VON 2016 Holiday Availability Form

Locals 31, 35, 40 & 85 – Home Support VON (Kings/Annapolis, Colchester, Tri-County & Pictou)

VON 2016 Holiday Availability Form

Good afternoon,

By now, all members should have received a copy of the 2016 Holiday Availability Form put out by the Employer.

This form lists 10 holidays and asks employees to:

“Please indicate by (checkmark) below which FIVE holidays you would prefer to be scheduled off, excluding Christmas and New Years’. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT GUARANTEED. DUE TO OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS YOU MAY BE REQUIRED TO WORK.”

While the form makes reference to Article 14 of the collective agreement, the Union wants to make it clear to employees that the actual article asks the Employee to “notify the Employer in writing of the minimum of five (5) holidays (other than Christmas or New Year’s day which they prefer to be scheduled off.”

The Employer has not included the word “minimum” on the form given to employees, but has communicated to the Union that it is the Employer’s intention to consider all requests as per the language in the collective agreement.

Article 14 (a) does allow Employees to notify the Employer of their preference for having more than five holidays off. Employees should also be aware that Article 14 (b) allows the Employer to assign employees to work Holidays (that they asked to have off) if the Employer does not have enough workers to meet the client need.

If you have further questions or concerns about this issue, please contact your Employee Relations Officer (ERO) Corry Mac Kinnon by calling 902-424-4063 (toll-free 1-877-556-7438) or emailing cmackinnon@nsgeu.ca.