Information for Employees

Daily Health Check

All employees are required to complete a health check before entering any CNC campus but do not have to document it.

Temporary COVID-19 Accomodation Request

The PHO direction regarding working during the COVID-19 epidemic calls for certain adjustments. In light of the temporary nature of the restrictions, an expedited process for accommodating employees to the point of undue hardship becomes necessary. Use Workplace Accommodation COVID-19 Form only if you temporarily need to be accommodated for COVID-19 or related reasons.

Safety Plans

Safety & Security has assessed spaces across CNC campuses and developed unique safety plans with COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Approved safety plans are available on the CNC Portal.

*Please note: CNC is planning for the resumption of activities based on the Government of British Columbia's restart plan and college-specific direction. Safety plan and F2F meeting requirements and approvals are subject to change based on provincial orders or other factors that may be outside of CNC's control.

Workers' Compensation Act

CNC and employees have obligations, under the Workers’ Compensation Act, to take reasonable care to protect the health and safety of themselves and others in the workplace — there are basic expectations during the current public health crisis. These include:

• not attending work and notifying your supervisor if you have flu-like symptoms of COVID-19, or
• if you have been instructed to self-isolate by a qualified medical practitioner (i.e. Northern Health, family physician, COVID-19 health line, 8-1-1, etc.).

Privacy

CNC recognizes its legal and moral obligation regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. CNC must also ensure the health and safety of the workplace in order to prevent or manage the risk and/or reality of COVID-19’s rapid spread. As a measure to ensure and administer its collective and other employment agreements, CNC may request basic information about your travel plans. This is to confirm whether employees have travelled internationally and, if so, the dates of any international travel.

Illness

If you are ill and/or exhibiting any cold, flu-like or COVID-19 symptoms you should seek specific medical advice from public health officials (such as by contacting 8-1-1, Northern Health, or other public health office). Common symptoms for COVID-19 include:

• Fever • Cough • Difficulty breathing • Sore throat • Sneezing

The incubation period is the time from when a person is first exposed until symptoms appear. Symptoms may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure to COVID-19. This is the longest known infectious period for this disease.

If you begin to feel ill or exhibit symptoms while at work you should advise your supervisor or manager for direction about safely leaving the workplace.

If you are not showing symptoms and you have not recently returned from designated COVID-19 affected regions, but you believe you may have been exposed to COVID-19, you should contact 8-1-1, your primary care provider, or local health office, and follow direction given to you by those sources. Guidance on when to quarantine or self-isolate should be taken from the BC Centre for Disease Control, local public health office, or Health Link (call 8-1-1).

Sick Leave

If you are eligible for sick leave, you are entitled to pay if sick with COVID-19. So as not to over-tax the medical system at this time, we will be excusing staff for sick leave without requiring a doctor’s note if employees are ill or required to self-isolate. Under these special circumstances, the normal collective agreement or employer policy requirements that employees provide medical documentation to access sick leave will not apply. We will be using a self-declaration form when employees apply for sick leave under these special circumstances.

You are required to keep your manager/dean updated regarding the status of any medical assessment or direction you receive from a qualified medical practitioner.

Short & Long Term Disability (STD & LTD)

Short & Long term disability (STD) benefits provide support when you have an injury or an illness that prevents you from doing your job. Neither self-quarantine, social distancing nor self-isolation are considered completely disabling if you’re not ill. To qualify for these benefits, you must be absent from work due to an illness or injury and provide medical evidence that supports your claim. If you have COVID-19 and plan to make a claim, please contact the Human Resources Department. We will be monitoring employee absences through self-identification as indicated above. In cases of COVID-19 illnesses, we will need to review each situation on a case-by-case basis to determine if medical certification is required.

Asymptomatic employees with underlying health issues

If you have not been exposed to COVID-19 but you are anxious about being at work due to pre-existing underlying health issues that would present a significantly higher risk for contracting COVID-19 you need to discuss this with your primary medical practitioner, 8-1-1 or Northern Health to obtain their recommendations to ensure your personal safety. In addition, you can provide a completed self-declaration form, which will be available on the CNC website.

