Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR december 15, 2014 emPloymeNt lAw 5 Volunteer firefighter fired from regular job for leaving work too often B.C. employer accused worker of leaving without permission, taking extra pay A British columbia company wrongfully dis- missed an employee who was fired for too many absences related to his position as a volunteer firefighter, an arbitrator has ruled. Jim Buckley was an employee with Mainroad South Island Contract- ing on Saltspring Island, B.C. When he was hired in 1988, Buck- ley informed his foreman he was a member of the Saltspring Island volunteer fire department. e foreman said that was a good thing for the community and it would give Mainroad good public relations — the company also provided resources to the fire department. Buckley agreed he wouldn't leave work for a fire call if it would cost Mainroad mon- ey and delay work that caused disruptions. ough Buckley said he would return to work from calls as soon as he could, there was no formal discussion of how long he should be away or how to fill out time cards when he went on a fire call. Mainroad used time cards and leave forms to meet its legal obli- gations of knowing whether each employee was at a job site or not. Employees were told to fill out time cards accurately as they were considered legal documents. e Mainroad operational agreement allowed firefighters to respond to emergencies in the community with permission, though Buck- ley usually didn't seek permis- sion and often left his time cards incomplete. Firefighting service discussed In April 2009, a joint labour/man- agement meeting between the union and Mainroad discussed Buckley's volunteer firefight- ing service. e union agreed to speak with Buckley to confirm: he would immediately advise his supervisor when he had to leave for a fire call; he would do his best to limit such leaves to only seri- ous calls; and any remuneration Buckley received for fire calls would be remitted to Mainroad. Mainroad was not aware Buck- ley received any pay for fire calls, but the union said it was just an honorarium. In October 2013, Buckley was given a warning for using a Main- road grader truck without autho- rization. He was told a number of times he needed authorization for outside use of company equip- ment and that he needed to fill out a leave form in order to take time off. Buckley was asked if there was anything else the company need- ed to know that had happened and Buckley said no. On Oct. 24, 2013, Mainroad opened an investigation into Buckley's activities. e opera- tions manager had never seen Buckley submit a leave form for his fire calls, so he obtained re- cords from the fire department to cross-reference with Buckley's time cards. e concern was that the time cards recorded the type of work employees did and inaccurate time records could have signifi- cant consequences — including the loss of a contract — as they were regularly audited. e records showed Buckley had left his job 30 times over the previous two years. Most were relatively short, but two in Au- gust 2013 were one hour or longer. Buckley did not record that he left work on those time cards and had received a full day's pay on those days. e operations manager was further shocked to discover that although the fire department was called a volunteer department, the firefighters — including Buckley — were paid $17 per hour. ere- fore, Buckley was paid by Main- road when he left his job to go to fire calls, while at the same time being paid by the fire department. is was contrary to the collec- tive agreement, which stated em- ployees would be granted emer- gency service leave without loss of pay as long as any remuneration received, other than expenses, would be remitted to Mainroad. Mainroad held an investigative meeting with Buckley on Nov. 19. When Buckley was questioned about his absences, he didn't say much other than "I do not recall." Afterwards, Mainroad confirmed with the fire department the ac- curacy of its records. On Nov. 26, Mainroad termi- nated Buckley's employment, indicating it could not trust him because he didn't seek authoriza- tion for his absences despite the necessity of it being explained to him. Because he was on his own going to worksites, a high level of trust was required and Buckley's misconduct — which Mainroad characterized as fraud and theft of time — was disruptive to its operations and breached code of conduct. Buckley testified there was not a lot of direction from Mainroad regarding time cards and he usu- ally just entered the total number of hours at the bottom and the foreman would fill in the task the crew did. He said he didn't keep track of the hours that he worked as a Jeffrey Smith Legal View resPoNses > pg. 8 Buckley was paid by mainroad when he left his job to go to fire calls, while also being paid by the fire department. IT PAYS TO KNOW Professional Development Mark your calendar for payroll education! 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