Home » Directives » Uniforms Directive » March 1, 2022 » 1 Requirements

1 Requirements

1.1 Responsibilities

1.1.1 Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) provides clothing advisory services to departments and agencies, through the Clothing Advisory Group.

1.1.2 These services are listed in Appendix A.

1.1.3 It is the responsibility of each department:

  1. to ensure that appropriate consultation takes place at a joint committee as defined at section 1.2;
  2. in the absence of a specific joint committee on uniforms, the consultations will include the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the workplace committee or the health and safety representative;
  3. to identify the situations where the provision of clothing is necessary; and
  4. to determine that the type of clothing provided is adequate and suitable; and to develop and to maintain up-to-date clothing standards and scales of issue including considerations for, but not limited to, fit, cleaning, maternity clothing, tailoring, material used etc.

1.1.4 Departments are required to incorporate controls to ensure that practices are consistent with the policy directives. The internal controls shall include the maintenance of a record containing the following information:

  1. the number of employees provided with clothing;
  2. the composition of standard clothing issues;
  3. the value of clothing issued (in total and by unit);
  4. the average cost per employee provided with clothing;
  5. the value of clothing allowances (in total and individually); and
  6. copies of relevant departmental bulletins or directives.

1.1.5 Corporate and personal identification items such as shoulder flashes, shall be consistent with the requirements of the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Policy on Communications and Federal Identity.

1.2 Union management consultation

1.2.1 Departments and other portions of the Public Service shall consult with employee representatives at the local, regional or national level, as appropriate, regarding the application of this directive, and prior to any planned changes in existing practices.

1.2.2 Departments should be aware of the consultation provisions of the relevant collective agreements when applying this directive.

1.2.3 When clothing serves for both identification and personal protection, departments shall ensure to consult the joint committee on uniforms or in case of absence of a specific joint committee on uniforms the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the workplace committee or the health and safety representative, to assist in the determination of personal protective equipment and clothing requirements.

1.3 Consultation with the Clothing Advisory Group

1.3.1 Departments shall consult with the Clothing Advisory Group:

  1. before introducing new items of clothing or replacing existing issues;
  2. to ensure that the quality and quantity of clothing to be provided to employees performing similar functions in similar working environments are reasonably consistent from department to department;
  3. to ensure fabrics selected for protection meet good industrial safety practices, and fabrics selected for uniforms meet the PSPC criteria, considering, but not limited to, flame resistance, etc.;
  4. not later than two years prior to introduction of new uniforms; and
  5. when clothing purchases are expected to exceed $10,000.

1.3.2 A department that finds the PSPC recommendations unacceptable shall submit the dispute to the President of the Treasury Board, as provided for in the Authorities section.

1.4 Inquiries

1.4.1 All inquiries regarding this directive should be routed through departmental headquarters.

1.4.2 For interpretation of specific policy statements contained in this directive, designated members of the departmental headquarters should contact:

Employment Conditions and Labour Relations,
Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer,
Treasury Board Secretariat.

1.5 Credit revenue

1.5.1 Unless authority to credit revenue to the vote has been obtained by either vote‑netting authority or a revolving fund authority, departments and agencies must credit the proceeds of sales to non‑tax revenue.

1.5.2 Where there is a charge to employees, the GST and PST (HST) must be collected and remitted in accordance with the applicable federal and provincial laws.

Index