Benefit eligibility and eligible dependents (including overage dependents)

Benefit eligibility

To be eligible for the extended health benefit, employees and any qualifying dependents must be covered under the applicable provincial health care plan or be enrolled in the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) which provides provincial healthcare replacement coverage.

Employees who are newly eligible for benefits will receive enrollment instructions in their Workday account.

It is in the best interest of the employee to log into Workday and complete enrollment within the first month of eligibility. Employees who do not complete this within 31 days of their hire date will be considered late applicants and the default benefit set-up will apply (i.e. healthcare for yourself only, life insurance at 1 times salary, your Estate defaulted as your beneficiary). To change your coverage after this, approval of Evidence of Insurability by the benefit provider may be required (i.e. Sun Life Financial for life insurance, GreenShield for healthcare benefits). If an employee with a part-time or fractional load appointment is covered for comparable healthcare benefits under this or another group plan, they may waive this coverage. If at a later date the other coverage ends, the employee must enroll for coverage under this program at that time.

FYI: Policy 23 – Eligibility for Pension and Insured Benefits

Benefit eligibility chart:

Benefits Regular ongoing positions (no end date), temporary and definite-term appointments of two years or more, and positions that are contingent upon funding. 

Temporary and definite-term appointments of one year or more but less than two years.*

 Temporary and definite-term appointments that are more than three months but less than one year and casual appointments that are three months or less. 

Employees must receive employment earnings through the University of Waterloo's payroll and have an employment arrangement of at least 33% full-time equivalent (FTE) (1/3 annual commitment)
Pension Please refer to the pension eligibility section
Dental Yes (part-time/fractional load, Waterloo pays premium based on full-time equivalent (FTE) percentage) No No
Extended health Yes, employee must participate in the Ontario Health Insurance Plan or the University Health Insurance Plan basic health plan (part-time/fractional load, Waterloo pays premium based on FTE percentage) Yes, employee must participate in Ontario Health Insurance Plan or University Health Insurance Plan basic health plan (part-time/fractional load, Waterloo pays premium based on FTE percentage) No
Life Insurance  Yes, up to six times annual salary (based on actual salary, if part-time/fractional load) Yes, one times annual salary (based on actual salary, if part-time/fractional load) No
Sick leave Yes (prorated if part-time /fractional load) Six working days per year, prorated if part-time/fractional load Six working days per year, prorated (does not apply to casual or occasional employees)
Long-term disability Yes (based on actual salary, if part-time/fractional load) No No
Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP) Yes No No
Tuition Benefit  Yes No No

*In cases where temporary and definite-term appointments are continued or extended, these appointments are treated as ongoing for benefits purposes when two years of continuous employment is reached.

Eligible dependents

Who qualifies as your spouse?

For life insurance, healthcare benefits (i.e. extended health, dental) and the employee family assistance program (EFAP), a spouse is defined as:

  1. An individual to whom you are legally married; or
  2. Your common-law spouse, who is an individual of either sex with whom you have been cohabiting for a period of at least 12 months, and whom you publicly represent as your spouse

You can only cover one spouse at a time.

Who qualifies as your dependent child/overage dependent?

Your dependent child is eligible for coverage through the healthcare and EFAP benefits as long as they reside with you and/or dependent on you and are not regularly employed and meet the following definition of a dependent below:

  1. Your natural child (or your spouse's natural child); or
  2. Your legally adopted child; or
  3. Your stepchild

Additionally, such a child must be:

  1. Your unmarried child under age 21
  2. Your unmarried child under age 25 if enrolled and in full-time attendance at an accredited college, university, or educational institute
  3. Younger than 21 years of age; or
  4. If a full-time student at an accredited school, college or university, under 25 years of age; or
  5. Your child (regardless of age) who became totally disabled while eligible under a) or b) above, and has been continuously disabled since that time and is considered a dependent as defined under the Income Tax Act (ITA); to qualify under the ITA, the following conditions must be true:
    1. Disability tax credit is claimed by you for your disabled dependent, and
    2. Unmarried, unemployed, financially dependent on you, and
    3. Dependent lives with you or resides in an institution or group home, or
    4. Does not reside with you due to divorce or separation

Prior to September each year, the Human Resources department requires confirmation of continued eligibility for healthcare coverage for student dependent children over age 21. A one-time attestation is required for the coverage due to disabled status.

Dependent's coverage terminates on the earliest of the following dates:

  1. The date the employee's coverage terminates;
  2. The date the dependent ceases to be a qualified dependent;
  3. The date GreenShield receives a request to terminate the dependent's coverage;
  4. The date the employer ceases to make contributions for dependents coverage.