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POLICY HUM-VAC-245
Vacation Category
HUM - Human
Resources
Sub-category
VAC - Vacation,
Leave & Hours of
Work
Approval Type
COUNCIL
Department/Division
Corporate
Services/Human
Resources
Author and Position
Human Resources
Date Approved
June 1, 1992
Last
Reviewed/Amended
December 16, 2024
Next Review Date
June 1, 2029
Related Policies or Procedures
• HUM-VAC-165 Leaves of Absence
• HUM-HIR-100 Employee Status - Definitions
Policy Purpose
This policy establishes standards for annual vacation entitlements and vacation pay
percentages.
Definitions
Entitlement: The number of vacation hours which an employee is eligible to use within the
vacation year based on years of continuous service.
Carry-forward: The portion of the employee’s entitlement in a vacation year that is permitted
to be used in the subsequent vacation year.
Employment service date: The date of last hire where service is continuous.
Continuous service: Continuously employed by the City of Kitchener with no break in
service.
Years of service: The number of years of employment, based on the employment service
date where service is continuous.
Corporation: Refers to the Corporation of the City of Kitchener.
Standard work week: The employee’s typical hours of work per week based on their
employment contract or the terms of their collective agreement, if applicable, and reflecting
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alternative schedules should the employee be approved to participate in any applicable
alternative working arrangements program.
Temporary full-time employee: For the purposes of this policy, a temporary full-time
employee performs a role equivalent to a CUPE 791 or non-union/management permanent
full-time role.
Employee status definitions used throughout this policy are available in policy HUM-HIR-
100 Employee Status – Definitions which should be read alongside this policy for correct
application.
Policy Scope
Where terms of a Collective Agreement differ from this Policy, the terms of the Collective
Agreement will apply.
Application
☒ Employees (Indicate below which categories apply: All employees, Permanent full-time, Temporary full-time, Continuous part-
time, Casual, Probationary, Student, Management, Non-union) • All employees
☐ Unions (Indicate below which categories apply: All Unions, CUPE 68 Civic, CUPE 68 Mechanics, CUPE 791, IATSE, IBEW, KPFFA)
• Click or tap here to enter text.
☐ Council
☐ Specified Positions: Click or tap here to enter text.
☐ Other: Local Boards and Advisory Committees
Policy Content
1. General
Employees are encouraged to use all of their vacation entitlement each year.
Permanent full-time employees will accrue vacation to be taken as paid time off. All
other employees will earn vacation pay as a percentage of gross earnings with each
pay. Employees who earn vacation pay as a percentage will take unpaid vacation time
off in accordance with the Employment Standards Act (ESA).
A. Vacation year
i. Prior to January 1, 2026, the vacation year shall be from June 1st to May
31st. Eligibility for paid vacation shall be determined on June 1st and
entitlement will be calculated using the employee’s employment status
date.
ii. As of January 1, 2026, the vacation year shall be from January 1st to
December 31st with the qualifying year for each employee based on their
employment service date, which shall be calculated as of the anniversary
date of the employee’s continuous service to the Corporation.
B. Scheduling vacation
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i. Vacations are to be taken in accordance with the ESA and shall be
arranged to the employee’s preference as far as this is possible and
practical to do so and as approved by the employee’s immediate
supervisor, having regard for the employment status date and operational
requirements to ensure service levels are maintained.
ii. When an employee has vacation time scheduled and within that period
qualifies for bereavement leave, bereavement entitlement will replace the
use of vacation credits or unpaid vacation time for such absence. The
period of vacation so displaced shall be taken at a time convenient to the
Corporation.
C. Vacation while on leave
i. All employees on an approved ESA leave of absence will continue to earn
time toward years of service for the purposes of vacation entitlement. Any
employee entitled to paid vacation time will continue to accrue vacation
credits on the basis of months of continuous service.
ii. Employees on an approved non-ESA leave of absence will not earn time
toward years of service for the purposes of vacation entitlement for the
period of the leave. An employee entitled to paid vacation time will not
accrue vacation credits for the period of the leave.
a. For permanent full-time employees, in the event that a full calendar
month is not completed when an employee goes on leave, the
employee’s monthly vacation earnings will be pro-rated based on the
number of working days that the employee worked in the month the
leave commenced, up to the maximum monthly earnings
corresponding to their service entitlement as outlined below.
iii. Employees will not earn time toward years of service for the purposes of
vacation entitlement, and employees entitled to paid vacation time will not
accrue vacation credits when receiving a Long-Term Disability (LTD)
benefit starting from the date their LTD benefit is approved.
D. Returning from leave
i. Vacation credit accrual or accrual of time toward years of service for
vacation entitlement percentages will resume on the date the employee
returns from a non-ESA leave or LTD.
a. For permanent full-time employees, credit will be pro-rated based on
the number of working days the employee worked in the month the
leave ended, up to the maximum monthly earnings corresponding to
their service entitlement as outlined below.
E. End of employment
i. When the employment of any employee is terminated, the employee shall
be paid a proportionate amount of salary or wages for any unused or
accrued vacation credits.
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2. Entitlements
The Corporation reserves the right to start a new employee at a higher entitlement.
A. CASUAL, & STUDENT EMPLOYEES
Casual and student employees will earn vacation pay as a percentage of gross
earnings with each pay (4% or 6% based on years of service) in accordance
with the Employment Standards Act.
B. TEMPORARY FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES
Temporary employees will earn 6% vacation pay as a percentage of gross
earnings with each pay.
C. CONTINUOUS PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
Vacation entitlement will parallel non-union, full-time staff. The percentage
payable will vary based on years of continuous service.
