Brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood MSO, Shayne Meggs
In my short time here, I’ve already come across a few members who discovered that the employment status they thought they had didn’t match what the university had on record—for example, thinking they were permanent when the university had them listed as term.
If you’re unsure or believe your status might be incorrect, I encourage you to check. You can verify your employment status by:
- Looking at your timesheet in PAWS, check the section labeled “INCB Status”
- Requesting an employment verification letter from the HR representative assigned to your unit
- Or, of course, you can always reach out to me (shayne@aspasask.ca) 😊
One interesting reality of working at the university is that you and your position can have different employment statuses. Your position may be classified as permanent, term, or seasonal, but that doesn’t always mean your personal employment status matches.
For example:
- If your position is permanent, you are considered a permanent employee.
- If your position is term, you could be either term or permanent, depending on your employment history and how your appointment was processed. (Isn’t that fun?)
If you have questions or concerns, ASPA is here to help walk you through your situation, clarify your status, and determine whether a correction needs to be looked into.
For reference, the article in our Collective Agreement that outlines employment status is included below:
3.1 Types of Employees
3.1.1 Permanent Employee refers to a member who has successfully completed the probationary period (Article 8) and whose employment is expected to continue indefinitely.
3.1.2 Seasonal Employee refers to a member who occupies a recurring seasonal position and who has successfully completed the probationary period (Article 8). Such a member has the expectation that the recurring employment will continue indefinitely.
3.1.3 Term Employee refers to a member hired for a stated period of time. A term employee will be eligible for benefits as provided in Article 12. In such cases, any waiting period shall be calculated taking into consideration any previous continuous employment.
3.1.3.1 Term Employee to Permanent or Seasonal Employee Status is a member who has completed two (2) years of continuous service in the same position and same department which is half time or greater will be granted permanent status.
When a member is replacing an absent employee due to disability, their status will be changed to permanent after thirty (30) months of continuous service in the same position.
A member who has worked at least half time in the same position and same department for at least six (6) months in each of two (2) consecutive years will be granted seasonal status.
This article will not apply in all other cases where a member is replacing a permanent member on an approved leave.
The granting of permanent or seasonal status will not be unreasonably denied.
3.1.4 Casual Employee refers to a member whose hours of work are for brief or irregular periods.