Religious Observance Policy

Policy

1. Policy statement

2. Administrative guidelines

  1. Where an employee requires time off from work for religious observance, requests shall be submitted in writing, a minimum of 60 days in advance of the date of the religious observance, to their immediate supervisor. The request must state the name of the observance, date being requested and the religious affiliation.
  2. Upon receipt of any request for a leave of absence for religious observance, and prior to approval, the supervisor is required to discuss the request with Human Resources Services, Employee and Labour Relations, to ensure fairness and consistency in the application of College policy.
  3. For the purpose of approving leaves of absence for religious observances, the College may consider some or all of the following factors:
    • day and date requested
    • the number of employees who request the leave
    • the number of days of leave sought
    • duties of the employees seeking the leave
    • potential disruptions to the academic programs, services and operational requirements o potential risks to others
    • the granting of the leave should not disadvantage or advantage the requesting employees over others
    • the reasonable scope of celebration over and above the performance of religious rites (i.e. they must be a legitimate component of religious celebration)
    • the request is bona fide
    • the size of the functional administrative unit (School or Department)
    • the employee must respond reasonably and in good faith in implementing the appropriate accommodation.
    The above factors are general guidelines and other factors may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  4. Requests for leave of absence for religious observance will not be unreasonably denied. The following options will be reviewed as possible ways to permit the employee to participate in religious leave while avoiding loss of pay:
    • make up the time at a later date when the employee would not normally be scheduled to work and be paid at the employee's regular rate for the substituted shift/hours
    • subject to Collective Agreements and operational requirements, an employee could be scheduled to work on a Saturday or Sunday where these are not days when the employee is normally scheduled to work and the employee would be paid the regular rate for hours worked
    • where operationally feasible, switch shifts/hours of work with another employee in the work unit
    • where possible, the employee's shift schedule could be modified and/or adjusted (e.g. compressed work week)
    • use outstanding vacation day(s) or lieu time (where accrued) to be paid for the day(s) off for religious observances.
    The above options are guidelines and other options may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Where options for employees to make-up pay when granting religious leave may impact on Collective Agreement provisions, the union will be involved in determining the option to be used.
  5. Where an employee is covered by a Collective Agreement that permits a grant of religious leave with pay in certain circumstances, paid leave will also be an option in the appropriate circumstances.
  6. Contract administrative staff, part-time and sessional academic staff, and part-time, contract, Appendix D or G support staff employees are not eligible for paid leaves of absence. However, in accordance with this Policy, requests for time-off for religious observances will be considered and, where there is a minimum of disruption to the educational programs, services and/or operational assignments, etc. so that the employee will avoid the loss of pay. Where this is not feasible, the employee will be granted leave without pay for the purpose of the religious observance.
  7. There shall be no substitution of a work day and/or shift if the date of the religious observance requested falls on a weekend or a day where the employee is not scheduled to work.
  8. All leaves of absence, including those approved for religious observance, are to be recorded on the Attendance Tracking System, as are all other leaves, such as vacation, professional development, jury duty, etc.
  9. The Office of the Executive Director of Human Resources is responsible for the administration and communication of this Policy.

Related materials


Maintained by: Human Resources


Approval Date: 2014

Last Revision: May 2019