Trustholders Extraordinary Expense Fund
In 1999, General Support Trust Employees were recognized as employees of the University of Alberta with the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA) as their bargaining agent. A Collective Agreement was signed and with this agreement, certain benefits provisions became mandatory. Because these benefits could cause a burden for individual trustholders, a benefits "insurance" plan, the Trustholder Extraordinary Expenses Fund was established.
If eligible, trustholders may make claims against this Fund. The funds for TEEF are derived from a benefits insurance premium paid by trust account holders who are supporting, from those trust accounts, employees covered by the Trust Agreement .
Overall responsibility and matters of policy for the program will reside with the Office of the Vice-President (Research). Applications for TEEF support will be submitted to Payroll & Benefit Services, Human Resource Services with a copy to the office of the VP (Research).
Funding FOR TEEF (Premiums)
The fund is financed through premiums collected as a percentage of the salary of Trust employees paid from a trust source(s) for more than 12 months. The amount of this percentage will be set annually by the Fund Advisory Committee (FAC). Currently, this percentage is 1.0 %.
Example: (Salary of $30,000) 1% X $30,000 = $300/year or $25/month
Eligibility
Employees paid from trust accounts are eligible to receive financial support from TEEF in the following circumstances:
Payment in Lieu of Notice
For cases when research funding is unexpectedly and abruptly terminated and it was not possible to provide any formal working notice to the employee. Financial support is not provided to researchers who know their funding is coming to an end and have reapplied for funding, but were not successful.
General Illness + Sick Leave Prior to Maternity Start
For the support of ill employees who have at least 12 months of prior continuous employment. The fund would support absences for General Illness Leave of greater than 30 working days up to 130 days, after which the terms and conditions of the Long Term Disability plan will apply.
Maternity Top-Up
Top-up benefit period for which the employee is eligible for EI benefits and submits medical evidence specifying the portion of her leave attributable to the health related absence (normally 8 or 10 weeks).
Application for Support
Applications for support from this fund are made by completing the TEEF Claim for Support application form .
The application form must be submitted to the Staff Service Centre within six (6) months from the date of the initial leave or date the expense was incurred. Claims submitted later than this period will not be considered for reimbursement.
Questions regarding the TEEF Claim for Support, can be directed to the Staff Service Centre.
Assessment of Application
Pension and Benefit Services in Shared Services will review and process applications that meet the criteria for accessing the funds. Applications that do not meet the criteria will be forwarded to the Office of the Vice-President (Research) for assessment. In cases of further questions, the FAC will be asked to assess the application and determine the appropriate course of action.
Resolution of Disputes of Assessment
Where a Trustholder disagrees with the assessment of the application, the reason(s) may be submitted in writing to the Office of the Vice-President (Research) for review by that Office and/or the FAC. If the Trustholder disagrees with that resulting decision, the case will be referred to the Vice-President (Academic) and Provost, whose decision shall be final.