March 18, 2005

POLICY NOTICE

Foreign Service Directives - Allowances and Dollar Amounts April 1, 2005

FSD 17 - Appendix - Special Short-Term Separation Assistance for Spouses or Common-law Partners – June 1, 2005

SUBJECT: Foreign Service Directives – Allowances and Dollar Amounts

1.         Provision is made under the Foreign Service Directives (FSD) to revise certain allowance and dollar amounts on the first of April each year in accordance with the methodologies agreed to in the National Joint Council Committee (NJC) on Foreign Service Directives.

2.      Effective April 1, 2005, these allowances and dollar amounts are increased by 2.85 per cent.

3.      The following changes are effective April 1, 2005, except for FSD 17 – Appendix – Special Short-term Spousal Separation Assistance, which is effective June 1, 2005.

FSD 10 – Posting Loan

Increase the maximum amount of the loan from $32,986 to $33,926 or up to 50 per cent of gross annual salary in effect at the time the loan is approved, whichever is the lesser.

FSD 15 – Relocation

FSD 15.31 – Incidental Relocation Expense Allowance

Increase the incidental relocation expense allowance from $2,399 to $2,467 per relocation.

FSD 15.32 – Car Rental Expenses

Increase the amount which may be claimed for car rental expenses under
FSD 15.32 (a) and (c) from $800 to $823 per relocation, and under (b) from $1,200 to $1,234 per relocation.

FSD 17 - Appendix - Special Short-Term Separation Assistance for Spouses or Common-law Partners

1.         Special Short-Term Separation Assistance for Spouses or Common-law Partners was introduced on June 1, 2001, on a trial basis, for three years and was scheduled to be reviewed two months prior to the expiry date of the trial period, that is, no later than April 1, 2004, to decide if it would be extended, incorporated into the Directive on a permanent basis, or terminated.

2.         It had been agreed to extend this assistance for an additional one-year period to May 31, 2005, to provide additional time to complete the scheduled review. This review is ongoing but has not been completed.  Consequently, this assistance has been further extended to May 31, 2006, or such earlier date on which revised provisions become effective.

FSD 25 - Shelter – Shelter Cost

1.         The Shelter Cost Table at Appendix A to FSD 25, which was established on April 1st, 2004, following publication of the Census, remains in effect until March 31, 2009. Appendix A to FSD 25 effective April 1, 2004, reflects actual Ottawa/Gatineau rental costs on the basis of salary and applies to all employees at post except for those few employees who continue to come under the transition dispositions of Appendix B.

2.         The salary that the employee is actually receiving will determine the initial shelter cost at the time of occupancy of permanent accommodation, and any subsequent increase in salary, including a retroactive increase, will not have an impact on the employee's shelter cost until the following April 1st. The employee's annual salary on April 1st of each year will determine the employee's salary group. As long as an employee's salary remains within the same salary group, there will not be any increase in shelter cost until the table is re-based. 

3.         Adjustments to recognize changes in household size because of the arrival and departure of dependants would continue in accordance with the provisions of FSD 25.12(a)(ii), on the basis of the employee's salary used to determine the shelter cost before the change in household size.

Appendix A - Employee shelter cost (dollars per month) April 1, 2004

The Table below, which has been included for greater clarity and ease of reference, applies to all employees at post on April 1, 2005, on the basis of actual salary received on that date.

Shelter Cost Table effective April 1, 2004

Salary Group

Household size

1

2

3

4

5 & +

28,000

to

29,999

560

626

664

692

713

30,000

to

31,999

578

644

683

710

731

32,000

to

33,999

596

661

700

727

748

34,000

to

35,999

612

677

716

743

764

36,000

to

37,999

627

693

731

759

780

38,000

to

39,999

641

707

746

773

794

40,000

to

41,999

655

721

759

787

808

42,000

to

43,999

668

734

773

800

821

44,000

to

45,999

681

747

785

812

834

46,000

to

47,999

693

759

797

824

846

48,000

to

49,999

704

770

808

836

857

50,000

to

54,999

723

789

827

855

876

55,000

to

59,999

748

814

852

880

901

60,000

to

64,999

771

837

875

903

924

65,000

to

69,999

792

858

897

924

945

70,000

to

74,999

812

878

916

943

965

75,000

to

79,999

830

896

934

962

983

80,000

to

89,999

856

921

960

987

1,008

90,000

to

99,999

886

952

990

1,018

1,039

100,000

to

109,999

914

979

1,018

1,045

1,066

110,000

to

119,999

939

1,004

1,043

1,070

1,091

120,000

to

129,999

962

1,027

1,066

1,093

1,114

130,000

to

139,999

983

1,049

1,087

1,114

1,136

140,000

to

149,999

1,002

1,068

1,107

1,134

1,155

150,000

&

over

1,021

1,087

1,125

1,152

1,174

NOTE: Notwithstanding the dispositions of Section 51 of the Public Service Labour Relations Act, revisions to this Appendix shall not constitute a change in terms and conditions of employment for employees subject to the Foreign Service Directives.

