8% in Lieu vs. Vacation Pay and Sick Leave — Temporary Positions
If you are a temporary APSA member, you will receive an employment letter with your contract. If it's a long-term contract, you may get a choice of vacation time or 8% in lieu of vacation. It's great to have a little extra cash in your pocket, but know that these choices affect your sick leave. This is also important for APSA supervisors, as they can help their direct reports make informed decisions.
8% in lieu of vacation and how it affects sick leave
8% in lieu of vacation means that instead of being paid during vacation, you will be paid an extra 8% on your paycheque. If you choose to take time off work for vacation, HR considers this an employee absence. So how does this affect sick leave? Temporary members must work at least three weeks before you're eligible for the same sick leave entitlement as a continuing member. After each instance of employee absence, a temporary employee must then work for a new period of three weeks to be eligible for the same entitlement of sick leave as a continuing member. (see AD 10.08 section 7.01d).
Vacation pay and sick leave
If you opt for paid vacation time instead, this time off is coded as vacation and is not an employee absence, so it won't affect your sick leave. You don't have to work a new period of three weeks after taking a vacation to qualify for paid sick leave.
Here's an example of these two choices in action:
You chose vacation pay instead of 8% in lieu, and you've come back to the office after a week in Los Cabos. You catch the flu going around the department a week later. You are entitled to paid sick leave because your holiday did not count as an employee absence. If you took the 8% in lieu of vacation instead, taking sick days is not paid. This is because your holiday with 8% in lieu is unpaid and counts as an employee absence.
If you have any questions on the AD 10 policies and how it affects temporary APSA members, please contact APSA.
