Both sides disagreed on number of hours worked
A social worker was hired by the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Child, Youth and Family Services (CYFS) in 2014, but then dismissed in 2015.
Amanda Neville began work on Nov. 14, 2014, but on July 23, 2015, she was released by the department. Neville hadn’t yet completed 975 working hours so no cause was needed to terminate her employment, according to CYFS.
Neville worked at the Sheshatshiu office providing social services for the Aboriginal community.
A Nov. 10 letter for Neville, written by the director of strategic human resource management at CYFS, stated: “You will be required to serve a probationary period of six months upon completion of the CYFS training.” But Neville testified she did not receive this letter, perhaps because she just moved to the province and it could have been sent to her old address in the Northwest Territories.
A June 8, 2015, letter was also sent by a compensation and benefits division human resource secretariat worker to Neville regarding her application for a mortgage. It stated she was a “full-time employee” and had been so since Nov. 17, 2014.
When Neville was hired, she missed out on attending the October pre-core training courses and the next available block of training time was scheduled for January 2015, according to the manager of employee relations at the human resources secretariat.
As a result, the amount of actual hours worked was 767.5 hours, well short of the 975 hours indicated.
And although Neville accompanied a fully-trained case worker during work time, she was not legally responsible to assume the duties of a social worker in the community, according to the clinical program supervisor at the Sheshatshiu office.
However, Neville said she had been given a full caseload and did the same work as other social workers on staff. She said she was on call as a backup and was provided with a cellphone. As well, she was paid overtime for corrections caseload training in Labrador City.
The most recent collective agreement had its wording changed under the definition of probationary period, from six months to 975 hours with a “full caseload if applicable,” according to Amanda Galway, employee relations officer for the union, Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees.
The union grieved the termination and argued once Neville was provided with a full caseload, that meant her employment hours commenced, not when she started training.
It contended Neville actually worked 1,092 hours up to her dismissal on July 23.
Arbitrator James Oakley dismissed the grievance due to clear wording in the collective agreement, which read: “For employees who are required to undertake training on employment, whose probationary period shall commence immediately following such training.”
Because Neville didn’t do the required training, her hours were not counted until after it was done, according to Oakley.
“I have found that the Neville’s probationary period did not start until she completed the pre-core training on Jan. 23, 2015. It is unnecessary in this case to interpret and apply the meaning of ‘full caseload’ in order to decide the issue of whether Neville was a probationary employee on the date she was dismissed from employment,” said Oakley.
“The hours worked between Nov. 10, 2014, and Jan. 23, 2015, were prior to completion of pre-core training, were prior to the commencement of her probationary period, and did not count towards her probationary period.”
Reference: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees. James Oakley — arbitrator. Bernadette Cole Gendron for the employer. Andy Parsons for the employee. Dec. 6, 2016.
