Appendix B

Policy Review Insights

Context

Differences exist in how employees are compensated for hours worked over a 35-hour work week. These differences are based on member classification (BCGEU, PEA, Excluded) and influence whether compensation is paid in the form of overtime or compensatory time off, the point at which compensation is earned and the rate at which it is paid. These differences result in a lack of clarity and transparency around compensation mechanisms and rates.

Overtime

Beyond the differences in how employees are compensated (Appendix A) and the lack of clarity surrounding it, several insights were gleaned around overtime provisions.

For BCGEU included employees, overtime is defined in Article 16 of the BCGEU Main Agreement. According to this, employees are entitled to:

·       Pay at 1.5 times the hourly rate for the first two hours worked on a regular scheduled day

·       Pay at 2 times the hourly rate for any hours worked after the first 2 hours on a regular scheduled day and all hours worked on a regularly scheduled day of rest

Full-time PEA employees do not receive overtime compensation because they qualify for Overtime, Shift Work and Stand by (OSS) provisions.

Excluded employees do not receive overtime in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of Employment for Excluded Employees section 12,

“It is understood an employee/appointee is expected to work the hours necessary to fulfill their job responsibilities, which may entail considerably more hours than those worked by their employees. However, greater flexibility will be afforded with respect to time off during work hours.”

Overtime, Shift Work, and Standby (OSS) Provisions

Overtime, Shift Work and Standby (OSS) provisions for PEA employees are defined in Article 15 of the PEA Main Agreement. According to these provisions, full-time employees receive a special compensation of 7% of their basic salary each year in lieu of overtime or other premium entitlements. Employees have the option to take this in time credit, payout, or combination of both. Part-time employees are not eligible for OSS, they receive overtime provisions in line with the BCGEU entitlement when they work more than a full time equivalent (daily or weekly); as defined in Article 16 of the PEA Main Agreement.

Meritorious Service

There are times when emergency measures require an excluded and/or PEA employee to work more than the accepted additional hours’ work, which may trigger the application of meritorious service.

Approval for Meritorious Service leave is initiated through a decision note originating from the HR and Finance teams based on the perception that members responding to an activation are or will be working overtime over 40-50 hours per week. A deputy-to-deputy conversation ensues, between EMCR, other impacted ministries and the head of the BC Public Service Agency to determine if meritorious service leave will be granted.

Once authorized, there are regulations which apply to the calculation of meritorious service consistently. Meritorious service credits the employee with an hour per hour worked on a regularly scheduled workday and 1.5 hours per hour worked on a regularly scheduled day of rest. Meritorious service is credited as compensatory time, which can be taken as time off, or payouts from that bank can be requested.

Length of Deployment

There is currently no set policy or procedure to set the minimum or maximum deployment length. Currently, this is fully managed at the discretion of the ministry/work unit with whom the member will be deployed. Length of deployment practices must be in alignment with Occupational Health and Safety Regulations that state that workers must be free from impairment, which includes fatigue.

Mandatory Rest Periods

There are no policies/regulations either in our collective agreements, safety regulations, or employment standards that mandate days of rest during periods of overtime.

Fatigue Management

Deployment length and scheduling of mandatory rest periods must align with Occupational Health and Safety Regulations that state that workers must be free from impairment, including fatigue. OHS Regulation Section 4.19 Physical or Mental Impairment (1) states that

“A worker with a physical or mental impairment which may affect the worker’s ability to safely perform assigned work must inform the worker’s supervisor or employer of the impairment and must not knowingly do work where the impairment may create an undue risk to the worker or anyone else.” (2) “A worker must no be assigned to activities where a reported or observed impairment may create an undue risk to the worker or anyone else.”

WorkSafe BC also states in its plain English documentation: “Both employers and workers have responsibilities for responding to fatigue in the workplace. As a worker, you must tell your supervisor or employer if your ability to perform assigned work is impaired for any reason. This includes

impaired by fatigue. As an employer, you must not assign impaired workers to activities where fatigue or other impairment may create undue risk. You must also not allow workers to remain at the workplace while their ability to work safely is impaired by fatigue or another condition. In addition, as an employer you are responsible for managing health and safety risks in the workplace, including risks related to fatigue.

The OHS Regulations demonstrate that there is a requirement for the Employer to effectively manage fatigue – the how is left to individual ministries to plan for their own fatigue management. With the BCPS being such a large and diverse employer, the types of jobs vary greatly. As such, fatigue management for an administrative role may be different from fatigue management for wildfire front line staff given the different levels of mental and physical challenge in the role.