General FAQ
It’s important to review your benefit entitlements in the Sunlife Benefits Booklet:
https://retire.info.yorku.ca/third-page/
Always treat the booklet as authoritative over what is on the Sunlife website. If you are having a problem with a claim where you think Sunlife has not reimbursed you correctly for an item, first check in the booklet to ensure you have your correct entitlement. Try to escalate the issue internally within Sunlife. It is recommended that you use the live chat function on their website that will give you a written correspondence that you can copy and paste and keep for your records. If you think they have done something incorrectly do a chat and if you still think that there is still something done incorrectly ask to escalate to a supervisor or manager. There is often a second tier that they can escalate things to for review. If you try that and that still does not work, then you can contact YUSA and we can try to advocate for you. It is important to describe what the issue is, and provide any documentation you submitted to Sunlife and any correspondence you have had with them so we can follow up with the Pension and Benefits office. If we are still not able to resolve the issue and we think that you are not being properly reimbursed for the benefits we negotiated for you, then we can potentially escalate and deal with the issue through the grievance process.
The progression for escalation would ideally be:
1) Try to escalate yourself within Sunlife
2) Contact YUSA & provide documentation
3) File a grievance – discussed with you before the filing of any grievance
First you need to ensure that the course or courses you want to take are covered by the Tuition Fee Waiver. Tuition fee waiver guidelines are available on YU Link you can find it here:
https://yulink-new.yorku.ca/group/yulink/tuition-fee-waiver-program
The tuition fee waiver only applies to degree granting courses offered at York University. Courses offered through the School of Continuing Studies for example are not covered by the Tuition Fee Waiver Guidelines.
Also, worth noting is that there is a separate program called the External Development Fund which can be used for other courses either through the School of Continuing Studies or at other institutions such as Humber College, Seneca College etc. if the course is relevant to jobs at York University.
In order to be eligible for the Tuition Fee Waiver, you must apply and be approved before the beginning of the semester in which you wish to take courses. It is also worth noting that there are different reimbursement levels for regulated and deregulated courses.
For the regulated courses the entire Tuition Fee will be waived (i.e. you will typically pay nothing for the course). However, for deregulated courses, you would have to pay the difference between the regulated and deregulated course fees. Deregulated courses are typically more expensive courses such as Schulich MBA, Osgoode Law Degree or certain Engineering courses. You can find a complete listing of all deregulated courses for both undergraduate and graduate by following the link in the tuition fee waiver guidelines document. If you need to know how much you would end up paying for these courses you can contact Student Financial Services and they can advise you.
It is important to note that yourself, spouse and dependent children, if they are listed on your Sun Life Benefits are eligible for the Tuition Fee Waiver. However, there is an age requirement for your dependent children and you can find that requirement in the Tuition Fee Waiver guidelines. It is strongly recommended you read the entire Tuition Fee Waiver guidelines if planning to use the Tuition fee waiver as it outlines all of the details.
If you have any problems, enrolling or think you are getting improperly billed for a course etc. First try to follow up with Student Financial Services, if you are still having problems you can contact YUSA and we can assist you.
YUSA has negotiated an external development fund which can be used for courses that you take that are relevant either to your current job or a job that you aspire to at York University. For example, if you work in an administrative role but you aspire to become a graphic designer, if you were to take a course in Photoshop for example, that would likely be covered under the external development fund because there are graphic designer positions at the university. It has to be some kind of course that is relevant to some kind of job at York University. If you were to take a course in basket weaving there are no jobs in basket weaving at York University so that would not be covered. However, courses in MS Office applications, Project Management, IT certifications etc would likely be covered.
https://yulink-new.yorku.ca/group/yulink/yusapuy-external-development-fund
he information is available on YU Link. The amount available is $1250 per fiscal year not calendar year. It is always a good idea to apply for the funds in advance of taking the course so that the money will be held for you as there is a fixed amount of funds available each year for the fund and it can run out of money. Note that even if you apply for the funds before starting the course, you will only be reimbursed for the course upon successful completion of the course.. The best practice is to reserve the money beforehand so you know the money will be there after you have completed the course. External development funds can also be used for textbooks and for exams fees if you are taking a certification that only requires you to challenge an exam.
