Management Leave: You've Earned It, Don't Hesitate to Claim It

Although you are no longer allowed to claim overtime or compensatory leave in lieu of overtime, you remain entitled to management leave in recognition of the many surplus hours you spend in meeting these professional obligations

As a federal lawyer, you have no control over the demand for legal services. Further, you have professional obligations when it comes to its supply. As such, you probably work overtime from time to time in order to meet these professional obligations.  

Although you are no longer allowed to claim overtime or compensatory leave in lieu of overtime, you remain entitled to management leave in recognition of the many surplus hours you spend in meeting these professional obligations. That said, you must take the time to ask for it!

If you don't make a request for management leave, you will never get it.

Under the AJC Collective Agreement (Article 13.02), federal lawyers are eligible for management leave with pay, as the manager considers appropriate, for a period of up to 5 days in one fiscal year. Examples of situations where such leave may be granted are where lawyers are required to work excessive hours or where a lawyer is significantly restricted as a result of being on standby duty.

Management leave may exceed five days, with no set cap, in exceptional circumstances.

At a time where there are fewer resources available and federal lawyers' workloads are continually increasing, it's important to claim this time off!  You deserve it. Remember that granted management leave with pay can be carried over into the next fiscal year, and is to be used within 6 months after being granted.

Anyone being discouraged by management to apply for such an entitlement is encouraged to report this to the AJC directly at admin@ajc-ajj.ca .  Anyone who has filed a request for management leave but has been denied and feels that management's discretion has been exercised in an arbitrary, discriminatory or bad faith manner, is also invited to report this to the AJC as well.  

As we engage in the current round of negotiations, it will be telling for us to know how many of our members are working excessive hours and how many are in turn receiving management leave in return.  

The elimination of the overtime provisions was never intended to encourage our members to work excess hours without compensation.  We must stand tall together and force management to make a decision regarding requests for management leave and assess whether the spirit of the collective agreement is being respected.  

Together, we are the AJC!

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