Bulletin
FortisBC- Scheduling 2024 Annual Vacation, Purchased Days Off & Earned Days Off
January 5, 2024
To: All MoveUP members at FortisBC
Article 14: Reminder to schedule 2024 Annual Vacation, Paid Days Off and Earned Days Off.
It is that time of year to schedule your Annual Vacation (AV), Purchased Days Off (PDO), Earned Days Off (EDO) for 2024 if you have not already done so.
The union encourages everyone to schedule their full entitlement of AV, PDO and EDO, as set out in your collective agreement.
Article 14.05 allows members to carry over vacation to the following year March 31st when operational requirements prevent members from taking their vacation.
In 2015 this language was changed from management approval to operational needs. The union continues to assert that members work hard for their time off and should take their entire allotment every year. There should be very few instances where a member is unable to take time off.
The current and agreed upon language in the collective agreement prevents carryover unless for operational needs, which has been defined as a member who has booked vacation and has been requested by the company to cancel and/or rebook their time off. If a manager confirms this is the case, payroll will carry over the vacation until March 31st of the following year.
The company has directed managers to have all of the vacation sign up completed by December 31, 2023. If this has not been completed in your department, please ensure you submit your vacation and PDO’s for approval as soon as possible.
Each department may have different scheduling requirements around black out periods, or minimum staffing requirements. Be sure to get this information during the scheduling process.
There will always be workload and staffing issues. It is the managers role to manage these situations.
You can request to change your vacation and PDO’s should things change. Managers are quick to deny ad hoc requests throughout the year, however, they will look for alternative options before requesting to have your approved time off cancelled or rescheduled.
If you have any questions or require assistance scheduling with your manager, please reach out to a job steward. (FortisBC Job Steward List)
In solidarity,
April Young
Union Representative