Military Reservist Leave Procedure

Purpose statement

This procedure defines the conditions for granting military reservist leave, the application process and the applicable military reservist leave benefits.

Scope

This procedure applies to all employees of The Corporation of the Town of Oakville (the Town) who are members of the reserve force of the Canadian Forces referred to in the National Defence Act (Canada).

This Procedure shall be read in conjunction with the Employment Standards Act, 2000, (“ESA”) as amended, and the terms and conditions of the applicable collective agreement.

Procedure

Conditions for granting military leave of absence

A military reservist leave of absence will be granted for employees to undergo military training or exercises or for the participation in an operational mission authorized by the Canadian Government, subject to the following conditions:

a)  The employee has been employed with the Town for six (6) consecutive months or longer;
b)  The employee is a member of the reserve force of the Canadian Forces referred to in the National Defence Act (Canada);
c)  The purpose of the leave is as a result of deployment to a Canadian Forces operation outside Canada;
d)  The purpose of the leave is as a result of deployment to a Canadian Forces operation inside Canada for the purpose of providing assistance in dealing with an emergency or with its aftermath;
e)  Participation, whether inside or outside of Canada, in pre-deployment or post-deployment activities that are required by the Canadian Forces is in connection with an operation (described in (c) and (d) above); and
f)  When requested to do so, the employee shall provide to the Town evidence that the employee is entitled to the leave.

Application process

An employee interested in taking a military reservist leave of absence shall submit written notice to his or her Department Head, accompanied with the documentation that specifies the length of the service or training period (if known), at least two (2) weeks in advance of the first day of leave or as soon as reasonably possible.

End leave period

1. The employee shall provide written notice of the end-date of the leave to the employee’s Department Head as soon as reasonably possible.
2. The Town will reinstate the employee to the same position that he or she left for the purpose of the military reservist leave, if such position still exists, or to a comparable position if it does not.
3. Reinstatement of the employee may be postponed by the later of one (1) pay period or two (2) weeks after the end of the leave, subject to the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

Military Reservist Leave Benefits

1. Military reservist leave of absence is without pay.
2. The Town will pay the employer’s and the employee’s portion of any benefit premiums, excluding long-term disability benefits, life insurance and AD&D benefits, during the first two (2) consecutive months of the approved leave. Thereafter, all employee benefits, extended health plans, dental plans and any other benefit plan shall cease for the duration of the leave.
3. Benefits will not be paid for claims resulting from any hostile actions to an employee who is called for deployment.
4. Upon reinstatement, the employee shall be entitled to employee benefits in accordance with the employee benefit coverage in effect at that time.
5. At all times, benefit coverage is subject to the policies, provisions and approval of the benefit carrier(s).
6. Vacation entitlement will not be affected by military reservist leave for less than two (2) months duration.  Vacation entitlement for employees whose military reservist leave is greater than two (2) months in duration shall be calculated on a pro-rated basis.
7. Upon reinstatement, the employee will be paid the greater of the wage rate he or she earned most recently as an employee of the town or, the rate the employee would be earning had he or she worked throughout the leave as an employee of the town.
8. The military reservist leave period will result in a pension plan break in service with OMERS.  The employee has the option of purchasing the service with OMERS and must sign a Leave Period Election Form 165 indicating whether they wish to purchase service or not.  As per OMERS regulations, if the employee elects to purchase the service with OMERS, the employee is responsible for paying his/her portion of the contributions and the town will pay the town’s portion.

Military Reservist Leave and Vacation

1. An employee on a military reservist leave may defer taking vacation until immediately after the leave expires; or
2. The employee and the town may agree to a later date for the vacation to be taken; or
3. An employee may forego taking vacation and receive vacation pay rather than completing his or her vacation.

Length of Employment

The period of time an employee is on military reservist leave shall be included for the purpose of calculating his or her length of service and seniority with the town, whether or not it is active employment.

Definitions

Exercise: A period of time (usually two (2) weeks) that is scheduled annually by the employees Reserve Force element (Naval, Army, Air or Communication).

Reservist: means a member of the reserve force of the Canadian Forces referred to in the National Defence Act (Canada)

Responsibilities

Respective Department Heads shall in conjunction with the Human Resources Department administer this procedure.