Microsoft 365 Licensing changes for Unaffiliated Casual Employees effective December 5, 2025
Posted on
November 19, 2025
Please share the following with your teams.
As part of ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ’s ongoing efforts to manage resources responsibly, we are updating Microsoft 365 licencing for unaffiliated casual employees. As of December 5, unaffiliated casual employee groups listed below will be assigned A1 licenses instead of A3 licenses.
Unaffiliated casual employee currently assigned A3 licenses will not be affected and will be converted to A1 licenses at a later date.
Please inform any affected casual employees about this change before December 5, 2025.
This change should have minimal impact on your team.
If a casual employee needs an A3 license for specific duties, you can request one by opening a support ticket via askIT@yorku.ca. Include the employee’s Passport York username and your department’s account-fund-cost centre. The annual cost for an A3 licence is $100 and will be charged to your department.
More information about Microsoft licences, including details on the differences between A1 and A3 licences is available on the UIT website. We’ve also included an overview of the differences and a list of the affected employee groups below.
This initiative supports our commitment to sustainability and fiscal responsibility and is expected to produce approximately $350,000 in annual savings.
Key differences between a Microsoft A1 and A3 license.
 â¶Ä¯
A1
A3
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Web only
Desktop and Web
Outlook client
Web only
Desktop and Web
Mailbox quota (max. size)
50 GB
100 GB
Charge per Account
No charge
$100 per year per account
Employee groups to be assigned A1 licence.
Unaffiliated Casual Employee Code
Description
CHT
Host Teacher
CCN
Casual Clerical Non-York Student
CCY
Casual Clerical York Student
CNN
Casual Non-Clerical Non-York Student
CNY
Casual Non-Clerical York Student
CRN
Casual Research Assistant Non-York Student
CRY
Casual Research Assistant York Student
CCC
Research Casual Non-TRT
CCM
Non-Research Casual Non-TRT
CHY
Casual Hourly Paid York Student
CHN
Casual Hourly Paid Not A York Student
We appreciate your cooperation as we work to optimize our Microsoft 365 environment and ensure responsible stewardship of University resources.