It is strongly recommended that you speak with a Union Steward that has experience with accommodation issues to assist you in navigating medical accommodation at York. If you need accommodation, you should make the request to your Manager. Most likely your mgr will refer the matter to the Employee Well – Being office and they will require you to have your doctor complete a medical certification form which is available here:
https://yulink-new.yorku.ca/group/yulink/workplace-medical-accommodation
It is very important when your doctor fills out this form, they list specifically what the accommodation required is and why the accommodation is medically necessary. It is our experience that York often does the absolute minimum that they are required to do by law. So while they are required to accommodate you to the point of undue hardship, if your medical practitioner does not make it very clear what is medically necessary, then often York will not offer that accommodation. If for example, the medical practitioner states that you would benefit from something or it would be helpful if you have a certain accommodation, that does not mean that it is medically necessary. If in contrast the medical practitioner states it is medically necessary that you have a certain accommodation and why or how that accommodation will address your underlying medical issues that is much stronger and more likely to be approved.
It is important to note that the University is only obligated to give you the accommodation you need and not the accommodation that you want. For example, let’s suppose a member has seasonal affective disorder, and to treat that they need full spectrum light and so they tell the manager that they have SAD and need full spectrum light so they want to be moved out of their windowless basement office and put into a big corner office with floor to ceiling windows. Management could look at that and find another way to address the underlying issue which is the need for full spectrum lighting. For example they could install a full spectrum lightbulb instead of the regular lightbulb in your basement office. If that is something that resolved the medical issue, then that is all they would need to do. They would not need to give you floor to ceiling windows.
You are entitled to have a Union steward present or on the phone / zoom call when communicating with Employee Well-Being and discussing accommodation issues. Even if you don’t opt to have a steward on the call with you we would encourage you to take notes as to what your discussions were. We have had a number of issues where the Employee Well-Being office may take a very long time to get back to members, often will push back, ask for additional medical etc. Many members have reported having adversarial interactions with the Employee Wellbeing Office which often adds to their stress levels at a time that they are ill and so it can be best to have a union steward with you when you are in contact with them if you don’t feel comfortable discussing the issues on your own.
The employer is entitled to receive medical documentation if you are requesting a medical accommodation they can ask for you to provide that medical documentation.
If you think the employer’s requests for medical documentation are unreasonably broad then please contact us so we can assist, but do keep in mind that the employer is entitled to medical documentation so they know what is medically necessary to accommodate you. If the medical documentation is too vague the employer may be entitled to ask for follow up documentation. If the employer requests such follow up documentation they will typically pay a fixed fee for that.
Managers also have some discretion to provide “operational” accommodations without involving EWB. For example, you want a new chair, a keyboard tray, a wrist rest, a trackpad instead of a mouse etc.. Managers can on their own just order these things if they want to. However, some managers will state that they will only do those things if you do an accommodation request and if it goes through the Employee Well-Being office. If that is the case, you need to provide medical information to substantiate your request.
That often depends on the nature of the condition. If there is a longer duration issue, the employer is allowed from time to time to ask for updated medical. Sometimes, people’s health conditions do change over time. If you feel the employer’s requests are unreasonable or are asking for medical too frequently, you are encouraged to follow up with YUSA and we can assist.
It will depend on who you are receiving treatment from and the nature of your accommodation. The employer will often give more weight to medical that comes from a specialist. The health care provider you see most often may be someone like a physiotherapist, chiropractor, or somebody who is not a medical doctor. Those health care practitioners can fill out the Medical Certificate form. However, more weight is typically given to the document if it comes from a medical doctor. Even more weight will be given if it comes from a specialist medical doctor. So if you are seeing for example, a physiotherapist, a GP and an orthopaedic surgeon. The highest value will likely be given to the certificate that comes from the orthopaedic surgeon. Specialists and often perceived as more impartial and have a higher level credential. The difficulty of course is that it’s more difficult and a longer wait time to see a specialist. If you need accommodation and are waiting to see a specialist or just don’t have a specialist it’s fine to just have a GP or other healthcare provider fill out the Medical Certificate.
