Bereavement Leave - Non-Union Procedure

Purpose statement

To establish guidelines and provisions for granting of bereavement leave upon the death of an employee’s family member.

Scope

This procedure applies to all non-union employees of The Corporation of the Town of Oakville (town).  Employees covered by a collective agreement are subject to the terms and conditions set out in their respective agreements.

Procedure

Bereavement leave application process

1. An employee’s request for bereavement leave should be directed to the employee’s department head as soon as possible, using the Leave of Absence form in Appendix A.
2. The department head or his or her delegate may request supporting documentation from the employee in conjunction with the request.
3. The department head or his or her delegate will review the information provided for approval.

Bereavement leave payment

1. A permanent full-time employee whose request for bereavement leave has been approved and has successfully completed the probationary period is entitled to the following bereavement leave payment: 
   • of not more than five (5) days for lost time for his or her regularly scheduled hours due to the death of his or her parent (including foster, step or adoptive), spouse (including common-law and same sex) or child (including foster, step or adoptive)
   • of not more than three (3) days for lost time of his or her regularly scheduled hours due to the death of his or her brother (including step and half), sister (including step and half), grandchild, grandparent, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law parent-in-law or legal guardian
   • of not more than one (1) day for lost time for his or her regularly scheduled hours due to the death of his or her aunt or uncle
2. Payment will be made on the basis of the employee’s regular rate, based on the number of normal hours the employee otherwise would have worked, exclusive of overtime and other forms of premium payments.
3. An employee will not be allowed to receive payments for any period in which he or she is receiving other payments in the form of vacation pay, public holiday pay, sick benefits, or workers compensation.

Leave entitlement

1. A leave of absence granted for bereavement leave will be applied against the ten (10) days’ leave entitlement as set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000.
2. Bereavement leave requests not covered by this procedure may be granted at the discretion of the department head.

Responsibilities

The department heads are responsible for ensuring that bereavement leave is documented on the appropriate corporate form for attendance reporting or Time Card/Sheet.