Daily Casual Work

Information about ATE callout system and available work

Posted November 25, 2025

Changes in the number of OTs

This year, we have seen a significant reduction in the LTOs being worked by OT members - we are down almost 25% in terms of Full Time Equivalency. Part of this is likely due to the reduction of TBU jobs (contract positions) to balance the budget last spring, and the movement on class sizes for e-learning. There is also a decrease in the number of x/y leaves for contract teachers. This means we have more OTs looking for daily occasional work. We have generally seen a modest decrease in absences logged by TBU members (6-8% over 2 months). Overall, we have more members competing for a limited pool of work.

ATE Callout System

The callout system is programmed to be activated within the workday. Most absences are entered by the school, and should be entered by 4 p.m. This gives the system 90 minutes to go through 20 callouts.

The way callouts are ordered:

Qualifications
Willingness to work at that school
Willingness to work anywhere.

If assignments are not filled by 5:30 p.m., they are released to the Job Board. These assignments go out in a batch, instead of trickling out before 5:30 p.m. Jobs should not be going to the job board before the initial call out. The callout system is less efficient if people on LTOs or those who are unavailable for these assignments have not programmed their calendar to allow the system to skip their call. This has been an ongoing issue.

Schools are still allowed to use Manual Fills and their own internal preferred list. In practice, some sites rely heavily on this method, while others struggle to fill positions even when they post early on the job board. We continue to monitor this closely and look for improvements and efficiency to get the maximum number of members working.

Concerns about cancelled assignments and changes in assignments should continue to be reported to your union. Contact karen.vandewint@d25.osstf.ca or call us at 613-729-7211.

Occasional Teachers Pay DatesCut-offs OT 25-26 (1).pdf

Pay Dates for Occasional Teacher 2025-2026 School Year

The daily occasional rate for the 2025-2026 school year is $286.28 per day, paid two weeks in arrears.

Expectations

Arrival at the school 15 minutes before the morning bell, unless you took the assignment late (i.e. day of close to the start time).

Familiarize yourself with lesson plans, Safety Plans and attendance procedures. Know where your fire exit is for drills or emergencies.

On Calls and Duties

If the absent teacher is normally scheduled into an on-call block or duty, you may be assigned that duty on their behalf.

Cancellations

In the event of an employer cancellation on the day of your assignment, you may look for another assignment or report to the cancelled worksite. Collective Agreement language (L13.09) suggests that the school should make reasonable effort to cancel the night before. We are starting to see assignments released to the job board the evening prior, but cancelled the next day.

If you show up to the cancelled assignment, the employer is required to pay for either half the assignment (if the original assignment was .5 or greater) or the full assignment (if the original assignment was less than .5 of the day). You may be assigned other duties, and in such cases, you will be paid for those assigned duties.

Examples: Note in both examples, you are still required to show up to the school and report to the front office to be paid.

You took on a .67 assignment, and the morning of, you were notified it was cancelled. You may show up to work, and if the principal has no professional duties ready for you, you may wait in the office or another designated space until they assign you duties. (Make sure you notify the office administrator that you are present!) You should be paid .33 even if the school is not able to find you an alternative assignment. If the school finds you work for one period, you will still be paid the .33. If the school finds you work for two periods, you will be paid the full .67 that was originally assigned.
You took on a .33 assignment, and the morning of, you were notified it was cancelled. You may show up to work, and you should be paid the .33 regardless of whether the school can find you work or not.

*Please be polite to the office administrators, as they may not have caused the cancellation. Maintain professionalism with the principal/vice-principals and contact us if any issues arise.

ATE Callout System

The Callout System prioritizes offers of work based on qualifications and availability.

It will first call teachers who are both qualified in the subject area, and willing to travel to the school.

If it exhausts 20 calls, it will move the job to the job board. If there are less than 20 qualified and willing OTs, it will next call qualified OTs who have not preferred the school, and finally unqualified and willing at that school. Once it has made 20 attempts in total to fill the job, the job becomes available on the job board. To help the callout system only call people who are free to work, be sure to update your calendar to block off days you are unavailable. This increases the efficiency of the system.

The 4-period day "1.33"

OTs who are not in a full-time LTO are eligible to fill their day with up to 4 classes of coverage. This is voluntary – speak with the VP in charge of ATE to identify your willingness to do this.

This is a Memorandum of Understanding signed with Board to extend to the end of the current collective agreement. The 4th period of work, to be eligible for payment, cannot be the on-call period of the teacher you are covering. Schools should not be automatically filling in the 4th period without pay, citing “no on-call schedule”.

Your Pay Cheque

Your pay cheque, available from the OCDSB website (Employee Portal), will show the number of units (days) worked and the daily rate. The rate expressed will be BEFORE the Board adds an equivalent payment for holidays and vacation pay. The total pay rate for a casual day is $286.28. OTs are paid 2 weeks in arrears according to a posted schedule.

Your ATE Calendar

Your calendar is a critical part of keeping track of your assignments, as well as making the call out system efficient. Days you are unavailable (either due to an LTO or an appointment) you should mark as such in ATE.

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