Vacation Information

The Brant Community Healthcare System actively supports a work-life balance by providing all employees with uninterrupted vacation time away from work for rest and relaxation. Healthcare can be a very stressful and challenging environment to work in therefore it is more important than ever to focus on your personal wellbeing and health. Please review the full Vacation Policy available on DOCS for further information and details.

Important Information

How does vacation work for regular fulltime employees

All Regular Full-Time employees accrue their annual vacation entitlement on a bi-weekly basis which is visible on the online pay record via the Staff Portal
Employees are to use their annual vacation entitlement in the year in which it is earned. As an example, if an employee is entitled to four (4) weeks' vacation, they are to use this accrued vacation time by the end of the same calendar year.
If the employee does not request to have all of their annual vacation hours approved through the vacation planning process, the manager will meet with the employee and a vacation schedule will be developed in collaboration to the extent possible in order to comply with the policy.
Employees that have accumulated vacation will not be permitted to use vacation to bridge up to their official retirement date. Accumulated vacation hours will be paid as a lump sum on the employee's final pay date.

When is the Vacation Year?

Vacation is earned based upon the bi-weekly payroll cycle from Pay # 1 through Pay # 26 each year.

What if I don't use all of my accrued vacation within the calendar year?

A Full-Time employee may carry forward up to 75 hours of unused vacation credits to the next vacation year. If you have a balance over 75 hours, the difference will be transferred to your supplementary bank (SUPV)..

How do I know what my entitlement is?

An online tool has been created that will enable you to calculate your accrual rate and hours remaining at any given date. Please see below for further information and the link to the calculator.

What happens if I do not have enough of my accrued annual vacation hours in my bank at the time of my approved vacation?

All employees at the beginning of the year will have to plan for when they would like to take their annual vacation to ensure all vacation time is accounted for. Subject to approval with applicable processes (e.g. vacation planning timelines). There may be times where you will have a negative vacation balance which will balance out at the end of the year. You will be paid for all vacation hours you are entitled to.

What happens if I have a negative balance at the end of the vacation year?

If you have supplementary vacation, bonus vacation or lieu banks, the balances in these banks will be applied to the negative vacation to repay the balance/overpayment. If you do not have other balances to cover the overpayment, the Human Resources Team will reach out to you to discuss a plan for repayment.

Whose responsibility is it to monitor vacation?

It is both the employee and the Manager's responsibility to monitor and ensure the annual vacation entitlement is managed in accordance with the policy.

What happens if I leave BCHS and still have vacation in my bank?

Accumulated but unused vacation hours will be paid out upon termination/retirement at the employee's current rate of pay. The payment will automatically be deposited on the employee's final pay deposit, or shortly thereafter.
Any employee that leaves the employment of the hospital with a negative vacation bank will be required to reimburse the Hospital for the excess vacation paid to the employee. Such reimbursement shall be made from the employee's final pay cheque or any other means necessary.

Who do I contact if I have questions regarding my vacation entitlement or general questions about the policy?

If you have any questions related to your vacation, please speak with your leader (manager).

Regular Full-Time Staff

This section is applicable to Regular Full-Time staff.

Paid Vacation Hours

Regular Full-Time employees will accrue paid vacation time based upon their full-time equivalent weekly hours in conjunction with their vacation entitlement. The vacation entitlement is dependent upon the employee's sub grouping as well as their Adjusted Hire Date. Progression through the applicable vacation plan will occur as each employee achieves years of service milestones. If an employees transfers to a position with a different entitlement, the employee will accrue vacation on the basis of their new plan effective the date of transfer.

Vacation Calculator

A vacation calculator has been created to assist you with your vacation planning. The tool will assist to calculate your vacation hours balance at the end of the calendar year. As a result, this is intended to help you ensure you use your vacation entitlement and/or understand what vacation may be carried over into the next calendar year. To use this tool, you will need:

Your current vacation balance (available in your online pay record/stub)
Your current vacation entitlement
The total upcoming vacation hours you have scheduled

The vacation calculator can be accessed here.

All Status' Except Regular Full-Time

This section is application to regular part-time, casual part-time, regular job share, temporary employees and students (who do not hold a permanent full-time position).

Pay in Lieu of Vacation

Regular part-time, casual part-time, regular job share, temporary employees and students (who do not hold a permanent full-time position) will receive a vacation pay out once annually based upon a percentage of their gross earnings received within the entitlement year. The entitlement year is May to April and is paid out on a separate deposit after the last regular pay date in April for all non-ONA employees. The percentage paid is dependent upon the employee’s sub grouping as well as their accumulated worked hours known as benefit contributing hours. Progression through the applicable vacation plan will occur as each employee achieves hours of service milestones. If an employee transfers to a position with a different entitlement, the employee will accrue vacation on the basis of their new schedule effective the date of transfer. Unionized employees shall receive vacation entitlements in accordance with their applicable Collective Agreement.

Part-Time Vacation Annual Entitlements

Please see the following chart for more information.

Vacation Payout Request

To request a pay out of your regular vacation balance, supplementary vacation balance or bonus vacation balance, please complete the following fillable form. Vacation pay out requests are reviewed on a case by case basis and are subject to approval. If approved, you will be provided with an agreement outlining the pay out arrangement.

Employee in hallway