Checklist for Pregnancy/Parental Leaves:

What does this look like for Bluewater Occasional Teachers?

 Items to consider as an:

Daily Occasional Teacher

In a long term occasional (LTO) assignment at the time of your leave

Read ETFO Guide to Pregnancy and Parental Leave

This booklet sets out a general guide to member rights and responsibilities under the Employment Standards Act, the Employment Insurance Act and being informed of Local Collective Agreement entitlements and can be found when logged into ETFO Secure Portal: https://members.etfo.ca/resources/member-advice/member-advice

Contact your ETFO local or the ETFO provincial office to discuss your options.

ETFO Bluewater Occasional Teacher Local: www.etfobluewaterot.com

ETFO Provincial: ETFO’s Professional Relations Services (PRS)

Note: If you are part-time permanent, you will need to refer to the ETFO Bluewater Teacher Local contacts and collective agreement as well: www.etfobluewater.com

Obtain a medical certificate stating the expected date of birth.

The written notification must include a certificate from a legally qualified medical practitioner stating the expected date of birth.

Provide at least 2 weeks written notice to your school board before the date of leave.

Using the Employee Information and Leave (EIL) System: https://eil.bwdsb.on.ca/ request your leave and list your supervisor as the Elementary Human Resources Executive Assistant. As well, email the Elementary Human Resources Executive Assistant and ask for confirmation your EIL Pregnancy and/or Parental form was received.  

Contact the Local President for this Board contact name.

Using the Employee Information and Leave (EIL) System: https://eil.bwdsb.on.ca/ request your leave. Your supervisor will be your principal.

Take Precautions.

“21.01 The board will endeavour to ensure the automated callout will include: a) the names of the teacher(s) being replaced, b) the grade(s) to be taught, c) the assigned start and end time including scheduled supervision, d) other information that may be pertinent to the assignment e) and communicable diseases as per Article 20.03”

“20.03 If a pregnant Member, during her regular duties, is exposed to diseases or physical dangers which may cause harm to the unborn child, or, if a Member who has returned to work after a pregnancy leave, is exposed to diseases or physical dangers which may cause harm for the child whom she is breastfeeding, a solution to this situation will be realized by:

a) consideration of altering the commencement date of the pregnancy leave if the dangerous condition relates to the Member’s physical abilities;

b) temporary assignment to another location or duties;

c) use of sick leave credits."

Complete pro-rated minimum assignments to remain on OT Roster.

Occasional Teachers hired mid-year or on an approved Leave of Absence would have the 15 minimum assignments worked pro-rated. Days worked during an LTO count towards these 15 assignments.

Ensure you have completed these assignments before your leave (or how many you will need if you return mid school year) by emailing the Elementary Human Resources Executive Assistant. Ask for confirmation of email received. Contact the Local President for this name.

Mark yourself unavailable on SmartFind Express.

Taking a leave is not connected to SmartFind Express. As a requirement in our collective agreement, mark yourself unavailable in the callout system.

Assessment and Reporting.

Not applicable.

The person responsible for writing report cards is the person in the job at the time of the report card writing PA Day. It is understood that at the end of an LTO, responsibility for the report cards also comes to an end, and a tidy collection of notes and marks will be left for the incoming teacher to assist that person with completing those tasks on the PA Day. If your LTO starts at report card writing time you are expected to write the report cards, based on data left by the absent teacher.

Review information re: health benefits, long-term disability, and pension contributions.

These links may help to review options:

Health Benefits / LTD -  https://www.otip.com/occasional-employees-insurance

Ontario Teacher Pension Plan Buy Backs - https://www.otpp.com/members/cms/en/life-career-events/taking-time-off.html 

Complete your application for EI Benefits.

www.servicecanada.gc.ca

Review on the Service Canada website the best time to apply for your situation.

Ensure a copy of your Record of Employment (ROE) has been sent from your school board to Service Canada (this is sent electronically after your last teaching day).

Email [email protected] through your board email and request a ROE. Include your name, employee ID, and reason for leave (to ensure the correct code on ROE) and ask for confirmation of email received. When logged into your My Service Canada Account (MSCA) you can view your ROE.

Each day of Occasional Teaching is recognized as 8 hours for E.I. reporting purposes.

Provide proof of your EI Claim to the school board to receive Supplemental Employment Benefits (SEB) top-ups.

Teachers on daily occasional assignments are not entitled to the benefit.

Eligible LTOs will receive a top-up of 100% of salary for eight weeks of pregnancy leave or the remainder of your LTO, whichever is shorter.

Log into your ‘My Service Canada Account’ to view your claim and take a screenshot showing your full name and benefit rate calculation from Service Canada to email to the Board.

Contact the Local President for this Board payroll contact name.

Experience Credit while on Leave.

“14.03.05 While on a pregnancy/parental leave, Occasional Teachers shall be granted experience credit for the duration of their leave, equivalent to the number of days normally worked for the Board prior to the leave. For further clarity, if a Member is on a12-month leave the Board would average the number of days normally worked in the 12 months prior to the leave to determine the experience credit. Non-working months shall be excluded from this calculation.”

An OT who is on a pregnancy/parental/adoption leave and not in an LTO will gain experience toward grid placement during that leave, based on how much they worked in the previous year. This acknowledges that these teachers could have worked if they had not been on their leave, and their experience will reflect the work that would likely have been done if they had worked at the same rate as in the previous year. An OT who secures an LTO would still gain the amount of experience as though they had completed the LTO.

Add your child to your benefit plan.

Teachers on daily occasional assignments are not entitled to the ETFO Employee Life and Health Trust (ELHT) Benefits Plan.

https://etfo-elhtbenefits.ca/

LTO Teachers with a 90-consecutive calendar day assignment or longer who go on statutory leave (maternity, parental or WSIB) will be eligible for participation in the ETFO ELHT plan until the end of their LTO assignment based on their FTE assignment.

Eligible members may change from single to family benefits and/or add an eligible partner or child to the health and dental plan without evidence of medical insurability if they experience a life event/change (e.g. birth/adoption of a child, marriage/common law qualification, loss of spousal benefits) or with an increase or decrease in FTE (e.g. increase from 0.5 to 0.7 or 1.0; decrease from 0.9 to 0.6; etc.) if completed within 31 days of the event and while the member is actively at work.