Vacation entitlement is based on the following schedule:
Continuous Service
(Years Completed)
Continuous part-time
vacation percentage
<1 6.0%
1 6.0%
2 6.0%
3 6.0%
4 6.0%
5 6.4%
6 6.8%
7 7.2%
8 7.6%
9 8.0%
10 8.0%
11 8.0%
12 8.4%
13 8.8%
14 9.2%
15 9.6%
16 10.0%
17 10.0%
18 10.0%
19 10.0%
20 10.4%
21 10.8%
22 11.2%
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23 11.6%
24+ 12.0%
D. PERMANENT FULL TIME EMPLOYEES
Vacation entitlement is based on the following schedule:
Continuou
s Service
(Years
Complete
d)
Vacation days
Monthly
vacation
accrual (in
hours)
35 hours/week
Monthly
vacation
accrual (in
hours)
40 hours/week
<1 1.25 days/month 8.750 10.000
1 15 (3 weeks) 8.750 10.000
2 15 (3 weeks) 8.750 10.000
3 15 (3 weeks) 8.750 10.000
4 15 (3 weeks) 8.750 10.000
5 16 (3 weeks + 1 day) 9.333 10.667
6 17 (3 weeks + 2 days) 9.917 11.333
7 18 (3 weeks + 3 days) 10.500 12.000
8 19 (3 weeks + 4 days) 11.083 12.667
9 20 (4 weeks) 11.667 13.333
10 20 (4 weeks) 11.667 13.333
11 20 (4 weeks) 11.667 13.333
12 21 (4 weeks + 1 day) 12.250 14.000
13 22 (4 weeks + 2 days) 12.833 14.667
14 23 (4 weeks + 3 days) 13.417 15.333
15 24 (4 weeks + 4 days) 14.000 16.000
16 25 (5 weeks) 14.583 16.667
17 25 (5 weeks) 14.583 16.667
18 25 (5 weeks) 14.583 16.667
19 25 (5 weeks) 14.583 16.667
20 26 (5 weeks + 1 day) 15.167 17.333
21 27 (5 weeks + 2 days) 15.750 18.000
22 28 (5 weeks + 3 days) 16.333 18.667
23 29 (5 weeks + 4 days) 16.917 19.333
24+ 30 (6 weeks) 17.500 20.000
Effective January 1, 2025, if the first full calendar month of service cannot be
completed because it begins with either a Holiday and/or weekend, an
employee who begins work on the first working day of the month will be credited
with their maximum monthly earnings based on their service entitlement.
1. Access to vacation
Employees shall have access to their vacation entitlement as advanced to
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them on January 1st of each year. For greater clarity, where the vacation
entitlement is advanced, a new employee would earn and utilize their
vacation entitlement within the same year rather than having to earn a
vacation entitlement in one year prior to utilizing it in the following year.
2. Vacation accrual
As of January 1, 2026, all employees will accrue vacation monthly at the
rate corresponding to their annual entitlement based on their qualifying year
in accordance with their years of service in the chart above. Employees who
have reached a threshold that corresponds to a greater vacation entitlement
will accrue vacation at a higher monthly rate in the month following the
anniversary of their employment service date.
In the first year of employment, such vacation entitlement shall be prorated
in proportion to the period between the date of hire and the end of the
vacation year referenced above. Upon termination, vacation shall be
prorated to correspond to the proportion of the year in which they were
employed by the Corporation.
Employees whose first day of work begins after the first day of the month
will have their first month of vacation earnings pro-rated based on the
number of working days that the employee is employed by the Corporation
in their first month up to the maximum monthly earnings corresponding to
their service entitlement as outlined above. Employees who terminate prior
to the last day of the month shall have their vacation earnings for their final
month of work pro-rated based on the number of days worked in the month
of termination up to the maximum monthly earnings corresponding to their
service entitlement as outlined above.
2a. Vacation accrual – employees hired on or after January 1, 2025
Employees hired on or after January 1, 2025 will accrue vacation
monthly at the rate corresponding to their annual entitlement based on
the qualifying year.
3. Vacation carry-forward
Employees entitled to three (3) or more weeks’ vacation may carry forward
up to one (1) week’s vacation to the next vacation period. Employees
entitled to four (4) or more weeks’ vacation may, by written request to the
employee’s Department Head with a copy to the Director, Human
Resources or Designate, be granted the privilege of carrying forward up to
one (1) additional week’s vacation to the next vacation period for a total of
up to two (2) weeks. This provision is non-cumulative, and any vacation
carried forward must be used by the end of the next vacation period and
shall otherwise be forfeited. A request to carry forward more than one (1)
week of vacation is a discretionary special circumstance and not an annual
entitlement.
4. Illness during scheduled vacation time
When an employee has vacation time scheduled and within that period
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experiences an accident, illness or injury resulting in confinement in a
hospital or a recognized medical centre as evidenced by a medical
certificate, there will be no deductions from vacation credits for such
absence. The period of vacation so displaced shall be taken at a time
convenient to the Corporation.
5. End of employment
In the event the employee has taken more vacation that they have accrued
at the time of termination, the Corporation shall recover the difference on
the employee’s final pay. Should the final pay not be sufficient to fully
recover the overpaid vacation, the employee will provide payment directly
to the Corporation within thirty (30) days.
Results of Review
☐ No Edits Required
☐ Housekeeping Edits
☒ Substantial Edits
☐ Repeal/Replace
Policy History
Administrative and Housekeeping Changes
Date Nature of Change
2016-06-01 Policy II-245 template reformatted to new numbering system and given
number HUM-VAC-245.
Substantial Changes
Date Council/CLT Directive
2001-01-15 Resolution passed by Council
2002-07-04 Resolution passed by Council
2004-03-29 Resolution passed by Council
2010-06-14 Resolution passed by Council
2011-02-07 Resolution passed by Council
2024-12-16 Resolution passed by Council, see report COR-2024-514