// Staffing and Recall Rights
It’s that time of year when the employer starts the staffing process. The NBTF receives many questions on the subject and considers it important to remind teachers of this process according to the Collective Agreement.
Layoffs
In any school district where a layoff is necessary, the teacher with the least seniority in that school district shall be laid off before any other teacher in that school district providing the remaining staff is capable of satisfactorily fulfilling the requirements of the positions to be maintained in the district.
A Schedule B teacher to be laid off shall receive a written notice to that effect by registered email, mail or by personal service from the Superintendent or delegated designate. Such notice shall normally be served on or before June 1st and contain the reasons necessitating the layoff.
Short-Term Contracts
Teachers employed under short-term contracts (Schedule D contracts) who lose their positions because their contracts expire shall have the same rights and responsibilities as laid-off teachers. However, laid-off teachers who held Schedule B contracts shall have the right to apply and be considered first for any positions available.
The teacher’s name will be placed on the recall list, and the teachers will be considered for future Schedule D or B contracts for which they are qualified. The maximum recall period for Schedule B or Schedule D laid-off teachers shall be (18) eighteen months.
Job Availability
It is the responsibility of any laid-off teacher to keep his/her Superintendent or delegated designate aware of his/her availability for positions.
When teaching positions become available, the Superintendent or delegated designate shall first notify teachers laid off in writing by email, registered mail or personal service, to give them the opportunity to apply for the positions. Within a reasonable period of time of the serving of such notice to laid-off teachers, if none of the laid-off teachers either applied in writing or, if none who has applied is capable of satisfactorily fulfilling the requirements of the positions, the School District may issue a general call for applications for the positions still available.
Recall Rights
It is important to note that some teaching contracts awarded to substitute teachers under the Collective Agreement do not afford recall rights. These are Schedule D contracts with terms that lasted less than 4 months, part-time Schedule D contracts that were less than 0.33% of a FTE, Schedule C (Local Permits), Schedule E (Special Term Contracts), and Schedule L (Certificate I, II and III Replacement Teachers).
For any question on this topic, please contact the NBTF Labour Relations Officer assigned to your district at 1-888-679-7044.
// Available Posting – NBTF Labour Relations Officer
INTERESTED IN JOINING THE NBTF TEAM?
The New Brunswick Teachers’ Federation is seeking applications for the position of Labour Relations Officer. This full-time permanent bilingual position will be effective July 1, 2022.
Deadline for receipt of applications is April 10, 2022, at noon.
// New Staff Member
The New Brunswick Teachers’ Federation is pleased to welcome Laurence Fievet to its team! Laurence was hired to fill a new position of Bilingual Executive Assistant.
Originally from Belgium, Laurence has several years of administrative experience, including employee relations, a position she most recently held at Treasury Board.
Please join us in welcoming Laurence to the NBTF team and
wishing her great success in her new functions!
// Leaves
Family Responsibility Day
Family responsibility days are approved at the discretion of the Superintendent, often based on the operational requirements of the school district. Leaves under this article which have already been approved for the current school year cannot be cancelled or altered by the employer.
Pre-Retirement
Article 40.07 states that “a teacher, who normally would be entitled to retirement allowance may, within five (5) years of retirement, subject to satisfactory notice to the Superintendent or delegated designate and a replacement teacher being available, take up to three (3) paid pre-retirement vacations, with no more than one vacation in any school year, to be charged against his/her retirement allowance.“
Leaves under this article which have already been approved for the current school year cannot be cancelled or altered by the employer.
Medical and Dental Appointments
The NBTF would like to remind its members that sick days may be used to cover for medical or dental appointments, as long as the employer is notified accordingly with the date, time and location (city) of the appointment.
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.
It is understood that 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 loose their sick day.
Sick Leave
With regards to sick leave, the employer may require a medical note at any time. If there is a school closure the day a teacher had called in sick, the day will be deducted as a sick day.
However, if the teacher is in school the day prior of a school closure or the day following the school closure, then it will be assumed that the teacher would have been at work on the day of the closure. In such situation, a sick day will not be deducted.
For the teacher who is on sick leave, both on the day before and the day after a school closure, it will be assumed that the teacher would not have been at work on the day of the closure. That day would then be deducted from the teacher’s accumulated sick leave.
If you have any questions about any of these leaves, please contact the NBTF at 1-888-679-7044 or nbtf-fenb@nbtffenb.ca.
// Survey – NBTF Media Campaign
A friendly reminder that you have until the end of the day to complete the members’ survey regarding the latest NBTF Media Campaign.
All responses will be treated confidentially.
Link to survey: https://forms.office.com/r/4VWhRDrdDn
Thank you for your participation.
Retired teachers, participants in one of the Group Insurance Plans, are invited to submit their application to sit as a trustee of the NBTF Group Insurance Plan.
Please click here for more details.
Deadline: April 30, 2022
