Balancing employee attendance and employee wellness was part of the dilemma in the recent case of Vancouver Coastal Health Authority v. B.C.G.E.U. and others.  The employer there had an attendance and wellness promotion program that affected employees across a number of bargaining units.  As the name suggests, the program included elements of both attendance management and wellness promotion.  The stages set out in the program did not apply to employees with disabilities.

The affected unions brought a grievance with respect to certain aspects of the policy that they argued punished employees who respected the employer's request that they not report for work if they were ill. 

Arbitrator Vince Ready affirmed that employers have the right to introduce an attendance management program ("AMP") and to take corrective measures to address absenteeism issues.  He found, however, that certain aspects of this AMP were punitive rather than corrective.

In particular, the policy provided for an overtime ban at stages 1 and 2 of the policy for employees who remained above the average level of paid sick leave, despite a previous review of attendance expectations and wellness strategies.  The policy also provided for reduced hours at stage 3 of the policy.

Arbitrator Ready agreed that the automatic overtime bans and reduced hours were punitive rather than corrective, and so could not be sustained.  He agreed, however, that there may some instances where an employer could reduce overtime or hours on an individual basis as a corrective measure.  The availability of that measure would depend on the individual circumstances.

What does this mean for employers?

While the unions' grievance was successful, the case isn't necessarily bad news for employers.  In reaching his decision, the Arbitrator affirmed a number of important principles:

  • Employers have the right to introduce rules and policies in workplace relating to attendance, including AMPs
  • An AMP can include meetings with employees who are deemed to have excessive absenteeism where they are asked to discuss attendance and wellness

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