1 Greater Victoria School District and Service Delivery Project

1. 1 Greater Victoria School District and Service Delivery Project BCSSA Summer Leadership Academy 2014

2. 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

3. 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)

4. Service Delivery ProjectFocus of Work-Non culpable absences • Non-culpableor 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Attendance Awareness

10. 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

11. Motion 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

12. Why?

13. 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

14. 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.

15. Absence Summary

16. Absence Rate for Full-Time Secondary and Elementary Teachers Employed in British Columbia

17. Reduce employees who are replaced by one day $460,000

18. ProvinciallyHow do we Compare for Sick Leave?

19. 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

20. 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

21. Wellness and Attendance Support Advisor • Wellness • Disability Management • Attendance Support

22. Katie Dragert BSc and PhD - Kinesiology

23. March – June 2014 • Information gathering from other school districts • Attendance Support Program (ASP) draft document • Union Conversations • Data – SRB • DLT • Principals Working Group

24. July – September 2014 • Training Preparation • Principals, Vice-Principals, Managers Training

25. The Program • Culpable versus Non-Culpable • Conversations at School Level • Human Resources support and Involvement

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. 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

30. Service Delivery ProjectLooking for Pilot Districts

31. Thank you and Questions