FPSLREB Decisions

Pay - Overtime - Hours of work - Shift work - the grievor was employed as a veterinarian in a meat processing plant - pursuant to the provisions of the applicable collective agreement, the normal work week for non-shift workers was 37 ½ hours and the normal workday was 7 ½ hours between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday - due to operational requirements, effective May 1, 2000, the employer changed his hours of work to a start time of 4:15 a.m. and a finishing time of 12:30 p.m., including a 30-minute unpaid meal break - the grievor, as a non-shift worker, sought to be compensated at the overtime rate for all hours worked between 4:15 and 6:00 a.m. each day, as they were outside his normal hours of work - the employer maintained that he was not entitled to overtime compensation for these hours, because he worked on an irregular or rotating basis and was, therefore, a shift worker - the adjudicator concluded that, effective May 1, 2000, the grievor was a shift worker under the collective agreement - the collective agreement recognized the employer's right to modify hours of work and to change them from a non-shift work to a shift work basis because of operational requirements - the grievor was, therefore, not entitled to overtime compensation for the work he performed between 4:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. - however, he was entitled to be paid overtime compensation for the additional 15 minutes per day he was required to work between 4:15 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., which exceeded the daily hours of work for shift workers under the collective agreement. Grievance allowed in part. Cases cited:Savard (166-2-1768 and 1769); Savard (168-2-98); Freitag (166-2-8086 to 8090).