All employees of the Niagara Catholic District School Board (the “Board”) have the responsibility of contributing to the success of the organization in fulfilling its Mission, Vision and Values for students and the families it serves. To this end, the Board is committed to both employee and organizational health, which are factors that contribute to employees’ ability to attend work, by creating and maintaining a supportive and healthy workplace for all employees. The Board recognizes the contributions of all Employees and considers it important to encourage commendable attendance. It also recognizes the disruption to student learning and continuity in program, the cost, and burden on co-workers caused by absenteeism. For these reasons, it is essential to take a proactive approach to productivity and wellness through a supportive, transparent, and fair process.

The Attendance Support Program (ASP) is a supportive, and early intervention program that respects and protects the confidentiality and privacy of employee information. Throughout all aspects of the phased program, the Board is committed to establishing healthy relationships and working together in a mutually respectful environment that is caring of all employees. The focus of the ASP is to create, maintain and support a healthy workplace, which includes the physical and social environment, as well as personal health practices.

To fully contribute in the achievement of the Board’s Mission, Vision, and Values, regular and punctual attendance by all employees is an essential expectation. It is the responsibility of all employees to manage their regular attendance in order to maintain the quality of programs and services, to students, staff and the community, as well as ensuring a fair distribution of work among colleagues, and thus a safe and healthy workplace. All employees have a responsibility to ensure their regular and punctual attendance. We believe that absences can be minimized through prevention, early intervention and individual case management, and that employee attendance issues are best resolved in a caring, positive and supportive manner.

This ASP combines prevention, intervention and supportive assistance to achieve the goals of personal and workplace wellness. By fostering an environment that encourages support of employees and promoting a healthy work environment, this program should also improve the quality of service to students through consistent and regular attendance of employees at work. The Niagara Catholic Wellness Committee and the Employee and Family Assistance Program provide supports and services to achieve the goals of this policy.

The ASP is built upon the following principles:

a. All employees of the Niagara Catholic District School Board (the “Board”) have the responsibility of contributing to the success of the organization in fulfilling its Mission, Vision, and Values for students and families it serves, fostering a workplace founded upon Faith and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

b. To provide support and assistance to employees who are absent from work and to enable them to attend work regularly and productively.

c. To utilize effective and successful practices, supports and return to work procedures and resources.

d. To ensure that all employees of the Board are aware of and receive the appropriate support(s) available to them.

e. To encourage regular attendance at work through the proactive use of supportive and preventative measures.

f. To ensure this program is applied in a manner consistent with the Ontario Human Rights Code and any other applicable legislation, Collective Agreement or Terms and Conditions.

The Director of Education will issue Administrative Operational Procedures for the implementation of this policy.

References:

· Employment Standards Act

· Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

· Ontario Human Rights Code

Niagara Catholic District School Board *ATTENDANCE SUPPORT PROGRAM POLICY* STATEMENT OF GOVERNANCE POLICY
200 – Human Resources	Policy No 201.16

Adopted Date: June 23, 1998	Latest Reviewed/Revised Date: May 25, 2022