We’ve created a handy FAQ about your Partial-Load contract at Seneca College. If you have any questions with respect to your contract please get in touch with a Steward or email the Local.
How is my pay calculated?If you are a Partial-Load Professor, your initial step calculation is determined by the factors outlined in Section I of the Classification plan for professors, counsellors and librarians. This can be found on page 123 of the Collective Agreement.
If you are a Partial-Load Instructor, your initial step calculation is determined by the factors outlined in Section II of the Classification plan for instructors. This can be found on page 126 of the Collective Agreement.
The College determines your pay by the number of teaching hours assigned to you per week. The calculated hourly rate is deemed to cover out-of-class preparation and marking time (CA 26.02A).
Why am I only paid for my teaching contact hours (TCH)?The College determines pay by the number of teaching hours per week. It deems this hourly rate to cover out-of-class preparation and marking time (CA 26.02A). Viewed in this way, the effective hourly rate isn’t nearly as high as what the C/A says.
The union is committed to securing better rights and better pay for all contract faculty.
Where can I find the pay grid?Article 26.04 of the Collective Agreement outlines the pay grid. It can be found on page 51.
What if I think I am at the wrong place on the pay grid?Please contact us to go over your initial step calculation to ascertain where you should be on the pay grid. You can also access our step calculator here.
Do I get pay increases?Yes. Moving up a step on the Partial-Load pay grid is outlined in A. 26.10B & C of our Collective Agreement. You can find it on page 58.
Progression on the pay grid is determined by months of service. To move up a step on the grid, you must have ten months of “on-the-job experience”.
“On-the-job experience” is calculated as outlined by A.26.10 C of our Collective Agreement.
Please contact the Local if you are unsure of your step progression or how to calculate it.
My contract has ended, and I have not yet started another one. Can I get EI?Depending on your circumstances, yes. Contact the union office for more information and assistance with your EI application.
I have not been offered a contract for the upcoming semester. What should I do?If you believe that you have met the conditions under the question “Do I have job security”, please reach out to the Local immediately to discuss potential ways to move forward.
This may include filing a grievance to protect your rights under Article 26 of the Collective Agreement.
Do I receive health benefits?If you are partial-load, then you are eligible for employer-paid health benefits. For a detailed explanation of the benefits to which you are entitled, please visit connect with . Please make sure to opt-in to the benefits as soon as HR sends you the package. Employee-paid benefits are also available, such as dental and vision coverage, but must be opted-in during your first contract, within 30 days of loss of another coverage, or after 6 months our of partial-load status.
My contract has ended, and I have not started another one. What happens to my benefits (Extended Health, Vision, Hearing, Critical Illness/Catastrophic Event, Dental)?
You can bridge group insurance benefits under certain circumstances. If one contract ends but you have already signed another one, you can continue coverage in any group insurance plans by paying the premiums yourself until your next contract begins. Also, if you are rehired within 6 months of the end of a previous contract, there will be no waiting period for group insurance benefits. See CA 26.06 A, B, and C for usual waiting periods.
Articles 26.10 D and E of the Collective Agreement gives current Partial-Load members “priority in hiring” when the College “determines that there is a need to hire a partial-load employee”. This is subject to three conditions:
- the member has expressed an interest in teaching Partial-Load by signing up on the Partial-Load Registry; and
- the member must have accumulated “at least eight months of service as defined by article 26.10C within the last four academic years“; and
- the member must have previously taught courses that form the partial-load assignment.
If you have questions about how this language applies to you, please get in touch with the Local.
I have been offered additional teaching hours which would put be above 12 teaching hours per week. Should I accept the offer?The Local does not advise that members accept a teaching contract for more than 12 teaching hours per week. This is considered a Sessional contract.
According to the Collective Agreement, a partial-load employee is defined as “a teacher who teaches more than six (6) and up to and including twelve (12) hours per week on a regular basis” (A. 26.01B). If you go above twelve (12) hours per week you will no longer be partial-load or a member of the Union.
This means that you will loose your Union protections, the higher rates of pay the Union has negotiated and all other benefits the Union has negotiated. You also won’t be considered an internal candidate for any full-time job competitions that may become available during that time period.