1 Greater Victoria School District and Service Delivery Project

BCSSASummer Leadership

Academy 2014

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Service Delivery ProjectPurpose-Attendance Support

Programs to improve employee wellness, provide safe and healthy workplaces, and support employee attendance

Result in better learning outcomes for students

Result in better long term health outcomes for staff

Research best practice models

Data requirements and how best to collect, store and report the data.

Provide draft programs

Respect legislation, collective agreements and other regulations that apply to the workplace

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Provincial Cost of Replacement Staffing

Currently districts spend $154 million on replacement staffing or 3.1% of budgets

This is up from $73 million or 2.3% in 1993/94

In 20 years, replacement costs have increased 210% while total salaries have increased 47.5%

Student Enrolment is almost equal between the two periods (550,873 today versus 554,146 in 1993/94)

Service Delivery ProjectFocus of Work-Non culpable absences

Non-culpable or innocent absenteeism is absenteeism that is not within the workers' control

Categories:

chronic/catastrophic

finite absence

short term illness

non-medical leave

substance abuse/addictions

psychological and soft tissue illness/injury

What we Heard from CUPE and BCTF

Not about Attendance Management, if so no buy-in by unions

Needs to be an Integrated part of LTD and SIP plans

Early return to work and wellness focus

Return to work, mentorship, rehabilitation, limited intervention if critically or chronically ill

Service Delivery ProjectWorksafe Return to Work

Duration of claims for school districts is up for 2012 – 42 days versus 38 days in 2011

Need to educate and develop trust in a return to work program as it is the employer and employee that should determine what employee can do as light duties – not the doctor

Return to work is a necessary bridge between injury and full return to work

Service Delivery ProjectReturn to Work-Stay at Work

Understanding the costs – associated costs – WCB for every dollar spent, WCB charging $3 to employer to cover costs

3 to 6 times the direct costs for the indirect costs of absenteeism

Managing the absence or return to work-real way to reduce cost is to reduce time off work – modified work, modified duties, modified own occupation

Supernumerary is a cost savings

Districts need to have budgets for return to work initiatives

Sick leave, short term disability and long term disability need to work together

Service Delivery ProjectPrinciples and Best Practice

Program should work with existing programs such as JEIS and BCTF Health and Wellness Program

Program should be open and transparent and share information about the cost benefit analysis of return to work programs

Purpose of program is supportive not punitive

Program has to meet the current collective agreement language

Cooperative between union and management in support of employees-all about relationships with employees

Fairness and consistency

Attendance Awareness

Greater Victoria Timeline

2012/13 Initial Conversations with Senior Leadership

Oct/13 In-Camera Operations Committee Meeting

Oct/Nov/13 Met with Union Presidents

Nov/13 Operations Committee Meeting

Jan/14 Operations Committee Meeting - GVTA Presentations

Jan/14 Board Meeting - Motion Approved

Mar/14 Hired a Wellness and Attendance Support Advisor

That the Board of Education of School District No. 61 (Greater Victoria) implement the Attendance Awareness Program and proceed to hire a Human Resource Advisor, Wellness and Attendance Awareness, to coordinate the program.

Motion Carried

Motion

Why?

Greater VictoriaPrinciples and Best Practice

Attendance Support is part of the Health and Welfare Benefits

Program must have a return to work and modified duties component

Employer needs to understand the medical and work circumstances and receive specialist and independent advice

Program should have a supportive and coaching approach

Employer needs data to understand if absence is excessive and data needs to be shared

Program should have an educational component for staff, managers and union representatives

Objectives of Attendance Awareness

• To promote optimal and consistent attendance at work.

• To raise awareness of the importance of good attendance.

• To promote an atmosphere of mutual respect, fairness and concerns.

• To provide a framework for responding to excessive absenteeism.

• To assist individual employees overcome difficulties which adversely affect consistent attendance and to help prevent absenteeism problems from escalating.

• To preserve continuity of learning in the classroom.

Employee Group

Average Days Absent

2012/2013

Teachers 11.04

CUPE 747 11.43

CUPE 382 18.31Exempt 7.16

P & VPs 6.19

Allied Specialists 6.50

All Employee

Groups

11.46

Absence Summary

Absence Rate for Full-Time Secondary and Elementary

Teachers Employed in British Columbia

2008 2009 2010 2011

8.4 8.1 6.3 8.9

Reduce employees who are replaced by one day

$460,000

ProvinciallyHow do we Compare for Sick Leave?

Our statistics and costs for days absent due to sick leave are greater than the national averages at an annual cost of $35.8 million as shown in this table:

Employee Group

BC Average Days per employee for Sick leave (from EDAS Data)

National Averages in Days from Statistics Canada

Difference-average days per employee

Cost of Difference Based on Average Salaries

Support 12.78 8.6 4.18 $8.1 million Unionized Educators

10.35 7.6 2.75 $24.6 million

Non-Unionized Educators

7.21 3.3 3.91 $2.9 million

Exempt 5.87 5.5 0.37 $0.2 million Overall Average

10.95 7.7 3.25 $35.8 million

ProvinciallyHow do we Compare?

Statistics Canada also indicates that in the Education Sector that an additional 1.8 days are taken for personal or family responsibilities which would cost about $21 million in replacement costs

ProvincialCost Benefit Analysis

Estimated Savings if achieve national averages of $35.8 million

Estimated Annual Costs:

Specialist Support $625,000 to $1,000,000

Modified Work $3,500,000

Total Cost of about $4.125 to $4.5 million which will need to be invested annually to implement the program prior to savings being obtained

Wellness and Attendance Support

Advisor

• Wellness

• Disability Management

• Attendance Support

BSc and PhD - Kinesiology

Katie Dragert

March – June 2014• Information gathering from other school

districts

• Attendance Support Program (ASP) draft document

• Union Conversations

• Data – SRB

• DLT

• Principals Working Group

July – September 2014

• Training Preparation

• Principals, Vice-Principals, Managers Training

The Program• Culpable versus Non-Culpable

• Conversations at School Level

• Human Resources support and Involvement

Service Delivery ProjectRecommendations School Districts adopt common policies and procedures with

best practice guidelines.

District use the programs of the BC Public Service Agency and the City of Coquitlam and the principles outlined in this report as a basis for their polices.

Districts have access to shared specialized expertise such as medical advisors and occupational therapists

This would create a system wide solution that can be well

understood by employees, BCTF and support staff unions and management.

 

Service Delivery ProjectRecommendations Districts without internal claims management expertise should

consider using the School District No. 23 (Central Okanagan) program for these services

In addition, expertise is needed for health and safety services and districts should ensure access to these services which could be available on a regional level.

The overall goal is to create a culture: attendance support is part of the regular operations of schools

and districts employees feel supported, employee representatives are involved It is recognized throughout the system, that the work with

and for our students is improved by employee wellness.

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ProvincialBenefits of Common Implementation

Common implementation may provide for less conflict at a district level-although each district will need to approve their policy and work with local employee groups

Cooperation and integration with WorkSafe BC, BCTF and PEBT programs

Is a wellness and support initiative not attendance management

Service Delivery ProjectLooking for Pilot Districts

Thank you and Questions