Under Article 17 of the Collective Agreement, a Sabbatical Leave is defined as follows:

‘A period during which a member with tenure or permanence is relieved of normal teaching and administrative duties in order to pursue a program of independent study and research or creative activities. Sabbatical leave has two (2) immediate purposes: to allow members to improve themselves academically or professionally; and to allow members to engage in research activities. A sabbatical leave serves the further objectives of improved teaching, excellence in research and scholarly and artistic or creative publications or activities, and more useful University service.’

If a member has worked between 3 and five years, a sabbatical leave shall be for 6 months paid at 80% and 1/2 vacation.  If a member has worked continually for six or more years they can apply for a sabbatical leave of six or twelve months. (Note: in this case, six months is paid at 100% nominal salary and 2 weeks vacation IF the previous 6 years have been sabbatical-free. If not, the 6-month sabbatical is at 80% nominal salary. A twelve month sabbatical is paid at 80% norminal salary and includes 1 month vacation. )  If it is a member's first sabbatical at any university or post-secondary institute, the sabbatical leave shall be for 12 months and paid at 90% salary with the inclusion of the annual 1 month vacation.

Applying for Sabbatical Leave
A tenure track/probationary member cannot apply for sabbatical leave until tenure is achieved.  If, for instance, a probationary employee is in her/his 5th year of service and applying for tenure, she/he must wait until tenure is granted before applying for sabbatical leave.  If sabbatical leave is granted, the member can apply in their 6th year of service for their first sabbatical leave in their 7th year of service.  Once tenured, a member must work at least three years after the sabbatical without a break in employment to apply for a six-month sabbatical, or six years to apply for a one-year sabbatical. (In other words, the time spent on sabbatical does not count towards the calculation of work time.)This applies equally to librarian members with permanence.

Applications for sabbatical must be filed with the Dean and Dept. Head/Associate and University Librarian on or before September 1 of the academic year preceding the year for which the leave is requested.  The application must include a detailed written plan of proposed study/research or other planned activity to the Head or Dean by September 1 of the academic year preceding the leave request. The CV which accompanies the application must be submitted in electronic format. For assistance in completing the electronic CV form, contact Purita Bristow, IT Services, ext. 2738. Leave a message; she’s a busy gal.

Various conditions can apply to Sabbatical Leave, including Court Leave, Compassionate Leave, Pregnancy & Parental Leave, etc. If you should become so ill that your sabbatrical will be undermined, you should contact your Dean to have your sabbatical changed to sick leave and preserve your sabbatical for a later date.

A member on sabbatical leave is entitled to 30 days notice of any pending decisions affecting workload, working conditions or his/her status at the University and the onus is on the member to keep the University informed of any address changes so such notices can be forwarded. [The onus is also on the member to leave a forwarding address with WUFA if they wish to continue  receiving communications and information pertaining to voting for WUFA elections, WUFA annual general meetings, etc.]

Denial of sabbatical leave is subject to the grievance process. If the member is involved in a grievance at the time of sabbatical, the process can be suspended for the time of the sabbatical leave.

For further information on Sabbatical Leaves, please see Article 17,  and read the "Sabbatical Handbook" located below (also found under the 'Handbooks' link on the WUFA website (go to "Home", then "Reports"  and look for the Handbooks link on the upper left side).  If you have further  questions, contact the Faculty Association at (519) 253-3000 ext. 3366 or wufa@uwindsor.ca