GSB# 2005-3661
UNION# 2006-0337-0001
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Hornbeck)
Union
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Children and Youth Services)
Employer
BEFORE
Reva Devins
Vice-Chair
FOR THE UNION
Stephen Giles Grievance Officer Ontario Public Service Employees Union
FOR THE EMPLOYER
Nicholas Sapp Employee Relations Advisor Ministry of Children and Youth Services
HEARING
May 2, 2006.
Decision
The parties have agreed to an expedited mediation-arbitration process to resolve grievances at the Brookside Youth Centre in Cobourg. Although a formal protocol has not been finalized, the parties have agreed to attempt to settle matters at mediation and, if mediation is not successful, to refer appropriate cases to expedited arbitration. The parties specifically agree that the Vice Chair can hear the matter under Article 22.16 of the collective agreement and that the decision will be without prejudice or precedent.
In this case, the grievance asserts entitlement to call back pay for a phone call to the grievor’s home requesting that he bring in a medical certificate regarding his absence on December 30, 2005. The grievor seeks four hours pay at the rate of time and one half.
The facts pertaining to this matter were not in dispute. On December 30, 2005, the grievor called in sick. His manager suspected that the grievor was abusing the sick leave provisions and called him at home to request that he attend at a physician’s office to obtain a medical note confirming that his absence was due to illness. The grievor produced the note, the employer accepted it, and the grievor was paid for the day.
Having heard the submissions of the parties, I find that there is no entitlement to call back pay. The parties agreed that the employer was entitled to request a medical note from the grievor for the absence on December 30, 2005. In these circumstances, it was in the best interests of all parties that management’s request for supporting medical documentation be made in a timely manner. There is no obligation to compensate the grievor for the call.
The grievance is dismissed.
Dated at Toronto this 8th day of May 2006