Vacation Booking for Staff NOT Assigned to their Base Shift/Schedule

Staff currently working on a schedule other than their base shift/schedule assignment (e.g., temporarily assigned to a station on a different shift rotation) will be booking their 2024 vacation according to their temporary assignment. Any Paramedic who is currently in a long-term temp spot and wishes to book on their base assignment must send an email to
PS-SchedulingMgmt@toronto.ca no later than November 14, 2023.

If an email notification is not received by the above date, it will be assumed that staff will book vacation based on their temporary assignment, and a vacation booking window will be assigned according to seniority within that schedule and colour grouping.

Preliminary staff lists, listed alphabetically, will be available by end of day on November 1, 2023. This list will be posted to the Scheduling Portal under 2024 OPS Vacation Employee Lists. Please ensure that you check the preliminary list to be sure you are listed on the correct Schedule, Colour, and District. If there is a discrepancy between what is listed, and what you would like to book on, notify PS-SchedulingMgmt@toronto.ca no later than November 14, 2023.

Final lists will be available by end of day November 15, 2023, once any necessary adjustments are made. These lists will be published on the Scheduling Portal, and will include your assigned booking date/window. It is your responsibility to note your assigned date, and ensure that you log in to the Vacation booking portal during this assigned window to book your 2024 Vacation.

Special Teams

Similar to last year, all Special Teams Paramedics will book 2024 vacation on the Vacation Bidding Portal. All members of CCTU, Marine, ESU, and ERU/ARU (30 Station and 54 Station) teams will be required to log into the Vacation Bidding Portal to book their 2024 vacation.

Ad Hoc Vacation

Any staff requesting vacation between January 1 to 31, 2024, must continue to follow the current ad hoc vacation booking process. For more details, please visit the Staff Blog to read through the memorandum titled 2023 Ad Hoc Vacation Booking Process released on January 24, 2023.

Training Material

Training and reference material regarding the Vacation Bidding Portal is available on the Scheduling Portal.

If you have any questions, please contact PS-SchedulingMgmt@toronto.ca or speak with your Superintendent.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)

Kris Staley

Key Points

• 2024 vacation will be booked using the online vacation booking portal.
• Employees booking vacation as members of ESU, ERU/ARU (30 and 54 Stations), CCTU, and Marine teams will also be utilizing the portal to book vacation.
• Employees are encouraged to book vacation in blocks to optimize opportunities for their co-workers but are permitted to book single days.
• Employees are expected to book their full 2024 vacation allotment, including Floating Holidays (FSH) during their assigned booking time. FSH days will be entered as the first three (3) full vacation days booked.
• Pre-booked vacation will not be cancelled to work signature events.
  Tentative event dates ***(subject to change)*** are as follows:

1. Pride Toronto: June 28-July 01, 2024
2. Toronto Indy: July 19-21, 2024
3. Caribbean Carnival: August 3, 2024
4. Taste of the Danforth: August 09-11, 2024
5. CNE: August 16-September 02, 2024

Important Dates

• November 1, 2023:

1. Preliminary vacation booking lists published on the Scheduling Portal.
2. Employees expected to review the list and ensure they are correct.
3. Staff contact Scheduling Management (PS-schedulingmgmt@toronto.ca) no later than November 14, 2023 if any adjustments are required.

• November 15, 2023:

1. Preliminary vacation booking lists published on the Scheduling Portal.
2. Employees expected to review the list and ensure they are correct.
3. Staff contact Scheduling Management (PS-schedulingmgmt@toronto.ca) no later than November 14, 2023 if any adjustments are required.

• November 15, 2023:

1. Final vacation booking lists published, along with booking window/date. No further changes will be permitted.
2. Employees are expected to access the vacation booking portal and confirm/note their vacation booking window (date they will be booking).

• November 22, 2023:

1. Vacation booking portal opens, vacation booking process starts.

Vacation Booking Procedure

1. First-time users of the Scheduling Portal should review the memo and instructions on the TPS Staff Blog. Forgotten passwords can be reset using the link on the Scheduling Portal home page.

