Article 37 - Premiums
37.01 Evening- and night-shift premiums
A) Each time employees work their entire shift between 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., they receive an evening- or night-shift premium, as the case may be, in addition to their salary.
1. Evening-shift premium
The evening-shift premium is whichever is higher of the following amounts: either 7% of the employee’s hourly salary plus, where applicable, the supplement, responsibility premium and additional remuneration provided under Article 17 and Appendix 1, or the following rate:
Rate from 2024-06-16 to 2025-03-31 ($/hr): 1.98
Rate from 2025-04-01 to 2026-03-31 ($/hr): 2.03
Rate from 2026-04-01 to 2027-03-31 ($/hr): 2.08
Rate as of 2027-04-01 ($/hr): 2.15
Employees working seventy (70) hours or more per fourteen- (14)-day pay period receive, instead of the evening-shift premium described above, an evening-shift premium consisting of 10% of their basic hourly salary plus, where applicable, the supplement, responsibility premium, and additional remuneration provided under Article 17 and Appendix 1.
When calculating the number of hours per fourteen- (14)-day pay period as set out in the previous paragraph, hours paid are considered. Hours paid include authorized paid absences, but do not include hours of overtime, regardless of the work shifts and job titles for which the overtime was worked.
2. Night-shift premium
The night-shift premium is whichever is higher of the following amounts: either 14% of the employee’s hourly salary plus, where applicable, the supplement, responsibility premium and additional remuneration provided under Article 17 and Appendix 1, or the following rate:
Rate from 2024-06-16 to 2025-03-31 ($/hr): 3.97
Rate from 2025-04-01 to 2026-03-31 ($/hr): 4.07
Rate from 2026-04-01 to 2027-03-31 ($/hr): 4.17
Rate as of 2027-04-01 ($/hr): 4.32
Employees working seventy (70) hours or more per fourteen- (14)-day pay period receive, instead of the night-shift premium described above, a night-shift premium consisting of 18% of their basic hourly salary plus, where applicable, the supplement, responsibility premium, and additional remuneration provided under Article 17 and Appendix 1.
When calculating the number of hours per fourteen- (14)-day pay period as set out in the previous paragraph, hours paid are considered. Hours paid include authorized paid absences, but do not include hours of overtime, regardless of the work shifts and job titles for which the overtime was worked.
B) Employees whose shift begins before 2:00 p.m. and whose hours are mostly worked after that time receive the evening-shift premium for hours worked after 2:00 p.m., in addition to their salary, according to the rules set out in 37.01 A-1.
C) Employees who only work part of their shift between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. receive, in addition to their salary, a premium calculated as follows:
1. Evening-shift premium
For all hours worked between 7:00 p.m. and midnight, the premium is paid according to the rules set out in 37.01 A-1.
2. Night-shift premium
For all hours worked between 0:01 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., the premium is paid according to the rules set out in 37.01 A-2.
37.02 Conversion of the night-shift premium
A) For full-time employees working on a steady night shift, the parties may agree in local arrangements to convert some of the above-mentioned premium into time off, providing that such an arrangement does not entail any additional costs.
For the purposes of applying the previous paragraph, the rate for converting night-shift premiums into paid days off is as follows:
For employees with between 0 and 5 years of seniority, 14% equals 28 days;
For employees with between 5 and 10 years of seniority, 15% equals 30 days;
For employees with 10 or more years of seniority, 16% equals 32 days.
B) Special conditions for full-time employees working on a steady night shift
Full-time employees working on a steady night shift who have one (1) weekend of three (3) consecutive days off per two (2)-week period on the date this collective agreement is signed continue to be entitled to this additional paid day off.
Employees who benefit from this additional day off do not, however, receive the night-shift premium set out in this clause except when overtime work is done on the night shift.
Moreover, for any absence during which an employee receives remuneration, benefits or an allowance, the salary or, if applicable, the salary used to establish the benefits or allowance, is reduced during the absence by the percentage of the night-shift premium applicable under 37.01 A-2.
