Navigating school, work and the holidays
It’s not always easy to navigate school and work when they coincide on the calendar, especially when you need to take care of yourself and visit home. If you have a contract as a TA, RA, Marker, or Proctor, we’d like to remind you that you cannot be obligated to work from December 23 to the first day of classes in the Winter semester, as per Article 23.2 of the CUPE 2626 Collective Agreement (please see the uOttawa Important Academic Dates and Deadlines page to know the date of the first day of classes for the Winter semester)
Work limits & final exams
As per the Collective Agreement, your supervisor cannot ask you to work more than twenty-five (25) hours per week. Moreover, you cannot be required to work more than forty (40) hours for a period of two consecutive weeks. For final exams, you are not supposed to work past December 23 at all.
Things to keep in mind
Usually, exams need to be corrected and marks entered in the 10 business days following the date of examination. In cases where the exams cannot be corrected prior to the beginning of holidays (i.e. before the end of the contract, usually Dec. 31), the Employer should contact you to ask you if you agree to do the work after the holidays, in January.
You can accept to push back the work, without changing when you get your pay. This can be discussed and accepted verbally, but we recommend that you get written confirmation (such as by email), to avoid misunderstandings in the future.
If you are not willing or able to complete the work after the holidays, you can also refuse. Instead, you may be asked to complete other tasks prior to the beginning of the holiday period. Supervisor, as a salaried professionals, are responsible for making sure the work is completed (i.e. they might need to do it themselves if you can’t). It is therefore important for you and your supervisor to establish a clear schedule early in the semester.
If your supervisor insists that you work over the winter break, or beyond the number of hours outlined above, please contact CUPE 2626 at info@2626.ca — we’ll be glad to help and offer you support.