Some non-union staff at Alberta Health Services told to take unpaid time off due to 'budgetary pressures'

Alberta Health Services is forcing some of its employees to take two unpaid days off before the end of March as it faces ongoing "budgetary pressures," according to a memo obtained by CBC News.

The memo sent to staff by Erin O'Neill, AHS senior vice-president of finance and shared services, said non-unionized exempt employees (known as NUEEs) will be impacted, with the exception of employees in specific salary groups.

"Please know that we explored many options before taking this step, but that it is necessary to meet our financial commitments as we continue to face budgetary pressures," the memo stated.

An AHS spokesperson confirmed the "one-time measure" is impacting some of its non-unionized staff but did not say how many employees are mandated to take the 15.5 hours of unpaid leave.

"AHS continues to look for efficiencies and cost savings to meet our financial commitments without impacting patient care," spokesperson Kristi Bland said in an email to CBC News.

"This is a one-time measure impacting some of our non-unionized workforce. It does not impact frontline staff, and no health-care services will be impacted by this measure."

Bland said some positions are exempt to ensure those earning below a certain threshold are not affected.

"We recognize that any financial impact is challenging," Bland said.

"AHS has already implemented other cost-saving measures, such as vacancy and vacation management, and is making efforts to limit the impact to our people wherever possible."

AHS did not answer questions from CBC News about what type of positions are included or how much money this would save.

Dr. Braden Manns, a professor of medicine and health economics at the University of Calgary, told CBC News he wasn't surprised by the move.

"Many people may not know but Alberta Health Services has not been allowed to run a deficit," he said.

Manns witnessed budget pressures first-hand when he served as an interim AHS vice-president before he left the post in 2023.

"When I was at Alberta Health Services the amount that the budget was going up was well below what population growth was," he said.

Prior to the province's health care reorganization, NUEEs accounted for about 10 per cent of the AHS workforce (about 11,000 employees), according to Manns. The NUEE categorization can include managers and senior leaders, he said.

He estimates the mandated time off could save AHS between $8 million and $15 million.

"They would have looked in every area to identify savings before they would take this kind of step," he said.

"This is a small amount. It wouldn't make a huge dent."

However, Manns expects impacted staff are likely frustrated, knowing the Alberta government has paid far more for other controversial efforts, including nearly $100 million to buy back Dynalife after a failed effort to privatize lab services.

"It probably is a bit galling," he said.

This comes at a time when the Alberta government continues to forge ahead with its restructuring of the health system.

Acute Care Alberta tells CBC News this does not impact staff who have already transferred out of AHS to Alberta's new provincial health agencies.

The dismantling of AHS means the actual number of people impacted is likely lower, Manns said.

"In the big scheme of things this is not a huge cost savings … but it will be seen as speaking to the value that those managers provide to the system," said Manns.

Meanwhile, AHS said impacted staff will have input on how their days off are scheduled.