Appendix B – Employee shelter cost (dollars per month) April 1, 2005

Number of Persons in Household

Salary Group

1 person

90,000 - 99,999

902

100,000 – and over

902

NOTES:

1.         This table applies to those employees who arrived at post prior to April 1, 2002, in accordance with FSD 25.08(a)(ii).

2.         This table represents the 2004 Shelter Cost table increased by 0.9%, which is the increase from November 2003 to November 2004 as reported by Statistics Canada.

3.         When no shelter cost is listed in Appendix B, the shelter cost in Appendix A applies.

4.         Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 51 of the Public Service Labour Relations Act, revisions to this Appendix shall not constitute a change in terms and conditions of employment for employees subject to the Foreign Service Directives.

FSD 30 – Post Transportation and Related Expenses

The fixed rates for the personal use of a Crown-held automobile or alternative transportation under the provisions of this Directive remain unchanged pending a review of the methodology.

FSD 32 – Day Care Assistance

1.         The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the recommendation of the appropriate Foreign Service Interdepartmental Co-ordinating Committee, has been authorized to adjust the deductible and maximum amounts payable under this Directive on April 1st of each year, to reflect the rates/costs in effect for that calendar year.

2.         Missions will revise the mission representative daycare ceiling to reflect 2005 costs, effective April 1, 2005.

3.         The various dollar amounts have been reviewed effective April 1, 2005, to reflect 2005 rates, as follows:

(a)         the deductible amount which is payable by the employee remains at $970 for full days and $485 for half days; and

(b)         the maximum amount payable remains at $2,910 for full days and $1,455 for half days.

FSD 56 – Foreign Service Premium – Appendix A

The Table below reflects FSP rates effective April 1, 2005.  An employee at post on March 31, 2005, shall not receive a lesser premium on April 1, 2005, than that which would have been received on the basis of the salary range in effect on March 31, 2005. In effect, all employees at post on March 31, 2005, shall receive an increase in FSP of 2.85 per cent on April 1, 2005.

FOREIGN SERVICE PREMIUM TABLE EFFECTIVE April 1, 2005

 

STEPS

SALARY RANGES

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

 

(0-23)

(24-59)

(60-95)

(96-131)

(132-167)

(168 +)

UNACCOMPANIED

0

to

45,271

4,898

7,343

9,794

10,771

11,751

12,731

45,272

to

67,850

5,143

7,710

10,285

11,310

12,340

13,366

67,851

to

90,464

5,388

8,080

10,771

11,847

12,925

14,012

90,465

to

113,079

5,629

8,449

11,262

12,387

13,513

14,641

113,080

&

over

5,877

8,815

11,751

12,925

14,104

15,280

ACCOMPANIED BY ONE DEPENDANT

0

to

45,271

6,736

10,101

13,464

14,810

16,159

17,502

45,272

to

67,850

7,070

10,607

14,139

15,337

16,970

18,385

67,851

to

90,464

7,406

11,112

14,810

16,068

17,778

19,262

90,465

to

113,079

7,745

11,618

15,487

16,800

18,586

20,131

113,080

&

over

8,079

12,119

16,159

17,533

19,392

21,006

ACCOMPANIED BY TWO OR MORE DEPENDANTS

0

to

45,271

8,262

12,398

16,529

18,180

19,825

21,482

45,272

to

67,850

8,675

13,015

17,351

19,091

20,817

22,562

67,851

to

90,464

9,091

13,633

18,180

20,000

21,812

23,632

90,465

to

113,079

9,505

14,255

19,002

20,907

22,803

24,700

113,080

&

over

9,918

14,873

19,825

21,813

23,791

25,780

FSD 58 – Post Differential Allowance

The table below reflects the Post Differential Allowance rates effective April 1, 2005.

POST DIFFERENTIAL ALLOWANCE TABLE EFFECTIVE April 1, 2005

LEVEL

UNACCOMPANIED

ACCOMPANIED BY ONE DEPENDANT

ACCOMPANIED BY TWO OR MORE DEPENDANTS

I

2,714

3,390

4,073

II

4,076

5,091

6,109

III

5,427

6,784

8,143

IV

8,143

10,176

12,211

V

10,856

13,572

16,284

Enquiries

Requests for more information or clarification should be addressed to departmental designated officials.

Designated departmental officials may contact:

Margaret McCagg
Senior Policy Analyst
Labour Relations
Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat
Telephone (613) 946-3714
Fax (613) 952-3002
McCagg.Margaret@tbs-sct.gc.ca