Time Off
VACATION
We value balance, and encourage you to take vacation days to spend time away from work.
Salaried employees are provided a set number of paid vacation days during each complete year of employment; earned on a prorated basis. Refer to your Employee Agreement for the exact number. Two weeks constitute statutory vacation under the ESA, as amended from time to time and any additional vacation granted constitutes excess vacation. Kotn reserves the right to approve and deny vacation times and requests, and may require you to take unused vacation as permitted under the ESA. Although you are expected to use your full vacation allotment in the calendar year in which it is earned, you may carry forward your statutory vacation provided that you use it within 10 months of the year in which it was earned. Any unused excess vacation will automatically be forfeited without any entitlement to vacation pay. Should your contract vary from the above, please defer to your employee agreement.
Team members are not eligible to take vacation during their probationary period. In the case of an extenuating circumstance, please speak to your direct manager. To ensure fairness and maintain operational efficiency, employees are only permitted to book up to two consecutive weeks of leave at a time. Longer absences will be reviewed on an exceptional basis and employees should only proceed with express managerial approval.
How to book time off:
We use Hibob to schedule and track time off for our HQ team. The duration of vacation cannot exceed 10 consecutive business days. We ask that you request time-off via Hibob a minimum of 3 weeks in advance to the scheduled date. Though 3 weeks is the minimum for approval, you are encouraged to request time-off as early as possible.
Sign in to your Hibob profile.
SICK LEAVE
If you’re sick, we want you to take care of yourself and get better. Please don’t come into the office! If you need to call in sick, please let your direct manager know and request the day-off in Hibob.
If you are sick for more than 3 consecutive days, Kotn will require a doctor’s note to be provided. You can provide this to your Manager and the PeopleOps team via email. You should also log the days off in Hibob.
If you are away from work for more than 4 weeks, you will be advised to apply for the most suitable Leave of absence, in line with the Employment Standards Act of Ontario or the relevant employment standards for your province of residence/employment. If you require an extended medical leave, please speak to your manager and People Operations team to discuss relevant details, as well as a return to work plan. Prior to your return, you may be asked to coordinate with your medical practitioner to complete a Functional Abilities Form to ensure that Kotn can support you with any accommodations or needs that you may have upon your return.
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
For salaried team members, Kotn offers up to 2 days of paid leave due to the death of an immediate family member in any calendar year. Immediate family would be considered a parent, guardian, sibling, spouse, grandchild, grandparent, or person who lives with you as a part of your family. Bereavement days are not required to be taken on the start or day of passing and do not need to be consecutive.
In the case of this event, please speak with your direct manager about the days you require for leave and when you’re able, book through your Hibob profile.
JURY DUTY
If you are summoned for jury duty, you’re entitled to job protected (but unpaid) leave. Please see your manager to book this, and ensure you have a certificate from the court. As jury duty responsibilities are dependent on individual governing jurisdictions, it is your responsibility to comply with the jurisdiction applicable to you.
PREGNANCY / PARENTAL LEAVE
Kotn is proud to be a parent friendly workplace.
We provide pregnancy and parental leaves to eligible full time employees in accordance with the Ontario Employment Standards Act. We will match similar provisions in relevant provincial Employment Standards Acts for full time employees located in provinces outside of Ontario - please refer to your provincial policy for specific details of your entitlement.
A formal e-mail notifying the company of your intention to proceed on pregnancy or parental leave should be sent to the People Operations team and your direct manager with a minimum of two weeks prior to your leave - please refer to the relevant provincial Employment Standards for the applicable notice period for commencing and terminating your leave. In addition, please place your leave request through your Hibob profile.
As your leave comes to a close and you prepare to return to work, we will work with you on a return-to-work plan to get you reacquainted with current projects and team developments. We recognize returning to work can be challenging and aim to support you in this.
Basic health & dental benefits coverage continues during the leave, for employees eligible for benefits. If applicable, employees will continue to be responsible for premiums that they would normally pay for such as group life insurance.
Pregnancy / Parental leaves are unpaid leaves in Ontario. However, for full time employees who are eligible to receive pregnancy and parental benefits under the relevant Employment Standard Standard Act in their province of employment, we generously provide a supplemental payment or top-up to 100% of your biweekly pay for all full time team members.
The Pregnancy / Parental Leave top-up will be equal to the difference between your gross EI benefit and 100% of your gross regular bi-weekly pay for a period of 12 weeks only. Team members who wish to receive the top up must provide the Senior Manager, People Operations team with the necessary Employment Insurance documentation outlining the employment insurance benefits payment he or she is entitled to receive. A Team Member can only receive a top-up for one situation per annum, either a Pregnancy Leave Top-up or a Parental Leave Top-up.
HOLIDAYS
Public holidays and other days for which staff will be paid vary by country, state, and province. Kotn will comply with all applicable local laws and regulations for provincial and federal holidays. Some positions, particularly customer facing, may require coverage on a holiday. We understand the holidays you celebrate may take place at different times than the statutory holidays below. Talk to the People Operations team about the best way to ensure you have the time off that you need for the holidays that you observe.
The following are paid holidays observed by Kotn:
New Year’s Day
Family Day
Good Friday
Victoria Day
Eid El Fitr*
Canada Day
Civic Holiday - August Long Weekend
Labour Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
Our head office is closed between December 25th and January 1st for the Holidays. Due to the nature and seasonality of our business these days off are team and role dependent, please speak with your direct manager for how this pertains to you.
* Eid El Fitr is not celebrated on the same day each year as it follows the lunar calendar. A team announcement will be made annually when that holiday has been set.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
We encourage employees to contribute to their home communities, as well as causes dear to your heart.
As an organisation, we come together once a year to engage with our chosen community, non-profit organization, government agency or social purpose business. We select an activity in conjunction with our chosen charity or foundation and determine a Community Engagement Day which is planned, communicated and executed by our People Operations Team. Relevant communication will be sent out at the appropriate time within the year. A half-day off is always provided for the activity.
We hope that the company approved volunteer hours will inspire employees to integrate community service into our lives.
TIME-OFF TO VOTE
If a Team Member’s work schedule does not accommodate voting time requirements, Kotn will make adjustments to accommodate voting.
OTHER TYPES OF LEAVES
Kotn will allow any other kind of job protected leave afforded to you under provincial law (and not covered above) should your situation call for it. If you are not sure what type of leave you need, or need time off for something else, please reach out to your manager. Requests for general unpaid leaves of absence (outside of provincial laws, emergency situations, and vacation time) will be reviewed on an individual basis.