The NBTF has received several questions regarding the interpretation of the new Article 31.10 of the Collective Agreement with respect to medical and dental appointments. The NBTF and the Employer agree that teachers may use their sick days for these types of appointments. Teachers are required to advise the Employer of the time and location (city) of the appointment and a medical note cannot be requested by the Employer to confirm the absence. In addition, if the appointment falls on a day when the school is closed, the teacher will not lose his or her sick day.
Article 31.10
A teacher will make every reasonable effort to schedule his/her own medical or dental appointments outside the hours of instruction. When this is not possible, sick leave shall be granted for his/her own medical or dental appointments within a teacher’s hours of instruction. The teacher shall notify the Employer of the time of the appointment as soon as the appointment is confirmed.
With respect to sick leave, the Employer may require a medical note at any time, and the interpretation with respect to school closure remains unchanged and is as follows:
If the teacher is in school the day previous to the day of school a closure or the day following the closure, then it will be assumed that the teacher would have been at work on the day of the closure. A sick day will not be deducted in such a situation. For example, if the school is closed on a Thursday and the teacher was absent for health reasons on the Wednesday but is at work on the Friday, then it is assumed that the teacher would have been at work on the Thursday, which was the day of the closure. The day will not be deducted as a sick day.
For any teacher who is on sick leave both on the day before and the day after a school closure, it is assumed that the teacher would not have been at work on the day of the closure. That day will then be deducted from the teacher’s accumulated sick leave.
If you have any questions about these interpretations, you can contact the NBTF at
1-800-679-7044.