Question: With the current substitute teacher shortage, I feel guilty about having to be absent from school and concerned that my request for leave will be turned down. What can I do?
Answer: Across the province, schools are experiencing a shortage of substitute teachers. In some jurisdictions, job action by education support workers has exacerbated the situation and teachers are under considerable pressure to avoid absences if at all possible.
Provisions for teacher leave are contained in your collective agreement, a copy of which is posted on the ATA provincial website for easy reference. You’ll note that leaves typically fall into two categories, discretionary and non-discretionary.
Discretionary leaves are granted subject to restrictions that might be imposed by the employer and would typically include leave for professional development or personal days. While some the leaves, for example sabbaticals, might be entirely at the discretion of the employer, others involve providing advance notice to permit operational planning and may be subject to cancellation or rescheduling for operational reasons, including the availability of substitute teachers. Again, language matters, and you should check the specific provisions in your collective agreement.
Arranging and managing discretionary leaves, particularly in our current circumstances, can pose a challenge. While some leave requests must be forwarded to the superintendent or other central office administrator for approval, in most school divisions the responsibility for managing leave requests has been downloaded to school leaders, including principals, vice-principals and assistant principals. This adds to the complexity of their work because, even as they are responsible for operating the school, these school leaders are teachers’ colleagues rather than managers. Determining whether a teacher can take a leave can create conflict between these colleagues and undermine the collegiality that should be fostered in Alberta schools. At the end of the day, though, if consensus cannot be achieved, the principal must render a decision from a position of authority, and teachers must understand this reality and cooperate.
In contrast to discretional leave, taking sick leave when necessary is a right established under the collective agreement and, I would argue, a responsibility of teachers and is not subject to the discretion of the principal or system administrators. Employer approval is not required. Similarly, bereavement and critical illness leaves are also not discretionary.
Discretionary leaves are granted subject to restrictions that might be imposed by the employer and would typically include leave for professional development or personal days.
While collective agreements may require medical documentation for extended absences or to obtain return-to-work clearances, it remains the teacher’s responsibility — not the employer’s — to determine whether they are well enough to attend work. Teachers should not feel guilty or be made to feel that they are letting their colleagues down by taking sick, bereavement or critical illness leave. Moreover, school leaders should not be placed in a position where they are expected to assess or challenge a teacher’s decision to take a sick leave, regardless of the operational difficulties this may cause at the school.
Since the COVID pandemic, there has been a signal change in our culture concerning the responsibilities of teachers when they are ill. When I was teaching in the classroom, I would haul my sorry self into school even when I was quite sick, because I judged it to be less disruptive and less bother than producing lesson plans in the degree of detail needed to keep my classes on track. I could also count on my high school students to be sympathetic and cooperative and help me to survive the day (I have no idea how my elementary and junior high colleagues would survive). This sort of martyrdom was viewed very positively by colleagues and regarded as an unspoken expectation, frequently framed as “professionalism.”
Well, times and attitudes have changed, and much for the better. Teachers who report to work while unwell may struggle to meet the Teaching Quality Standard (TQS) and risk spreading illness to colleagues and students, further exacerbating staffing issues. Ignoring personal health concerns can also lead to more severe medical conditions and prolonged absences. Teaching while sick or bereaved or while worrying about the health struggles of a loved one is doing no one any favours.
So, if you are a teacher, you should take the leaves set out in your collective agreement when it is necessary to do so. If, as a teacher, you have a question concerning your leave entitlements, or you are a school leader and are being encouraged to pressure teachers into attending work despite illness, please contact Teacher Employment Services for support at 1-800-232-7208.❚
Questions for consideration in this column are welcome. Please address them to Dennis Theobald at dennis.theobald@ata.ab.ca.
ATA Executive Secretary
