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Employee Benefits at UW

General Benefits Information

All regular full- and part-time members of faculty and staff are required to participate in the benefit plans of the University. Faculty and staff members' share of the cost for these benefits will be deducted from earnings. Faculty and staff members with an appointment of one year have a special benefit package consisting of extended health insurance and one times (1X) salary in life insurance.

The Employee Benefit Plans Guide is available to assist new employees in learning about University of Waterloo benefits.

It is important that faculty and staff inform Human Resources of any change in dependent status immediately in order that the proper coverage may be made applicable. Also, in order that personnel records may be kept up to date, please advise of other changes (such as address, bank account, etc.) as soon as possible by calling your Payroll Benefits Assistant.

Coverage under the University's benefits program will cease on termination of employment or shortly thereafter, depending on the particular benefit. You may wish to consult the Human Resources Department for suggestions regarding continuing some benefits; legal forms concerning some benefits will be mailed to you. Some group benefits continue after retirement; please refer to the Pension section for details.

Some of the University benefit plans are integrated with government plans. All of the plans are under constant review in order that they may be modified to meet changing conditions or legislation. All University of Waterloo benefit plans are a product of the deliberations of the University of Waterloo Pension and Benefits Committee and are subject to change from time to time. Committee membership includes three faculty members, two non-union staff members, and one union representative.

Benefits Eligibility

All faculty and staff appointments will be in one of the following categories for benefits eligibility. Employees must be paid through University of Waterloo payroll to be eligible.

Benefits: Ongoing (no end date) full-time/part-time including appointments contingent upon funding. It also includes academic, post-doctoral fellow and research associate definite-term appointments equal to or greater than two years. All temporary appointments of at least one year.

It also includes one year academic,post-doctoral fellow and research associate appointments*

 Temporary and definite-term full-time/part-time (more than 3 months but less than 1 year) and casuals (3 months or less) and occasional employees
PENSION Yes (based on actual salary, if part-time) No, unless qualified under legislation No, unless qualified under legislation
DENTAL Yes (part-time/fractional load, UW pays premium based on FTE percentage) No No
EXTENDED HEALTH Yes. Employee must participate in OHIP or UHIP basic health plan (part-time/fractional load, UW pays premium based on FTE percentage) Yes. Employee must participate in OHIP or UHIP basic health plan. (part-time/fractional load, UW pays premium based on FTE percentage) No
GROUP LIFE Yes (based on actual salary, if part-time/fractional load) 1 times annual salary No
SICK LEAVE Yes (pro-rated if part-time /fractional load) 6 working days per year, pro-rated if part-time/fractional load 6 working days per year, pro-rated (does not apply to casual or occasional employees)
LONG-TERM DISABILITY Yes (based on actual salary, if part-time/fractional load) Individual plan (optional) Employee arranges individually and pays total premium. Contact Larry Sabatinos, Sunlife Agent at 1-888-527-1683. No
VACATION Full-Time,on-going Faculty appointments see Memorandum of Agreement (Article 11.2).

All other Faculty appointments, please refer to Policy 56

 4% vacation pay
For staff see Policy 6 For staff: 2 weeks per year (to be taken within the duration of the contract)

Notes:
Statutory benefits (Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, Workplace Safety and Insurance, and Employer Health Tax) are applicable to all categories.

*In cases where academic, post-doctoral fellow or research associates appointments are continued or extended, these appointments are treated as on-going for benefits purposes when two years of continuous employment is reached.

Benefits at Employment Termination

If you terminate employment with the University, you may convert to an individual policy with the insurance carrier for Health, Dental and other comprehensive coverage benefits; please refer to the Guaranteed Issue Health Insurance booklet for details.