'Particular importance' to weekends in contract: Arbitrator
A technologist at a British Columbia hospital worked an afternoon shift, then a midnight shift, but he was only paid time–and-one-half for two hours.
Richard Krische worked at Delta Hospital in Delta, B.C., as a medical radiation technologist since June 2014. On June 10, 2016, he worked his regular shift, which began at 4 p.m., and he was scheduled to end his work week at midnight on the Friday.
But Krische's relief — who was supposed to begin working at midnight and run until 8 a.m. on Saturday — did not show up for work that evening. Shortly after midnight, Krische texted Andreas Hochstrasser, site coordinator and Krische’s supervisor, and inquired who would work the next shift.
Hochstrasser attempted to reach other employees who could work the shift and relieve Krische. However, no other workers returned his calls. Hochstrasser asked Krische if he could work the overtime shift until 8 a.m., which was on his regularly scheduled day off.
Krische agreed to do so and he worked the rest of the shift. He was paid time-and-one-half for the first two hours of the midnight shift, then double time for the rest of the period.
When he checked his pay stub on June 24, Krische felt he should have been paid double time for all the hours worked, considering it was on a Saturday, which was his regularly scheduled day off.
The collective agreement, under the overtime-pay heading, called for workers to be paid double time “for all hours worked on an employee’s scheduled day off.”
On June 27, Krische sent an inquiry to Hochstrasser about the disputed two hours of pay, but Hochstrasser said the employer thought Krische worked extra hours after his regular shift, which meant he was paid time-and-one-half “for the first two hours in excess of the normally scheduled full shift hours per day.”
The union, Health Sciences Association of British Columbia, grieved the employer’s decision and argued that because Krische worked on a Saturday — even though it was immediately after his shift — this trumped all other considerations and he should have received double time for all hours worked.
Arbitrator Julie Nichols upheld the grievance and ordered the hospital to pay Krische double time for the disputed two hours of work.
“(Krische) worked hours that fell on his scheduled Saturday off, as defined by the timeframes negotiated in the agreement. He is, therefore, entitled to double time for those hours,” said Nichols.
Because the collective agreement made specific mention of allowing employees two days off — usually on Saturday and Sunday — it meant that anytime someone worked after the calendar day changed at midnight, it was considered a regularly scheduled day off and not a continuation of the previous shift, according to the arbitrator.
“Given that article 24.08 links expressly to article 25, those provisions must be read together in a purposive and harmonious manner. Accordingly, I conclude that the parties have clearly expressed a mutual intention to pay double time for all hours worked on a scheduled day off. They have indicated that there will be periods of two consecutive days off and the weekend has particular importance,” said Nichols.
Reference: Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (Delta Hospital) and Health Sciences Association of British Columbia. Julie Nichols — arbitrator. Andres Barker for the employer. Stephen Hutchison for the employee. Sept. 19, 2017.
