Is your vacation approval delayed or pending?

At most worksites represented by United Nurses of Alberta, the employer is required to inform the employee of approval or denial of their requests on the vacation planner by April 30.

If there is a delay in the approval beyond the deadline, or if the employer says it is pending, the employee should consider their vacation denied and review if the denial is reasonable or if they should initiate a grievance immediately.

If an employee believes vacation time has been inappropriately assigned, they may also seek to file a grievance.

For example, if an employee has applied for a week block vacation and the employer approves Monday and Tuesday, but not Wednesday, and approves Thursday and Saturday, but not Friday, that is effectively a denial of her vacation. The employee should grieve this type of denial.

The grievances should be filed within 10 days (excluding weekends and named holidays) of April 30 or from the day you were informed of vacation decisions, whichever is earlier.

The UNA Provincial Collective Agreement does not provide for a standing, or pending vacation request. If circumstances change such that a previously denied vacation period becomes available, the Employee will need to submit a new vacation request for consideration.

For more information, contact your UNA local executive or your UNA Labour Relations Officer at 1-800-252-9394.

Find more information about your UNA Collective Agreement online.

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