If you are one of these employees who has been instructed to stay away from work, you may be permitted to work from home, if that is a viable option. If working from home is not a viable option, you may be temporarily placed, on sick leave or general paid leave, until further notified. This is a temporary measure and is not available under normal circumstances.

If you are asymptomatic and you live with a family member with a pre-existing underlying health issue that presents a significantly higher risk for contracting COVID-19 and you can’t risk exposure due to the risk of serious complications, you may be permitted to work from home if that is a viable option. If working from home is not a viable option, you may be permitted to taking an unpaid leave of absence or to access vacation leave until further notified.

Please discuss these matters with your manager.

Return to Work

Employees returning to work from illness may be required to provide a clearance letter from a physician in order to return to the workplace. This would typically be for those employees who were symptomatic.

Employees who are not eligible for sick leave or short-term disability (STD)

Employees placed on a medical leave of absence who do not have access to STD or sick leave bank, or have exhausted their STD or sick leave bank, may be eligible for employment insurance. The federal government has taken action to provide benefits for employees in quarantine or who have been directed to self-isolate. Such benefits likely do not cover workers who voluntarily choose to self-isolate and are not ill or do not have a legitimate reason to be self-quarantined.

Employees who notify their supervisor that they must absent themselves from work to care for a family member

Normal collective agreement or employer policy requirements apply. Employees have rights to statutory family responsibility leave under the Employment Standards Act for the care or health of a child or immediate family member.

Workplace Health and Safety Requirements

Employers in BC have an obligation to provide a safe workplace under the Workers’ Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. This includes taking reasonable and responsible measures to protect employees from a contagion like the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Unsafe Work Refusal

Under occupational health and safety legislation, employees have the right to refuse to work or to do particular work at a workplace if the employee believes on reasonable grounds that there is a dangerous condition or that the work constitutes a danger to the employee’s health and safety. If an employee exercises this right, CNC will follow work refusal procedures under its occupational health and safety policies. WorkSafeBC is continuing to monitor the progression of the virus. We will monitor the WorkSafeBC website for ongoing updates related to COVID-19 and keep you updated.

Travel

The Provincial Health Officer and Minister of Health have publicly communicated the Province’s expectations regarding travel outside of Canada and the requirement for self-isolation upon return.

Employees who have travelled internationally (including to the U.S.) are expected to comply with the government’s direction to self-isolate for 10 days before returning to work. Employees self-isolating will not be able to access sick leave. They may use vacation leave, overtime banks or leave without pay during this period. 

In cases where the travel occurred after the advisory was issued and where exceptional circumstances existed, exceptions may be considered. Contact HR for more information.

Out-of-Country/ Province emergency medical benefit

Before travelling, you are encouraged to check the Government of Canada’s website for the latest on this developing situation and pay close attention to advice provided by experts. There are no COVID-19 specific exclusions in our group policy.  COVID-19 is treated like any other illness, such that if a covered employee or family member becomes ill or diagnosed with COVID-19 when outside of the country, they would be covered  as long as all of the same contractual provisions are satisfied as would be a requirement for any other illness. Note that our group coverage does NOT include expenses related to quarantine, trip interruption etc. For an employee or their family member who is not ill but is required to quarantine (for example; due to COVID-19 exposure) there will be no coverage. Persons concerned about the potential for such excluded expenses will need to purchase an independent policy.

Changes to Normal Operations

The COVID-19 situation is fluid and changing on a daily basis. CNC is committed to minimizing the effects of this virus on staff, faculty and students to the extent that it is possible to do so. We will keep you up-to-date as events transpire. Your support is appreciated.

Resources for employees feeling stressed and requiring support

Visit the Human Resources Health and Wellness Webpage for information on accessing the Employee and Family Assistance Program.