It is often best if you get help from a Union Steward. If we think the employer has failed to accommodate you, then we can file a failure to accommodate grievance. It is important that you provide us with any correspondence that you have had with the employer and all of the medical documentation you have submitted to the employer. It’s also very helpful to provide a timeline of your medical issue and interactions with the employer regarding this (i.e. when you let your manager or EWB know about your issue and request for accommodation, when and how they responded, when any medical was provided and any other communications, any sick time taken etc.) It is always important to keep a record of any documentation you have shared with the employer and conversations you have had with Employee Well Being or management, any correspondence etc.
Often if the accommodation request has been denied, the fastest way to resolve the issue is to get additional or better medical documentation relating to the accommodation request. This can often be a frustrating process because in these cases members are sick, in pain and trying to get help and there is often a perception that the University isn’t really doing all that it can to help and is in fact making people jump through a bunch of administrative hoops. We can do our best to assist you with that but there is often quite a bit of administrative work that you have to do to get that documentation in order to substantiate requests. Sometimes there is a perception that employer might even be hoping that people get frustrated and give up on their accommodation request because of the difficulty in dealing with the process.
The key to a successful accommodation claim is often getting good quality medical documentation. From the union perspective what we have to think about is if the employer denies the request, we can potentially file a grievance and we need to be able to go to an arbitrator and show that we had really good quality medical that substantiates this request for accommodation and the employer did not properly consider or follow that medical. If the employer knows that we can do that, and the employer knows that an arbitrator is going to find in favour of the union, then they are much more likely to provide you with that accommodation because they know they can be held accountable.
On the other hand, if you don’t have good quality medical, or the medical is vague, or it doesn’t really support the accommodation you are asking for, or does not show that the request you are making is medically necessary and related to your medical condition, then the employer knows that an arbitrator might not agree with the union and then the employer will be less likely to give you that accommodation that you are looking for.
If you are aware of any type of hazard in the workplace, any type of health and safety hazard in the workplace which can include an improper ergonomic setup, then you should let your manager know and they should refer that to the appropriate person to assist you to provide an ergonomic assessment. The Employer’s Health, Safety and Employee Well Being department has advisors who can perform in person or virtual assessments and make recommendations to improve ergonomic set up. We also encourage you to let your YUSA representative on your local Joint Health and Safety Committee know that there is an issue especially if you are concerned the resolution being proposed by the employer is not working for you, they can help advocate for you in those circumstances.
“Decent work”, a term coined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1999, refers to employment that contributes to the social and economic stability of workers. Decent work creates a cultural shift towards an equitable and stable workforce, empowering workers ability to financially improve their quality of life. Social justice values are embedded in decent work, striving for equity and equality beyond the workplace.
Decent work is defined by the ILO as:
“Work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.”
Union’s Role in Promoting and Supporting Decent Work
Unions play a huge role in securing decent work for workers through organizing and bargaining working conditions that are embedded in collective agreements. Unions, representing the workers within it’s bargaining unit(s), are negotiators and advocates to ensure quality jobs, equity, dignity, equality, and safe working conditions, putting the voices of workers at the centre of development in the workforce. In collective agreements, unions are able to formalize policies and practices that will support economic stability, but also encourage social awareness and development for their members.
Additional Resources
Incidents and accidents occur on a daily basis – it’s just part of life. Incidents and accidents that occur in the workplace should be reported to your management supervisor. These may include incidents and accidents that occur during the process of completing work responsibilities or incidents and accidents that occur anywhere on the employer’s property.
