OT at Nav Canada

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rmilly
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OT at Nav Canada

Post by rmilly »

Hi all, I'm a current Nav Canada applicant. I've been able to find a lot of good information here and other places as far as what to expect with an ATC job. I'm grateful for all this excellent info! However, one question I have not been able to gain clarity on is how much mandatory overtime must be worked, in locations which are understaffed. Reading about our controlling friends in the US, it seems 6 days on, 1 off seems the norm. Here, controllers speak of a much more manageable schedule, but yet mandatory OT is spoken of as a reality. If anyone could clarify this would be most helpful!
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atcguy98
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Re: OT at Nav Canada

Post by atcguy98 »

To add on to this with another question, what are the typical working hours? I've heard 1 hour on and 1 hour off during your shift but it sounded too good to be true...
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Braun
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Re: OT at Nav Canada

Post by Braun »

I haven't had one mandatory hour of OT and I work in one of the shorter units in the country. Not saying it doesn't happen, it's just very rare. That being said, you can pretty much work as little or as much as you'd like in terms of OT. Most specialties are short staffed. The actual schedules are a bit different per specialty. 6 on 1 off doesn't exist in ATC in Canada. Usually shift patterns are 6 on 3 off 6 on 3 off 5 on 5 off, or a variation of that. OF course if you do OT on those days off it can come 9 on 1 off or 8 on 2 off etc...personal choice.

The time in position will also vary in each specialty, 1 on 1 off can happen but if you're in a short staffed unit you can expect short breaks and more time is position. I'd say 60-70% of an a 8h shift is in position. Some days less, some days more.

Sorry for the vague answers but each FIR and specialty is very different. I am speaking for IFR, I haven't worked a VFR tower so it may be a bit different, although theoretically the hours work and days on/off are the same amount.
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ATC_Anstey
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Re: OT at Nav Canada

Post by ATC_Anstey »

My tower is at a staff of 8, but full staff is 11 so we're short 3. I've never been forced to a work an OT. Most of us do 1 or 2 per month to "do our part" but you can get upwards of 6-8 per month if you said yes to every OT that was available while we're short.

Our schedule is 5 days on 5 days off with 9.7 hour days, usually 4 controllers per day for 16 hours that the tower operates, but days with 3 aren't uncommon if staff isn't available. Of those 9.7 hours you usually in position for around 7 on a busy day, and as little as 4 if it's a slow day.
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16SidedOffice
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Re: OT at Nav Canada

Post by 16SidedOffice »

Our unit is often 3-6 bodies short pretty much every day. OT has never been mandatory.
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atcguy98
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Re: OT at Nav Canada

Post by atcguy98 »

16SidedOffice wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 10:15 am Our unit is often 3-6 bodies short pretty much every day. OT has never been mandatory.
What is meant by saying your unit is short? Not enough people to cover each sector? So you have to cover for more areas? Is the work more challenging being short staffed or just more hours expected?
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16SidedOffice
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Re: OT at Nav Canada

Post by 16SidedOffice »

atcguy98 wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:30 pm
What is meant by saying your unit is short? Not enough people to cover each sector?
A normal days staffing would be 18-21 people for instance but we often only have 14-16 or less, the rest is covered by overtime but it's all voluntary. When there isn't enough people even with overtime which is also very common, then we'll combine positions where able and restrict traffic where we can if needed.
The workload when combined and short is more challenging for sure.
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Last edited by 16SidedOffice on Sat Nov 26, 2022 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
atcguy98
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Re: OT at Nav Canada

Post by atcguy98 »

16SidedOffice wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:53 pm
atcguy98 wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:30 pm
What is meant by saying your unit is short? Not enough people to cover each sector?
A normal days staffing would be 18-21 people for instance but we often only have 14-16 or less, the rest is covered by overtime but it's all voluntarily. When there isn't enough people even with overtime which is also very common, then we'll combine positions where able and restrict traffic where we can if needed.
The workload when combined and short is more challenging for sure.
Understood, thanks. I'm going into IFR training and always hear about these concerns but don't really know the ramifications.
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rmilly
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Re: OT at Nav Canada

Post by rmilly »

Thanks everyone who replied. I know every unit will be different, but it helpful to hear from several people who have worked where you're short staffed! It sounds like it's very much your choice to work OT or not.
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