The preceding paragraph does not apply in the case of the following absences:
a) statutory holidays;
b) annual vacation leave;
c) maternity, paternity or adoption leave;
d) absence for disability, as of the sixth (6th) working day;
e) absence for an employment injury recognized as such under the provisions of the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (CQLR, c. A-3.001);
f) the additional paid day off stipulated in 37.02 B).
When conversion of the night-shift premium into time off results in more than twenty-four (24) days off, an employee receives, by December 15 each year, the amount corresponding to the number of unused days exceeding twenty-four (24), calculated using the following formula:
Number of days exceeding 24 × Number of days worked during the reference year / 204
For the first (1st) year of application, this amount is reduced based on the number of days between the date this collective agreement comes into force and November 30, 2024, divided by 365 days.
If the employee leaves the job or changes job status or work shift, the amounts due, if any, are calculated using the above-mentioned formula, taking into account the number of days worked between December 1 and the date of the departure, change of status or change of shift, as the case may be.
An employee covered by this paragraph may return to a full schedule of work in accordance with the terms to be agreed upon by the Employer, the Union and the employee.
Employees who benefit from paid time off under this paragraph keep their status as full-time employees.
37.01 Evening- and night-shift premiums
A) Each time employees work their entire shift between 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., they receive an evening- or night-shift premium, as the case may be, in addition to their salary.
1. Evening-shift premium
The evening-shift premium is whichever is higher of the following amounts: either 7% of the employee’s hourly salary plus, where applicable, the supplement, responsibility premium and additional remuneration provided under Article 17 and Appendix 1, or the following rate:
Rate from 2024-06-16 to 2025-03-31 ($/hr): 1.98
Rate from 2025-04-01 to 2026-03-31 ($/hr): 2.03
Rate from 2026-04-01 to 2027-03-31 ($/hr): 2.08
Rate as of 2027-04-01 ($/hr): 2.15
Employees working seventy (70) hours or more per fourteen- (14)-day pay period receive, instead of the evening-shift premium described above, an evening-shift premium consisting of 10% of their basic hourly salary plus, where applicable, the supplement, responsibility premium, and additional remuneration provided under Article 17 and Appendix 1.
When calculating the number of hours per fourteen- (14)-day pay period as set out in the previous paragraph, hours paid are considered. Hours paid include authorized paid absences, but do not include hours of overtime, regardless of the work shifts and job titles for which the overtime was worked.
2. Night-shift premium
The night-shift premium is whichever is higher of the following amounts: either 14% of the employee’s hourly salary plus, where applicable, the supplement, responsibility premium and additional remuneration provided under Article 17 and Appendix 1, or the following rate:
Rate from 2024-06-16 to 2025-03-31 ($/hr): 3.97
Rate from 2025-04-01 to 2026-03-31 ($/hr): 4.07
Rate from 2026-04-01 to 2027-03-31 ($/hr): 4.17
Rate as of 2027-04-01 ($/hr): 4.32
Employees working seventy (70) hours or more per fourteen- (14)-day pay period receive, instead of the night-shift premium described above, a night-shift premium consisting of 18% of their basic hourly salary plus, where applicable, the supplement, responsibility premium, and additional remuneration provided under Article 17 and Appendix 1.
When calculating the number of hours per fourteen- (14)-day pay period as set out in the previous paragraph, hours paid are considered. Hours paid include authorized paid absences, but do not include hours of overtime, regardless of the work shifts and job titles for which the overtime was worked.
B) Employees whose shift begins before 2:00 p.m. and whose hours are mostly worked after that time receive the evening-shift premium for hours worked after 2:00 p.m., in addition to their salary, according to the rules set out in 37.01 A-1.
C) Employees who only work part of their shift between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. receive, in addition to their salary, a premium calculated as follows:
1. Evening-shift premium
For all hours worked between 7:00 p.m. and midnight, the premium is paid according to the rules set out in 37.01 A-1.
2. Night-shift premium
For all hours worked between 0:01 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., the premium is paid according to the rules set out in 37.01 A-2.
