Sick Leave

October 6, 2023

Our Know Your Rights segments highlight different aspects that impact your employment at Carleton University, including highlights from the Collective Agreement in small, easy to understand bits.

A common question we get at CUASA is what to do if you’re sick. It’s important to note that if you are legitimately absent from your duties due to illness, you are still entitled to full salary and all other benefits for the duration listed below. To demystify the process, we’ll take the language present in the Collective Agreement (Article 19.5 on page 119) and arrange it in a timetable below:

• As soon as possible: Upon realizing that you’re sick, you should notify your Dean or the University Librarian (whichever is applicable) of your absence and its estimated duration. It is the employer’s responsibility to find someone to cover your responsibilities in the case of illness. Insofar as reasonable, other employees shall assume the workload of persons on sick leave to ensure that scheduled academic activities need not be cancelled. If a colleague in your unit has gone on sick leave and you find that it’s creating an unreasonable workload, we encourage you to reach out to us at CUASA so we can help find a fair and equitable solution.
• Five days or more: The employer is entitled to request a medical certificate indicating that you are unable to fulfill your duties for five days or more.
• Three months or more: The employer may, at its discretion, require you to be examined by a medical practitioner of your choice for the purpose of evaluating your ability to return to work. Such examination may only be requested after the employee indicates that they intend to return to work.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
• ​​​​​​​180 days (roughly 6 months) or until benefits under the Group Long-Term Disability Plan come into effect, whichever is shorter: This is the sick leave duration limit. Anything that exceeds this limit would cease to be considered “sick leave” and would instead fall under long-term disability. If there is a possibility that your sick leave will expand past this 180-day mark, it is best to complete the documentation required for Long-Term Disability before the expiry of sick leave under Article 19.5 to avoid a gap in your salary.

Note that there are some discrepancies between the Sick Leave Policy listed on the Carleton Human Resources website and the CUASA Collective Agreement. As stated on the HR website “Collective Agreements between the certified bargaining agents and the University take precedence over the contents of these policies.” In other words, when in doubt, refer to the Collective Agreement first. As always, feel free to contact CUASA at [email protected]with any questions or concerns.