shifts with the new position.
1 A promotion is defined as an appointment to a position for which the maximum rate of pay is higher than the maximum rate of pay for the substantive position immediately prior to the promotion by at least the amount of the lowest increment for the position to which the member is appointed.
Some managers, recognizing the unjust result, have accommodated the member by adjusting the appointment date of the position, or other measures to ensure that the member is paid a fair rate of pay. This, however, is the exception, rather than the rule. The member may be forced to accept the situation as a trade-off for a permanent position at a higher level.
Example:
A member who holds an SP 04 position at the 1st increment acts in an SP 05 position for one year, beginning in January 2021. They received acting pay and an increment at the SP 05 level after one year of acting in the position.
SP 04 1st increment: $58,948, starting pay rate
SP 05 1st increment: $63,801
SP 05 2nd increment: $65,718
Minimum pay increase for acting: $65,718 - $63,801 = $1,917
The member is paid at the 1st increment for SP 05: $63,801
In June 2022, the member was successful in a process and offered a permanent SP 05 position. The member, who prior to the process was paid $68,869 (having worked in the position for over 52 weeks), anticipates that they will be paid at least that amount, possibly at the next increment, which is $70, 934.
However, since the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment mandates that the new pay rate is calculated based on the member’s substantive position, the rate of pay is actually:
SP 04 2nd increment: $63,626
Minimum pay increase: $1,917.
Minimum new rate for SP 05: $65,543
SP 05 2nd increment: $68,869 is the new rate of pay
Not only is there no increase to their rate of pay, but the increment date has reset to the date of permanent appointment, so the member will have to wait a full year for the next increment, despite the fact that they were due for an increment in six months in the acting position. Their co-workers, who are still acting in the SP 05 position, will be eligible for an increment sooner and the member, despite having been successful in a permanent placement, will fall behind their co-workers.
Melanee Jessup
President, UTE Local 00015 Kitchener
Communications Committee