37.02 Conversion of the night-shift premium
A) For full-time employees working on a steady night shift, the parties may agree in local arrangements to convert some of the above-mentioned premium into time off, providing that such an arrangement does not entail any additional costs.
For the purposes of applying the previous paragraph, the rate for converting night-shift premiums into paid days off is as follows:
For employees with between 0 and 5 years of seniority, 14% equals 28 days;
For employees with between 5 and 10 years of seniority, 15% equals 30 days;
For employees with 10 or more years of seniority, 16% equals 32 days.
B) Special conditions for full-time employees working on a steady night shift
Full-time employees working on a steady night shift who have one (1) weekend of three (3) consecutive days off per two (2)-week period on the date this collective agreement is signed continue to be entitled to this additional paid day off.
Employees who benefit from this additional day off do not, however, receive the night-shift premium set out in this clause except when overtime work is done on the night shift.
Moreover, for any absence during which an employee receives remuneration, benefits or an allowance, the salary or, if applicable, the salary used to establish the benefits or allowance, is reduced during the absence by the percentage of the night-shift premium applicable under 37.01 A-2.
The preceding paragraph does not apply in the case of the following absences:
a) statutory holidays;
b) annual vacation leave;
c) maternity, paternity or adoption leave;
d) absence for disability, as of the sixth (6th) working day;
e) absence for an employment injury recognized as such under the provisions of the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (CQLR, c. A-3.001);
f) the additional paid day off stipulated in 37.02 B).
When conversion of the night-shift premium into time off results in more than twenty-four (24) days off, an employee receives, by December 15 each year, the amount corresponding to the number of unused days exceeding twenty-four (24), calculated using the following formula:
Number of days exceeding 24 × Number of days worked during the reference year / 204
For the first (1st) year of application, this amount is reduced based on the number of days between the date this collective agreement comes into force and November 30, 2024, divided by 365 days.
If the employee leaves the job or changes job status or work shift, the amounts due, if any, are calculated using the above-mentioned formula, taking into account the number of days worked between December 1 and the date of the departure, change of status or change of shift, as the case may be.
An employee covered by this paragraph may return to a full schedule of work in accordance with the terms to be agreed upon by the Employer, the Union and the employee.
Employees who benefit from paid time off under this paragraph keep their status as full-time employees.
37.08 Trainee supervision premium
Employees receive a premium equal to 2% of their basic hourly pay plus, if applicable, the additional remuneration under Article 17 and Appendix 1, for each shift in which they are responsible for supervising one or more trainees participating in a practical training activity, under a recognized educational program, which is required to earn a diploma or degree.
This premium cannot be combined with the supervision and responsibility premium, nor can it be given to employees whose job description includes responsibility for training, teaching or instructing trainees.
The premium cannot be given to an employee who has one of the following job titles:
clinical lecturer (physiotherapy) (1234);
clinical instructor (laboratory) (2232);
clinical instructor (radiology) (2214);
specialized independent sonographer (2217).
The above list of job titles is not intended to be definitive, and if a job title is changed or added to the List of job titles, job descriptions and salary rates and scales in the health and social services system, and this job title includes responsibility for training, teaching or instructing a trainee, it is deemed to be added to the list.
37.09 Lump-sum payment for employees working with clients in residential and long-term care centres, Maisons des aînés, or alternative seniors’ residences
Employees working with clients in residential and long-term care centres, Maisons des aînés, or alternative seniors’ residences receive a lump-sum payment of two hundred and fifteen dollars ($215) for each set of seven hundred and fifty (750) hours actually worked with these clients.
Hours actually worked include overtime. They do not include annual vacation leave, sick leave, and other remunerated absences.
Hours worked that entitle employees to a floating day off or to monetary compensation in lieu of time off under Article 22 or Appendix 6 of the collective agreement are excluded from hours accrued for the purposes of obtaining the lump-sum payment.
The lump sum is paid when the prescribed number of hours has been worked, and no prorating is applied for this lump-sum payment.
The lump-sum payment is not included in contributory earnings for the purposes of the pension plan.
