We are happy to announce that we have come to an agreement regarding Vancouver Island Health Authority's Expense Policy for Health Science Professionals. These new changes will mean that your manager will have to consider whether or not expenses are approved on a case-by- case basis, and that expenses which are "reasonable" will be approved.
Your collective agreement states the following regarding expenses:
26.02 When an employee is required by the Employer to travel for employment purposes the employee shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses supported by receipts as required by the Employer.
In 2017, the Employer implemented an expense policy with a schedule for expenses, which included maximum amounts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
In response to this, several members filed grievances, including former shop steward and local executive member, Dave Cherry. The basis for these grievances was that the Employer's expense limits were arbitrary, and that sometimes, in particular when traveling to islands and other remote locations, finding meals which fit into the expense limits was not necessarily reasonable.
In particular, the BCGEU and VIHA have agreed on the following:
In the event an employee under the HSPBA Collective Agreement is seeking reimbursement for an expense that exceeds the maximum amount allowable under the Policy that employee will provide an explanation and rationale as to why that expense is "reasonable" and should be fully reimbursed. Such requests will reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Expenses that exceed the maximum amount allowable that the Employer concludes are not reasonable shall be reimbursed at the maximum allowable amount. If the explanation and rationale is reasonable the full expense will be reimbursed.
The full settlement agreement is attached. Should you have any issues with reasonable expense claims being denied going forward, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of your local shop stewards.
In solidarity
Cina Opel
Local 402 Chair
Download PDF of notice here
Download VIHA travel expense settlement
UWU/MoveUP
Do you like this post?
© Copyright BCGEU 2024. All rights reserved.
BCGEU Privacy Policy
BCGEU Jobs