As many of you know, the employer has an Attendance Management Program (AMP). If an employee exceeds the benchmark for being absent from work over two successive quarters then they can be enrolled in the program. The program has 5 stages and the last stage can result in termination.
1) If your manager calls an AMP meeting you are entitled to have a YUSA steward present in the meeting with you. It is ALWAYS to your advantage to have a YUSA steward present with you. Even if the meeting is fairly straightforward the steward will take notes so that there is an independent record of what is discussed. The steward can also act as a resource for you if you have any questions and ensure that the meeting is being conducted properly. For example, I have been in meetings where managers have tried to impose requirements on members that were contrary to AMP program or the Collective Agreement and in these instances I was able to help clarify what is and isn’t allowed. It is a normal part of the process to have a steward present so if you are asked to attend an AMP meeting I strongly encourage you to contact yusapuy@seanc257.sg-host.com to request a steward attend the meeting.
2) The current benchmark for absences is 7.5%. So if you exceed that benchmark over two quarters then that will prompt an AMP meeting with your manager. It will then be at your manager’s discretion whether or not you will be enrolled in the program.
The calculation for the benchmark is a little bit tricky since is it based on the number of work weeks in a particular quarter. Since different months are different lengths the amount of time you would have to be absent in order to exceed the benchmark actually varies slightly depending on the quarter.
To simplify things I’ve done the math for you. The following applies to a full-time employee working 35 hours per week.
Absence required to exceed the 7.5% benchmark for a full-time employee
Quarter | Hours |
January – March | 33.75 hours |
April – June | 34.125 hours |
July – Sept | 34.5 hours |
October – December | 34.5 hours |
Given that a full time employee works 7 hours per day, this means you would need to be absent around 4.8 to 4.9 days per quarter to hit the AMP benchmark.
So for example if a worker is not enrolled in the program, but from January to June they miss in excess of 67.875 hours (33.75 + 34.125 hours) they could be enrolled in Stage 1 of the program. If in the next quarter they were absent in excess of 34.5 hours they could be advanced to Stage 2, and so on.
Vacation days and personal days (unless they are used in lieu of sick time) do not count toward the AMP benchmark.
3) The AMP program is only used for “non-culpable” absences – that means absences where you are legitimately sick or absent, have done nothing wrong, and the absence does not relate to a disability.
Why does the employer enroll employees in a program when they have done nothing wrong? That’s a good question. The employer has stated that an objective of the AMP program is to “support and assist individual employees to achieve regular attendance” and to “encourage employee well-being.” But at the end of the day this is a program where the final stage is termination of employment, so it’s been my experience that most members do not feel very supported or assisted. I think it’s important to note that the union opposed the AMP program but an arbitrator upheld the employer’s right to maintain program. What we can and will do however is represent our members in these meetings and vigorously defend them if we believe they have been disciplined or had their employment terminated unfairly.
Finally if you do have medical/disability or family issues that require some accommodation it is very important that you document this very well and let the union know so we can assist you. The employer does have a duty to accommodate workers with certain medical or family status issues (and not count certain absences towards the AMP Program), but if they are not made aware of this then they can’t accommodate you. If you have any questions about this I recommend you contact the union office so we can advise you on the process. Again everything you tell us is confidential and we will typically take no action unless you expressly permit us to do so.
If you have any questions or concerns about the AMP program or if you are a part-time employee and want help calculating the benchmark, please don’t hesitate to send YUSA President Sonny Day an email.
Submitted by Sonny Day
