All Residents are entitled to either a day off on a statutory holiday or an alternate day off, which is commonly called a lieu day. Residents who have worked a shift scheduled on a statutory holiday are entitled to pay that is double their normal daily pay rate, except for Good Friday, Christmas, and Labour Day, where they are entitled to 2.5 times their normal daily rate. Please see Article 11 of the Collective Agreement for details.

After a stat day has been worked, Residents report the stat on an online form administered by UBC. For questions about this form and submitting for stat pay, contact your program assistant/administrator.

There are two types of stat days:

* The Canada Day stat is observed on a fixed calendar date, July 1st, except when July 1st falls on a Sunday. In this instance only, the stat moves to July 2nd. Stat pay is only available to those who work on July 2nd.

In any given year, some of the calendar date stats may fall on a weekend. Although the Monday immediately following the stat is often taken as the lieu day, it is not a stat day itself, and working on the lieu day will not result in additional pay.

Holiday Break

Every resident is entitled to 5 consecutive days off during the 14-day period that encompasses Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day and two full weekends. These 5 days will account for the three statutory holidays: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day, and 2 weekend days. Residents who take the 5 days will not receive in-lieu days if they are scheduled to work on one of the statutory holidays, although they are still entitled stat pay. These 5 days can be taken at any mutually agreed upon (between the resident and the program) time during the specified period. For example, the 5 days could be Monday-Friday (meaning residents could be scheduled on the weekends for call), or the 5 days could be Wednesday-Sunday (with the resident working the beginning of the week).

Alternate Religious Holidays

A Resident who is a practitioner of a recognized faith that does not celebrate Good Friday, Easter Monday, and/or Christmas Day, may designate an alternate paid holiday as a replacement, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, subject to the discretion of the Program Director and the following provisions:

• Any such day must be identified, explained and declared by the resident by July 15^th of each program year in order to be considered.
• Should a resident designate alternate paid holidays no premium pay shall be paid for working on the stat that was substituted (ie: a Resident that replaced the Christmas stat for Rosh Hashanah, if they work on Christmas Day, they do not receive 2.5 their normal rate; it is considered a normal day of service for them.)
• If a resident designates an alternate to Christmas, they are not entitled to take the five consecutive days that are given during the Christmas period at the time of their appointed holiday. However, if service requirements can be met, considerations will be made to provide the resident with five consecutive days off during the 12-day period of Christmas and New Years.

For full details on call scheduling, see the Call Stipend page. The general rules are as follows with a maximum averaging period of 3 months:

In-Hospital Overnight

1 night in 4, with 1 weekend in 4, averaged over the days on service. Days on service are working days minus any days a resident is away for any reason – including vacation and other leaves. If you are expected to be immediately available (within 15 minutes)this is considered in-hospital and must adhere to the averages.

11-14 days = 3 calls
15-18 days = 4 calls
19–22 days = 5 calls – this is maximum for a block with vacation
23-26 days = 6 calls
27–29 days = 7 calls – this is maximum for a block
30–34 days = 8 calls
35–38 days = 9 calls

Out-of-Hospital Overnight

1 night in 3, with 1 weekend in 3, averaged over the days on service. Days on service are working days minus any days a resident is away for any reason – including vacation and other leaves.

11-14 days = 4 calls
15-18 days = 6 calls
19–22 days = 7 calls – this is maximum for block with vacation
23-26 days = 8 calls
27–29 days = 9 calls – this is maximum for a block
30–34 days = 11 calls
35–38 days = 12 calls

Residents are entitled to 20 working days vacation. This equates to four calendar weeks (a week is defined as seven consecutive days)

Vacation scheduling is determined by the Program Director in accordance with operational and educational requirements. Every effort will be made to permit a Resident at least their third choice for a vacation period. Vacation requests must be made in writing.

A minimum of two consecutive weeks’ vacation shall be granted to Residents so desiring.

A Resident shall not be scheduled for on-call duty on the weekend immediately preceding or immediately following a block of vacation where the block starts on a Monday and continues uninterrupted ending on a Friday. Your days on service are also reduced for calculating the number of calls in a block.

If both spouses (including common-law) are residents, subject to operational needs, they are entitled to take their vacation together

Residents are entitled to three (3) days compassionate leave, for the death or serious illness of a spouse (including common-law), child (including step or loss of pregnancy after 20 weeks), parent (including step), sibling (including step), grandparent (including step), parents-in-law, legal guardian or legal ward.

There are an additional two (2) days for travel that can be taken at the same time as the compassionate leave, unless internment occurs at a later date.

Residents that identify as indigenous have access to an additional five (5) days of leave for compassionate or cultural reasons, that may be taken in any combination.

If you are too unwell to return to work following compassionate leave, you can review the following options for additional leave:

• Flex Days: Residents have access to two flex days per academic year. If you haven’t already used these days, you can submit a request to your program to use days for the additional time you need off.
• Sick Leave: You must contact your program to request leave and documentation from your physician stating a recommendation for your leave based on a medical inability to continue training will be required. Sick leave must be requested from your program. When you are ready to return to work you will again need documentation from your doctor. As with any leave this may increase the amount of time it takes to complete your residency.
• Unpaid Leave: You may also consider requesting an unpaid leave of absence from your program. This leave must be requested from your program. Choosing to take an unpaid leave of absence may increase the amount of time it takes to complete your residency. See Article 12 of the Collective Agreement for more information on unpaid leave and the UBC policy on leave (see their website).

Residents also have access to two assistance lines. Both of these organizations offer 24-hour toll free numbers and initial free counselling and confidential services to you and your family.

Employee Wellness (previously EFAP): 1-833-533-1577

Physicians Health Program (PHP): 1-800-663-6729

Residents may also reach out to the UBC PGME Resident Wellness Office.

Resident Wellness Office (RWO): 1-855-675-3873

Residents also have access to individual mental health services through extended health

There is no policy prohibiting residents from moonlighting, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for the necessary license. The UBC Moonlighting Policy sets out the following principles:

1. Moonlighting must not be coercive. Residents must not be required by their residency program to engage in moonlighting.
2. The moonlighting workload must not interfere with the ability of the resident to achieve the educational goals and objectives of the residency program.
   1. All program directors have an obligation to monitor resident performance to assure that factors such as resident fatigue from any cause are not contributing to diminished learning or performance or detracting from patient safety.
   2. Program directors should bring to the attention of all residents any factors which appear to detrimentally affect the performance of the resident.
   3. To facilitate this, the program director must be informed when a resident chooses to moonlight, on any service or unit that is part of the training program.
3. Moonlighting must not occur on the same unit or service to which residents are currently assigned, or to which they will be assigned in the future. Residents are eligible to moonlight on services that they have been previously evaluated on.
4. As residents primary obligations are to their training programs, they are not permitted to moonlight during work hours including on-call periods that are defined by the program.
5. Confirmation of licensing, credentialing and appropriate liability coverage is the responsibility of the employer.

Moonlighting is allowed only if a resident has applied for the Clinical Associate License, or if they have been issued a General (unrestricted) License. In order to be eligible for the Clinical Associate License, residents must:

• be enrolled in a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) specialty postgraduate training program at the University of British Columbia
• have successfully completed a minimum of 24 months postgraduate training
• have obtained the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC) certificate
• carry the required professional liability coverage or protection
• have health authority authorization
• have UBC program director authorization

For more information on working as a clinical associate, please click here

If you are traveling for a mandatory rotation to a distributed site, you shall receive an unscheduled day between rotations from the sending rotation. If more time is required, it will have to be arranged with the program.