2. After accessing the Scheduling Portal, a link to the Vacation Bidding Portal training material will be available. This training package includes detailed instructions and other information on how to use the system.

3. Each employee will be assigned a date and 20-hour window during which they must access the Scheduling Portal and book their vacation. These dates will be assigned based on their 2024 schedule and seniority, and have been published and posted on the Scheduling Portal as of November 15, 2023.

NOTE: The 20-hour window for vacation booking will be from 00:00 to 19:59 on the assigned date.

Prior to their assigned vacation booking window, employees will be able to access the portal and view, in real-time, which dates remain available. No selections can be made outside of the assigned vacation booking window.

4. Vacation booking commences on November 22, 2023 at 00:00. Employees are expected to access the Vacation Bidding Portal during their assigned window and book their annual vacation. Once that time window has elapsed, no further additions or edits will be permitted by the employee.

If an employee misses their vacation booking window, they must contact
PS-SchedulingMgmt@toronto.ca as soon as possible. Employees will be assigned an alternate
2-hour booking window from either 20:00 to 21:59, or 22:00 to 23:59 to book their vacation on a subsequent date. Employees who miss their vacation booking window will NOT be permitted to “bump” any other Paramedic that has already booked vacation, regardless of seniority.

5. Each employee is responsible for knowing their assigned window to book their vacation. Scheduling will not contact anyone directly, and system-generated reminders will only be sent to employees who have updated their email address in the Scheduling Portal.

6. Employees are expected to book their entire 2024 annual vacation allotment at the time of their booking and will be able to book vacation up to and including January 31, 2025. Floating Holidays (FSH) will be entered as the first three (3) full vacation days requested.

As a reminder, per the Local 416 Collective Agreement:

13.09 (a) Vacation due an employee shall be completed before the end of the calendar year. An employee may, with the approval of their Division Head or at the request of such Division Head and with the consent of the employee, postpone the whole or part of such vacation to the following calendar year. Such request must be received by either the employee or the Division Head as the case may be no later than October 1st in any year.

13.09 (b) In the event that there is no agreement to postpone the whole or part of such vacation to the following calendar year or, if no request is received by October 1st in accordance with clause 13.09(a), the Division Head shall consult with the employee regarding any preference that the employee may have regarding the scheduling of the remaining vacation. In the event that the employee’s request cannot be accommodated, the Division Head shall then schedule the employee’s vacation so that it is completed before the end of the calendar year or, if the employee so requests, they shall be paid out for any unused vacation at the end of the year.

7. Lieu time may only be used to complete a single, partial shift of vacation, to a maximum of 9.0 hours (e.g., if 3.0 hours of vacation are available in the employee’s vacation bank, the remaining 9.0 hours of lieu time may be added to complete the shift). Full shift lieu time will not be booked during the annual vacation booking process.

NOTE: It is the responsibility of the employee requesting the lieu time to ensure the required lieu time is present and available in their lieu bank on the date that it is applied to as a “top-up”.

a) Vacation carry-forward from a previous year (i.e., 2023 vacation carried into 2024) will be booked at a later date, using the Ad Hoc Vacation Booking Process. The 2024 Ad Hoc Vacation Booking Process will be released upon the completion of this annual booking. The link above refers to the 2023 process as a reference only.

8. Both on and off-duty staff are expected to book their vacation in their assigned vacation booking window. The Vacation Bidding Portal is accessible from any device with an internet connection. If an employee will not be available to book their vacation during their assigned time slot, they must contact PS-SchedulingMgmt@toronto.ca in advance to make alternate arrangements.

NOTE: On-duty Paramedics will not be placed out-of-service to book their vacation.

9. During the assigned 20-hour vacation booking window, staff will be able to make edits or additions to their vacation booking, as required. Once the booking window closes at 19:59, no further changes will be accepted by the program.

