In Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Adams
Group) and Ministry of Solicitor General and Correctional Services
(Brown), a decision dated March 20, 2000, the GSB dealt with the
situation of unclassified staff who had to be always ready to be
called in.
The staff claimed "stand-by" and
"on-call" pay. Under the collective agreement,
"Stand-by Time" means "a period of time that is not a
regular working period during which an employee is required to keep
himself or herself… immediately available". "On-Call
Duty" means "a period of time that is not a regular working
period…during which an employee is required to respond within a
reasonable time to a request for…recall to the workplace, …".
Certain unclassified nurses and officers were
required to maintain a level of "general availability"
satisfactory to management. When they sometimes missed a call or
refused to work, they were not disciplined.
The arbitrator ruled "considering all of the
evidence, I conclude unclassified officers and nurses were not
required to maintain either of the states of readiness described in
the collective agreement. Accordingly, they are not entitled to
stand-by or on-call pay".
It seems on-call unclassifieds are not generally
entitled to "on-call" or "stand-by" pay.
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