Layoff Protection Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ outlines the protections available to AUFA members with probationary or continuing regular appointments in the event Athabasca University wishes to terminate AUFA members. AUFA members with term (Article 5) appointments have different and lesser protections.
This FAQ uses the generic term “layoff” when discussing the permanent termination of employment at AU. There are no provisions in the AUFA agreement allowing for a temporary layoff.
Can Athabasca University layoff AUFA members?
Yes. Article 12 of the collective agreement allows AU to terminate your employment. AU can do this when it faces financial exigency or when AU restructures its operations.
If I am laid off, what am I entitled to receive?
You are entitled to notice as well as a financial payment.
Article 12 requires the Board provide AUFA members with 12 months of working notice of any layoff.
AU may (in its discretion) decide to provide pay in lieu of this notice period (i.e., pay you out, instead of allowing you work out the notice period).
Article 12 also requires the Board provide you with one month’s salary per year of service to a maximum of 6 months of salary.
Most AUFA members will, then, receive a total of 18 months of pay and/or notice.
How will I be notified?
This is unclear. AU is required only to provide written notice. When AU laid off 44 staff in 2012, each laid off staff member was called into a meeting with their supervisor (and an HR and an AUFA rep) and was laid off in person. They were then sent home for the rest of the day. This process went on over several days.
What happens to students I work with?
If AU provides you working notice, you will be expected to continue carrying out your duties during the notice period. If AU provides you with pay in lieu of notice, your student responsibilities (will presumably) be allocated to other AU staff.
What happens to my benefits?
If you are provided with 12 months of working notice, your benefits continue during this notice period. At the end of this period, your benefits end and you will need to make other arrangements for health, dental, vision, and life insurance.
Things are less clear if AU provides you with 12 months of pay in lieu of working notice. AUFA is presently grieving a layoff under Article 12. In this case, the employer provided pay in lieu of notice. AU then asserted that the laid-off staff member was not entitled to a payment for the value of the benefits the staff member would have received during the notice period. AUFA believe this payment is owed. An arbitration hearing is set for October of 2020.
It is unclear whether AU will maintain this “no benefits if paid out” position during any future layoffs. AUFA will obviously grieve the matter if AU provides pay in lieu of notice but does not compensate workers for the value of their foregone benefits.
What happens to my pension?
Assuming your pension has vested with UAPP, the immediate consequence of being laid off is that you would no longer be eligible to make further contributions. Depending upon your circumstances, you may be eligible to collect a pension (now or in the future) or you may be able to transfer your pension into a LIRA (Locked in Retirement Account).
What happens to my sabbatical entitlements and PD funds?
Untaken sabbatical entitlements and unexpended professional development funds will be lost upon termination of employment.
What happens to untaken vacation days?
The university is required to pay out untaken vacation days.
What happens to AU equipment?
Equipment provided by AU (e.g., laptops provided to home-office workers) will likely need to be returned. It is less clear what happens to equipment purchased using professional development funds.