Call Back Arbitration Award Information
- CUPE Local 815
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Notice to Members
CUPE Local 815.1 recently won an important arbitration about call-back pay. The case involved a member who was off work between scheduled shifts when the employer called and asked him to cover a shift because another employee was sick. The employer paid regular wages for the shift, but the Union argued that the member should have received double-time call-back pay under the collective agreement.
The Arbitration Board agreed with the Union. The Board found that when a full time or part-time employee has completed a regular shift and is contacted by the employer to return to work before their next scheduled shift, that employee has been "called back to work" within the meaning of the collective agreement. Importantly, the Board rejected the employer's argument that call-back pay only applies during emergencies or when an employee is forced to return to work. The Board ruled that neither of those requirements appears in the language of the collective agreement.
The decision reinforces an important principle: call-back pay exists to compensate workers for the disruption to their personal time when the employer reaches out and asks them to return to work between regularly scheduled shifts. The Board concluded that even when an employee voluntarily agrees to accept the extra work, the employer's request is what triggers the entitlement. In this case, the employee's day off was interrupted because the employer needed coverage, and the Board found that this is exactly the type of situation the call-back provision was designed to address.
As a result, the grievance was upheld, and the Board ruled that the grievor was entitled to call-back pay under Article 15.06. This decision provides important clarification for members: where an employee has finished a regular shift and is later contacted to return to work before their next scheduled shift, call-back provisions apply even if the employee is not ordered to work and even if the situation is not an emergency. The ruling strengthens protections for members whose personal time is interrupted to meet the employer's staffing needs.
The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) has appealed this decision, so the matter is not yet fully settled. While the Union remains confident in the strength of the arbitration award, we encourage all members to carefully review their pay when they are called in to work between scheduled shifts.
If you believe call-back pay has been denied:
Reach out to your manager to rectify the problem, cc the union on this email.
If Call Back pay still not resolved, notify the Union as soon as possible by completing the form linked below.
The Union intends to grieve each instance where call-back pay is denied so that members' rights under the collective agreement can be protected while this issue continues through the appeal process.
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