37.10 Rules for premiums set out in clauses 37.11 to 37.16
A) Eligibility for the premiums’ various tiers
Employees benefitting from a premium covered by this clause (37.10) receive, depending on the tier, a percentage of their basic hourly salary plus (where applicable) the supplement, responsibility premium and additional remuneration provided under Article 17 and Appendix 1.
The percentage is determined according to the number of hours paid per fourteen- (14)-day pay period, as follows:
Tier 1: seventy (70) hours or more;
Tier 2: forty-two (42) hours or more, but less than seventy (70) hours;
Tier 3: less than forty-two (42) hours.
Hours paid are considered for the purposes of this clause and to determine the applicable tier. Hours paid include authorized paid absences, but do not include hours of overtime, regardless of the activity centres and job titles for which the overtime was worked.
Full-time employees whose number of weekly hours of work as set out for their job title in the List of job titles is less than thirty-five (35) are eligible for the first tier, according to the rules set out in this clause, provided they work the full number of hours associated with their job title.
B) Payment of the premium
Employees benefitting from premiums covered by this clause receive the percentage associated with the relevant tier. This percentage applies to regular hours actually worked as well as overtime hours, hours of authorized paid absences, and hours of union leave that are not associated with any loss of salary or for which the employee receives remuneration equivalent to what they would receive if they were at work in one of the activity centres in question.
37.11 Critical care premium
Employees receive the critical care premium for hours worked in critical care as set out in 37.10 B, according to the rules set out in 37.10 A, providing they hold one of the following job titles:
occupational therapist (1230);
physiotherapist (1233);
social worker (1550);
psychologist (1546);
dietitian/nutritionist (1219);
human relations officer (1553);
audiologist/speech-language pathologist (1204);
assistant chief medical electrophysiology technologist (2236);
audiologist (1254);
medical electrophysiology technical coordinator (2276);
speech-language pathologist (1255);
social work technician (2586);
medical imaging technologist (diagnostic radiology) (2205);
medical imaging technologist (nuclear medicine) (2208);
specialized medical imaging technologist (2212);
technical co-ordinator (radiology) (2213);
assistant chief radiology technologist (2219);
hemodynamics technologist (2278);
medical electrophysiology technologist (2286);
medical technologist (2223);
graduate medical laboratory technician (2224);
specialized radiation oncology technologist (2218);
technical co-ordinator (laboratory) (2227).
The critical care covered by this clause (37.11) includes coronary care units and the following activity centres:
emergency departments and psychiatric emergency units identified in 22.02c;
intensive care units;
neonatal units;
major burn units.
The premium received by employees is based on the percentage associated with the relevant tier:
Tier 1: 15%
Tier 2: 14%
Tier 3: 10%
37.12 Specific critical care premium
An employee covered by the first (1st) paragraph of clause 37.11 receives a specific critical care premium for hours worked as set out in 37.10 B in the following activity centres, in accordance with the rules set out in 37.10 A:
operating facilities (including the recovery room);
obstetrics unit (only the operating facilities set up to perform caesareans are covered here);
hemodynamics;
brachytherapy (curietherapy).
The premium received by employees is based on the percentage associated with the relevant tier:
Tier 1: 10%
Tier 2: 7%
Tier 3: 6%
37.13 Youth centre mission premium
Employees working in the youth centre mission receive a premium for hours set out in 37.10 B, in accordance with the rules set out in 37.10 A, and according to the percentage associated with the relevant tier:
Tier 1: 10%
Tier 2: 7%
Tier 3: 6%
Employees who receive this premium cannot receive the premium for employees working with clients who have severe behaviour disorders set out in 37.15.
The youth centre mission includes the Director of Youth Protection, but does not include the following activity centres: Contentieux [legal affairs], Recherches d’antécédents et retrouvailles [research into family antecedents and reunion], Médiation familiale [family mediation], and Réseau d’enseignement universitaire [university teaching institutions].
Employees holding a full-time position who are covered by this clause, except employees who benefit from floating days off under Appendix 8, may convert part of this premium into one (1) day off per year.
