When a regularly scheduled placement shift falls on a public holiday, students are not required to attend placement on that day but will still be able to accrue those hours as long as the student was in attendance for their regularly scheduled shift before and after the holiday. For example, if a student is scheduled to attend placement every Monday and Tuesday for the term, and a public holiday occurs on a Monday, the student will not attend placement on the holiday, but will be able to claim those hours as long as they attended placement on the Tuesday before the public holiday and the Tuesday after the public holiday. An exception is made for Labour Day Monday where students do not have to attend the shift before Monday September 3rd, since there are no classes; students would need to attend the next scheduled shift in order to count hours that might have been missed on Labour Day Monday.
Similar to public holidays, students observing religious holidays are not required to attend placement on those days and can still accrue those hours as long as they were in attendance for their regularly scheduled shift before and after the holiday. Students are required to notify the Placement Employer when starting their employment of the time off required for religious observances if they are different from public holidays.
Students are advised to avoid planning vacation during the school and/or placement term. Extensions will not be granted for students to take vacation or personal work shifts. Students are expected to arrange their schedules around classes and placement days.
Students can take personal leave due to illness, injury and other emergencies as needed. Hours missed while students are absent must be made back at a later date within the term; students can also request a Placement Extension for up to 2 weeks after the end of the semester to make up missed placement hours. Students can take personal leave days in part days, full days or in periods of more than one day. A student must inform the Placement Supervisor and Seminar Instructor/Faculty Advisor before starting a personal leave. In the case of an emergency, the student should inform the Placement Supervisor and Instructor/Faculty Advisor as soon as possible. In cases where students may need more than 2 weeks beyond the semester to complete required hours, approval from the Placements and Partnerships Manager is required in advance (see the Requesting Placement Extension section of this guide).
The FSCS may require the student to provide evidence in extenuating circumstances that they have taken or require a personal leave of absence from placement. What will be reasonable in the circumstances will depend on all of the facts of any given situation, such as the duration of the leave, whether there is a pattern of absences, whether any evidence is available, and the cost of the evidence. For prolonged absences or leave, students may be required to speak to an ALS Consultant and/or their Program Coordinator.
In some circumstances it may be reasonable for the Placement Supervisor and FSCS Representative to require the student to provide a doctor's note with the following information if needed:
Information about the diagnosis or treatment of the medical condition of the student is not required.