What are Incidents and Accidents? and Some Examples
Incidents and accidents are varied and are, in an over simplified explanation, any out- of-the- ordinary occurrence in the workplace that can negatively affect your health. Section 2(1) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA) 1 defines accidents as including:
(a) a wilful and intentional act, not being the act of the worker,
(b) a chance event occasioned by a physical or natural cause, and
(c) disablement arising out of and in the course of employment
Some examples of incidents and accidents (referred to hereafter as “accidents”) that could occur in the workplace:
• an individual trips and fall while walking in the parking lot or walking down stairs
• an individual slipped on an icy patch while walking from the bus stop to their office
• a box fell off the bookshelf and fell on your head
• an individual was using an exacta knife to open a box and sliced his/her finger
• the filing cabinet toppled over and fell on an individual
• temporary fencing around a construction site fell on an employee
• an individual walked into a wall/door/piece of furniture
• an individual was exposed to noxious fume coming from the ventilation system
• an individual experiences pain in his/her fingers while using the keyboard (repetitive strain/musculoskeletal injuries)
• an individual fainted from poor ventilation in his/her office
• an individual experiences headaches in the afternoons while in her/his office
• an individual lifted a water bottle (replacing an empty bottle in the water dispenser) and experiences pain in the lower back
• standing for eight hours at the cash register each day, which is a requirement of your job, is causing you to experience pain in your lower back or affecting your posture
• burning oneself with a Bunsen burner
• an individual’s hand got caught in a piece of printing machinery
• being exposed to a chemical spill or leak
If you are unsure that an occurrence qualifies as an accident, consult with the members of the YUSAPUY Health and Safety Committee. You may also consult with Committee members at any point during the process of reporting accidents if you have questions and/or concerns.
Why Should You Report Accidents in the Workplace?
Reporting accidents is not intended as an exercise to lay blame on employees, embarrass them, “threaten” the employer or create difficulties for you as a worker. It is a requirement of the WSIA.
Sections 21 (1) and 21(2) of the WSIA specifies that:
“an employer shall notify the Board within three days after learning of an accident to a worker employed by him, her or it if the accident necessitates health care or results in the worker not being able to earn full wages.”
“the notice must be on a form approved by the Board and the employer shall give the Board such other information as the Board may require from time to time in connection with the accident”.
Reporting accidents that occur in the workplace is necessary and crucial for your protection. It is a way to document the occurrence and provide documentation for the future should the injury develop into something more that could render you unable to work for any period of time. Documentation provides the basis on which WSIB will determine your eligibility for coverage during the time that you will be unable to work because of the injury you sustained while at work or while on the employer’s property.
Reporting Accidents at York University
Reporting accidents could be as simple as leaving a voicemail message for your management supervisor and if possible followed by an email message. Accidents should be reported as soon as possible after the occurrence or as soon you become AWARE of or RECOGNIZE an occurrence.
It is also important to report accidents that occur in the workplace even if you are not experiencing any pain/discomfort/effect after the accident. The effects of some accidents may not manifest until a few days later or even a few weeks later. For example, the effects of trauma to the body, such as a fall, are not necessarily felt until a few days later when you may begin to feel sore, etc.
At York University, when accidents occur and are reported to management supervisors, a Supervisor’s Accident Investigation Report (SAIR) should be completed by your management supervisor in collaboration with you the injured employee. This is a four (4) page form on which the circumstances of the accident is documented, i.e., what happened, when it occurred, what were the contributing factors (if any), were there any witnesses, was a healthcare provider consulted, did any lost time result (i.e., sick time away from work due to the injury), etc.
Once an accident has been reported, your management supervisor must contact a Worker Member of the YUSAPUY Joint Health and Safety Committee2. The Worker Member will investigate the accident, speak with the affected employee, provide guidance around completing the form and possible next steps, and sign off on the form. The employee, if present and able, will sign the form, as well as the management supervisor.
This form should then be submitted by your management supervisor to Employee Well Being, HSEWB (EWB) within twenty-four (24) hours of the accident being reported. The employee gets a copy of the form, a copy is taken away by the signing Worker Member, the management supervisor provides a copy to the department’s Area Health and Safety Officer and a copy is provided to YUSAPUY by EWB.
If, after the accident has been documented and the injured employee must be away from the university due to the accident, he/she should inform their management supervisor. Any change in the employee’s status due to the accident should then be communicated by your management supervisor to EWB who will provide an update to WSIB.
The SAIR can be downloaded from YULink.
Conclusion
It’s human nature for us to feel foolish and embarrassed when out-of-the-ordinary occurrences take place anywhere much less in the workplace. We tend to want to get up and brush ourselves off and carry on as if nothing had happened. We do not want to be “fussed over” by others, and we certainly do not want to be a “bother” to anyone. However, it is extremely important for us to report accidents that occur in the workplace in a timely manner. It is not only a requirement by the WSIA but it is a way to protect ourselves.
Consult with members of the YUSAPUY Health and Safety Committee at any point throughout this process if you have questions and/or concerns.
As submitted by Paula Gowdie Rose