Employees requesting to cancel or change previously booked vacation require the recommendation of their assigned Superintendent and Commander approval.

10. If an employee’s vacation needs to be re-booked due to hospitalization, WSIB injury, or assignment change (e.g., District, schedule, colour code, training, etc.), the employee must contact the Scheduling Unit upon their return to work or have received confirmation of their assignment change.

NOTE: If a Paramedic chooses to bid on, and accept, an assignment on a new schedule, rotation and/or colour code through the Station Bid process, previously booked vacation may not be honoured. Where possible, the Scheduling Unit will attempt to align the previously booked vacation time frame to the new schedule/rotation/colour code.

11. Following completion of the 2024 Operations vacation booking process, additional vacation requests must follow the Ad Hoc Vacation Booking Process when updated and issued for 2024. (2023 process link above for reference only)

12. In 2024, unless arrangements have been made with their direct Superintendent or Commander to carry vacation forward into 2025, outstanding vacation may be assigned after October 1, 2024, in accordance with the Local 416 Collective Agreement.

If you are unable to resolve your concern with the above information, please contact the Scheduling Unit by phone (416-392-2130, option ‘2’) or by email (PS-Scheduling@toronto.ca or PS-SchedulingMgmt@toronto.ca).

2023 Vacation Breakdown

Schedule 9 (all rotations) and Schedule SF

For this 2024 Vacation Booking, as we have converted the majority of Operational staff to Schedule 9, Paramedics will book within their colour codes, by District. The breakdown is listed below and is based on the number of staff assigned to each District.

District 1

• A maximum of seven (7) Paramedics are permitted off for Days, per colour code.
• A maximum of five (5) Paramedics are permitted off for C-Shift, per colour code.
• A maximum of seven (7) Paramedics are permitted off for Nights, per colour code.

District 2

• A maximum of seven (7) Paramedics are permitted off for Days, per colour code.
• A maximum of five (5) Paramedics are permitted off for C-Shift, per colour code.
• A maximum of seven (7) Paramedics are permitted off for Nights, per colour code.

District 3

• A maximum of seven (7) Paramedics are permitted off for Days, per colour code.
• A maximum of five (5) Paramedics are permitted off for C-Shift, per colour code.
• A maximum of seven (7) Paramedics are permitted off for Nights, per colour code.

District 4

• A maximum of five (5) Paramedics are permitted off for Days, per colour code.
• A maximum of three (3) Paramedics are permitted off for C-Shift, per colour code.
• A maximum of five (5) Paramedics are permitted off for Nights, per colour code.

District 6

• A maximum of four (4) Paramedics are permitted off for Days, per colour code.
• A maximum of two (2) Paramedics are permitted off for C-Shift, per colour code.
• A maximum of four (4) Paramedics are permitted off for Nights, per colour code.

ACTS/HSC

• Paramedics assigned to the HSC trial will book with other HSC trial Paramedics, on each rotation and colour code.
  * A maximum of one (1) Paramedic is permitted off on each date, per colour code.

Schedule 1 – 59 station

• A maximum of two (2) Paramedics will be permitted off on each date, per colour code.

District 5/Special Teams

Employees booking vacation on the following Special Teams will book 2023 vacation via the online vacation booking portal.

ESU

• A maximum of one (1) Paramedic is permitted off on each date, per colour code.

 ERU (ARU/PRU)

• A maximum of one (1) Paramedic is permitted off on each day shift.
• A maximum of two (2) Paramedics are permitted off on each afternoon (e.g., C12) shift.

 CCTU

• A maximum of one (1) CCP is permitted off on each date, per colour code.

Marine

• All Marine Paramedics (i.e., all colour codes).
• A maximum of one (1) Paramedic is permitted off on each date.

FTO

• FTOs assigned to the FTO Schedule (17 Post and 20 Station) requiring vacation are expected to contact the Education and Development Unit with their requests.