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COVID-19: Additional Q & A for Employees as of March 20, 2020
Prepared by People Services/Human Resources
As an NSHA team member, the role you will play in the coming days and weeks is vital. Your skills, experience and expertise will support Nova Scotians though this challenging time and, as such, the health of both yourself and your family is incredibly important. We recognize that this may be both an emotional and stressful time for you and your family. As an organization, we need to come together, support each other and have all hands on deck to overcome this pandemic.
The cancellation of vacations and trips, schools and childcare has great impact and we appreciate everything you are doing to work through these challenging times. We understand that clear, timely communication is crucial, and we are committed to getting updates to you, while working with our union partners to adjust and respond to our rapidly changing environment. When personally seeking information, it will remain important to ensure the source is up to date and reliable. The Provincial and Federal government websites, public health and the coronavirus intranet are all great resources.
These uncertain times will require us to be flexible. Decisions made to support operations that impact employees will not be made lightly and we will do our best to work with each of you as these potential changes unfold. This may mean your work schedule is changed, your assigned area may change, or previously approved vacation may unfortunately be cancelled. With the current situation evolving quickly there will be challenges. During this time we need to stick together, keep moving forward, and remain committed to the work we do.
Additional Questions You May Have
We anticipate that you may have additional questions as we move throughout these challenging times and we will attempt to address them on an ongoing basis. The following will provide answers to recent commonly asked questions:
1. How will I be paid during the 14-day self-isolation period?
We have made the commitment that employees will not suffer any loss of pay during the 14day self-isolation period.
2. How will I be paid if I am casual or part-time status and need to self-isolate for 14 days?
Casual employees in a short or long assignment will not suffer any loss in pay and will be paid special leave for scheduled shifts during the 14-day self-isolation period.
Casual Relief and Part-Time employees who must self-isolate for 14 days will not suffer any loss in pay. Payment during the self-isolation period will be based on either all scheduled shifts or an average of their hours worked during the previous three months (six pay periods), whichever is greater.
3. How will I be paid if I test positive for COVID-19?
Regular collective agreement provisions will apply in order to support employees. In these exceptional circumstances, on a without prejudice without precedent setting basis, an employee who does not have access to 100% paid sick leave and/or has exhausted their available banks will be topped up to full pay through special paid leave during the 14-day period of self-isolation and where they have tested positive with COVID-19 (for the duration of the illness until they meet the clearance protocol to return to work). If an employee contracts COVID-19 in the course of their work, the WCB process will be followed.
4. How will I be paid if I’m a casual status employee without entitlement to paid sick leave if I test positive for COVID-19?
We have committed that employees will not suffer any loss of pay if they must self-isolate or end up testing positive for COVID-19. We would continue to pay casual employees based on the average of their hours worked during the previous three months (six pay periods) whichever is greater. This would continue until they meet the clearance protocol to return to work.
5. I have questions about vacation schedules, cancelation and carry over.
Employees should discuss any concerns they have about vacation with their managers.
Here are some considerations to keep in mind from previous updates (March 16, 2020):
As a result of potential recall, cancelation and changes to vacation planning for all NSHA employees (management, non-union and union), an exception has been approved in that all existing vacation quota banks for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2020 will automatically carry over to next fiscal year.
While managers are doing whatever they can to avoid cancelling already approved vacation leave, there may be cases that due to operational requirements, the number of people on selfisolation, challenges with covering shifts, etc. where they will need to cancel vacation. If that happens it will be done in accordance with the collective agreements.
If you have approved vacation and are reconsidering your travel plans, you should discuss this with your manager. While there are no provisions in the collective agreements for employees to cancel vacation once it has been approved, we understand these are unique circumstances. Managers would consider such a request on a case by case basis depending on the department’s operational needs and disruption to work schedules in place. If you make the decision to cancel your travel plans, the Employer is not responsible for any compensation resulting from the cancelation of vacation (i.e. hotels, flights, trip expenses, etc.).
6. What will happen to my schedules or my modified work week? Can I work from home or make alternate work arrangements? During these exceptional circumstances both employees and NSHA need to adopt flexibility in order to continue our operations. If there are any changes to your schedule or your modified work week, your manager will advise you with as much notice as possible. Please be assured that these changes are temporary in nature, and your normal work schedules and any prior alternate work arrangements will resume as soon as feasible.
If you are looking for alternate work arrangements such as working from home or modified hours please discuss this with your immediate manager to see if your request can be supported. Each request will be reviewed on a case by case basis. For more information on working from home, please review the guide at this link http://intra.nshealth.ca/Coronavirus%20Update/Work%20from%20Home%20and%…
7. Services, procedures and clinics are being cancelled and/or postponed. What does that mean for me? Do I still report to work if my department has closed?
We are currently working to assess our workforce given the current pressures and develop processes for redeployment. For now, all team members are expected to report to their regular area of work and at their normally scheduled time.
As service and staffing requirements change, your manager will be reviewing the operational requirements for your unit/department and other units/departments across both your facility and the organization. Should managers find themselves with more employees scheduled for shifts than required, they may look at cancelling extra and relief shifts by providing appropriate notice in accordance with our collective agreements. Permanent employees and employees in Short and Long Assignments are entitled to work and pay for their regularly scheduled shifts up to their full-time equivalent designation.
You may also be called upon to be reassigned to another unit/department or facility within NSHA.
Employees in any bargaining unit may be temporarily reassigned to another existing work location or a new work site. The “reassignment area” must be within 50 km (one way) of your regular worksite if in HRM and 75 km (one way) of your regular worksite if outside of HRM. Employees are eligible to be reimbursed as per the NSHA travel policy for travel costs including kms driven to travel to an alternate work location and for any parking costs incurred. Employees are also paid for the time it takes to travel to the alternate location.
You will only be reassigned to an area where you are qualified/licensed to do the required work.
8. Will staff continue to pay for parking during this pandemic? We are currently working on parking supports and will provide information on this as soon as it is available.
General Support
Information from Occupational Health and Human Resources including screening criteria/work restrictions for healthcare workers and work from home guidelines have been and will continue to be updated for staff. If you have questions about how you are being paid or other Human Resources related questions, please contact your local Human Resources department.
Thank you for your dedication to the health of Nova Scotians, patients and families and team members. We will do our best to continue to provide you with the supports you need during this unusual and extraordinary time.