Category: Did You Know?

Did You Know?

Did You Know? – Merit 2021

darcyhryn

Well, it is the time of year again, to talk about merit.   You may or may not know that merit changed significantly in 2021.  Here is an update of those changes:

1. Eligibility – to be eligible for merit there are two criteria that need to be met:

a. You are an ASPA member.

b. That you have been employed since November 1 of the current fiscal year.

We have seen some of the documents that the employer has sent out recently and it appears that in a few cases their documents have not been updated or the employer is adding criteria that is not referenced or inferred in the Collective Agreement.  If you have been advised that you are not eligible for Merit, we encourage you to find out the reason why and then reach out to ASPA so we may have the appropriate follow up conversations.

Continue reading “Did You Know? – Merit 2021” →
Did You Know?

Did You Know? – Remote Work Space

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We have been working from home for close to a year now.  Who would have thought this back in March?  During this time, many members have been limping along in their homes making do with a less than optimal workspace.  To that end we want to reinforce with you the fact that the employer has modified the eligibility criteria of our Accountable Professional Development Account (APDA) to give members a chance to access these funds to improve their remote workspace.

Continue reading “Did You Know? – Remote Work Space” →
ASPA Updates, Did You Know?

Temporary Layoffs

darcyhryn

Written by Darcy Hryn-Bird, ASPA Member Services Officer

As you are probably aware the University of Saskatchewan (the employer) announced on April 28th how they will manage their workforce moving forward.  You should have received an email from People and Resources outlining their plans.

The people leaders in your area will be reviewing the work that is being done in your area over the upcoming days.   The employer identified in this communication that  “Staff working in essential campus operations will continue, some work in isolated areas of campus or sites outside the main campus may partially re-start, and work that can be done remotely will continue to be done off-campus.” 

Continue reading “Temporary Layoffs” →
Did You Know?

What to Do When You are Victim of a Data Breach

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Article by Frank M. Schlesinger

We occasionally receive panic calls from clients whose computers have been breached.

If this has happened to you, you will want to know what to do to protect yourself in such a circumstance.

Depending upon your understanding of the information that was hacked, it would be wise to do the following:

  1. Change all of your passwords;
  2. Call the issuers of your credit cards in order to put a hold on or change your credit cards;
  3. Call your bank or financial institution, speak to the security officer, advise him/her data-breach-word-cloud-concept-60193316of what happened and ask him what steps should be taken with your accounts;
  4. Contact Equifax (1-800-465-7166) and TransUnion (1-800-663-9980) in order to put a credit freeze on your accounts in order that no new loans or credit cards may be issued to a fraudster using your personal information;
  5. File a police report with the local authorities;
  6. If you have credit card or other type of credit insurance or insurance for data breaches, contact your insurance company and follow their instructions;
  7. For a reasonable period of time after the breach, check constantly your various accounts to determine whether any unauthorized charges have been placed on your accounts and if so, immediately notify the relevant financial institutions.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

 

Did You Know?

Did you Know – Tuition Waiver

darcyhryn

Written by Darcy Hryn-Bird, ASPA Member Services Officer

Did you know that if you are a member of ASPA that you are most likely eligible for a Tuition Waiver?

Article 12.11 of the ASPA Collective Agreement allows ASPA members to take one (1) forhr-tuition-waiver credit course per academic term at the University of Saskatchewan. The cost of the tuition would be waived.  You would however still be responsible to cover the cost of the student fees but these may be eligible expenses under your Accountable Professional Development Account (APDA) (Article 12.10). Continue reading “Did you Know – Tuition Waiver” →

Did You Know?

Did you know? – usask.ca Email address

darcyhryn

Written by Darcy Hryn-Bird, ASPA Member Services Officer

The results of a recent ASPA member survey showed that 66% (of those who responded) of ASPA members are graduates of the University of Saskatchewan.  This means that you have been given a usask.ca email account which is yours for life.Email Inbox

Although this is a really good bonus, this is also the email address that you are using during your employment at the University.  This creates some challenges should your employment relationship with the University end for some reason, particularly if you use the usask.ca email for your personal use.

Should your employment relationship with the University end for whatever reason your usask.ca email address will be deactivated.  There will be an out of office message put on your account saying that you no longer work at the University.  However, we have had instances, after a member’s departure, where the employer has forwarded incoming messages to another individual in the same unit.  ASPA has asked that this does not happen but we have seen “email forwarding” occur in a couple of cases.  ASPA will continue to advocate that emails should not be forwarded as we believe that this is a breach of your privacy. Continue reading “Did you know? – usask.ca Email address” →

Did You Know?

Did you know? – Pay Stubs

darcyhryn

Written by Darcy Hryn – Bird, ASPA Member Services Officer

Do you check your pay stubs each time you get paid?  I am thinking that you might be among the majority if you do not.

Members should be getting into the habit of checking their pay stubs with each pay period.  Mistakes do happen and it is important for them to be caught early so as to not delay any necessary corrections. Continue reading “Did you know? – Pay Stubs” →

Did You Know?

Personal/Family Leaves – Article 20.9

darcyhryn

Written by Darcy – Hryn-Bird, ASPA Member Services Officer

Did you know that as a member of ASPA you have access to three (3) days of paid leave to deal with emergent, personal or family situations?

Article 20.9 of the Collective Agreement (May 1, 2014 – April 30, 2019) states: “ In order to meet the needs of a member to attend to emergent, personal or family situations, a maximum of three (3) days of paid leave is eligible per calendar year and does not accumulate from year to year.” Continue reading “Personal/Family Leaves – Article 20.9” →

Did You Know?

How your workplace is killing you.

aspasask

By Jeff Pfeffer, 3 May 2018

 

An Uber software engineer making a six-figure income killed himself in 2016, with his family blaming workplace stress. A 21-year-old Merrill Lynch intern collapsed and died in London after working 72 hours straight. When Arcelormittal closed a steel plant that it had taken over, a 56-year old employee died of a heart attack three weeks later. His family said it was the shock. And the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has reported that over half of the 550 million working days lost annually from absenteeism “are stress related”. 

In 2015, an analysis of almost 300 studies found that harmful workplace practices were as bad for mortality, and as likely to lead to a physician-diagnosed illness, as second-hand smoke, a known – and regulated – carcinogen.  READ MORE