The rules are as follows:
The reference year for purposes of accruing time off runs from July 1 to June 30.
The employee must choose to convert part of the premium into a day off no later than thirty (30) days before the beginning of the reference year.
The day off is taken after an agreement is reached with the Employer.
A day off that is not taken may be cashed in at the end of the reference year.
37.14 Premium for working in residential resources with continuous assistance
Employees working with clients in residential resources with continuous assistance (RACs) receive a premium for hours covered by 37.10 B in this activity centre and according to the rules set out in 37.10 A. This premium is also given to employees working with clients in residential care units located in rehabilitation centres for clients with intellectual disabilities (CRDIs).
The premium received by employees is based on the percentage associated with the relevant tier:
Tier 1
Tier 2: 5%
Tier 3: 3%
1%
Employees covered by this premium cannot benefit from the premium for employees working with clients who have severe behaviour disorders set out in 37.15.
Employees working in activity centre 7043, Residential resources – On-going residential assistance (mental health), receive both the premium for working in residential resources with continuous assistance and the 2.2% financial compensation set out in 37.16 B.
Except for employees covered by the previous paragraph, and for employees benefitting from floating days off under Article 22 and Appendices 6 and 8, employees holding a full-time position covered by this clause (37.14) may convert part of the premium into three (3) days off per year.
The rules are as follows:
- The reference year for purposes of accruing time off runs from July 1 to June 30.
- The employee must choose to convert part of the premium into days off no later than thirty (30) days before the beginning of the reference year.
- Days off are taken after an agreement is reached with the Employer.
- Days off that are not taken may be cashed in at the end of the reference year.
37.15 Premium for working with clients who have severe behaviour disorders
Employees holding one of the job titles and working in one of the activity centres or subcentres covered by Letter of Agreement No. 17 receive a premium for hours covered by 37.10 B with clients who have severe behaviour disorders, according to the rules set out in 37.10 A.
The premium received by employees is based on the percentage associated with the relevant tier:
Tier 1
Tier 2: 3.50%
Tier 3: 2.25%
37.16 Psychiatry premium
A) Except for employees in psychiatric emergency care covered by the critical care premium stipulated in clause 37.11, employees covered by Article 22 of this collective agreement receive, for hours stipulated in 37.10 B, a psychiatry premium according to the rules set out in 37.10 A.
The premium received by employees is based on the percentage associated with the relevant tier:
Tier 1
Tier 2: 3.50%
Tier 3: 2.25%
1.00%
To be entitled to this premium, an employee must be assigned to the rehabilitation, care or supervision of beneficiaries.
B) Except for employees in psychiatric emergency care who are eligible for the critical care premium stipulated in 37.11, the psychiatry premium stipulated in 37.16 A above, the floating days off stipulated in 22.03, or the financial compensation stipulated in 38.04, employees working in one of the following activity centres or subcentres who are assigned to the rehabilitation, care or supervision of beneficiaries receive the psychiatry premium stipulated in 37.16 A above as well as financial compensation equal to 2.2% of:
- salary;
- the salary they would have received if not for an unpaid absence for illness occurring while they were assigned to a position or had an assignment;
- the basic salary on which the maternity, paternity, adoption and protective leave allowance is calculated. However, the amount calculated during protective leave is not paid with each pay and is instead accumulated and paid at the same time as annual vacation leave.
The activity centres or subcentres in question are the following:
- 5940 Support in the community for people with severe mental health problems
- 5941 Assertive community treatment
- 5942 Variable community follow-up
- 5943 Flexible assertive community treatment
- 5944 First episode psychosis program
- 6280 Day hospital – Mental health
- 6281 Day hospital – Child psychiatry
- 6282 Day hospital – Adult mental health
- 6330 Secondary and tertiary care assessment and treatment services for mental health
- 6331 Secondary and tertiary care assessment and treatment services for mental health – Young people
- 6332 Secondary and tertiary care assessment and treatment services for mental health – Adults
37.17 The parties may agree in local arrangements to convert the premiums set out in clauses 37.04, 37.06 and 37.16 A into time off.