Guiding Principles for 2020 Vacation Time

With the current global restrictions on travel, the provincial closure of non-essential services, and the reality of social distancing requirements, vacation time may look a little different this year.  But taking care of your own well-being and that of your family continues to be important and enjoying vacation time is of even greater importance in these unpredictable times.

As our community continues to work through these challenging times and to make plans, both business and personal, for the remainder of the 2020 year, we understand it may be helpful to set out key guiding principles regarding vacation. These guiding principles do not supersede specific language in any employment contract or collective agreement – rather, they are intended to support and enable discussions between employees and their supervisors for the scheduling of vacation time within the parameters of those agreements.

1. Employees should take 2020 vacation time within the 2020 calendar year
   • Employees and supervisors are encouraged to work together to plan for the use and exhaustion of 2020 vacation time within the 2020 calendar year.

2. Generally, the circumstances arising from COVID-19 are not considered a reason for exceptional amounts of vacation carryover into 2021
   • Vacation time is meant to be restorative and is important for our well-being.
   • Although the way in which we spend our time while on vacation in 2020 may be different than in other years, there are many ways to find rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation within the current climate.

3. Vacation must be scheduled in a way that will not inhibit operational requirements
   • Supervisors must be able to ensure effective continued operation of University business.
   • Where operational requirements have prevented the ability to exhaust 2020 vacation time prior to the end of December, any carryover must be approved in accordance with collective agreements or vacation guidelines and should be used in the early part of 2021.

4. Supervisors must be fair and reasonable in the scheduling of vacation time
   • Supervisors are encouraged to communicate openly with their teams and to work with their employees to set out a plan for the use of 2020 vacation time.
   • To the extent possible, supervisors are encouraged to consider employee preferences in the scheduling of vacation time.

Employees are encouraged to be flexible and cooperative in scheduling their vacation time, recognizing that supervisors will be working to balance time off for overall teams while also ensuring the work of the University can continue effectively.

The University community has come together in so many incredible examples of cooperation and teamwork throughout this crisis to date. While we understand that nothing about the current circumstances is ideal, we anticipate that these guiding principles will help the community in working through vacation scheduling for this challenging 2020 year.

We thank everyone in advance for their continued cooperation and teamwork and wish all you some much deserved time for rest and relaxation over the coming months!