Scope
Introduction
This directive provides greater flexibility for spouses or common-law partners who, for employment, education or family-related reasons, do not accompany the employee for all or part of the employee's posting. Assistance is designed to recognize those situations which are attributable to foreign service, rather than those situations which result from personal choice.
This directive replaces FSD 17.4, FSD 17.5 and the Appendix to FSD 17 - Special Short-Term Separation Assistance for Spouses or Common-law Partners, as well as FSD 15.34(a) Family Separation Expenses, of the 2001 Foreign Service Directives.
Directive
18.1 Purpose
18.1.1 This directive provides greater flexibility for spouses or common-law partners who, for employment, education or family-related reasons, do not accompany the employee for all or part of the employee's posting. One or more dependent children may accompany the employee to a post or remain in Canada with the spouse/common-law partner.
18.1.2 Assistance is designed to recognize those situations which are attributable to foreign service, rather than those situations which result from personal choice.
18.1.3 Assistance is designed to offset the cost of maintaining the second residence in the headquarters city. The employee remains responsible for one set of household expenses. It is not the purpose of this directive to place an employee in a more advantageous position or to provide a financial benefit by virtue of the family separation.
18.1.4 Assistance is limited in situations where the employee's dependant(s) are not living in the headquarters city, as outlined in this directive.
18.1.5 While provisions are available on more than one occasion, it is not the purpose of these provisions to facilitate a permanent spousal separation or marriage breakdown. Employees who are in the process of dissolving a spousal union, or who are in a situation of indefinite spousal separation which may result in dissolution of the spousal union, are not eligible for these provisions. Such employees should be aware that benefits claimed under false pretenses may be recovered, and, in addition, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action.
18.2 Application
18.2.1 This directive is effective April 1, 2009, and applies to all employees, including employees who were granted spousal or family separation assistance prior to April 1, 2009.
18.2.2 Employees who were receiving assistance under FSD 17.04 on March 31, 2009 shall have the option of remaining under those provisions for the period for which the assistance was authorized, including any extension, or applying for the provisions of this directive.
18.2.3 In cases of conflict or contradiction between the provisions of this directive and the provisions of any other directive, the provisions of this directive shall apply, including provisions for managerial discretion in accordance with Section 18.9.
18.2.4 Assistance under this directive may be authorized by the deputy head in the following circumstances:
(a) where, for operational reasons, the deputy head directs an employee to accept an assignment on an unaccompanied basis, or to continue or extend an assignment where dependants have been evacuated under the provisions of FSD 64 - Emergency Evacuation and Loss, and living expenses for the separated dependants are not being paid under that directive; the period would normally be up to the duration of the employee's assignment or extension, or such date as the deputy head authorizes a dependant(s) to join the employee at the post;
(b) where, for employment, education or family-related reasons, a spouse/common-law partner does not accompany an employee for all or part of an employee's posting; one or more dependent children may accompany the employee to a post or remain in Canada with the spouse/common-law partner; the period would normally be for the time during which the employee and dependant(s) are separated;
(c) where disruption of a dependant's education would occur; except as provided for in sub-section (d), the period would normally be to the end of the relevant school term;
(d) where the employee's spouse/common-law partner and one or more dependent children remain at the former place of duty in Canada in order to avoid disruption of a dependent child's education at the primary or secondary level; the period would normally end when the child completes the final year of secondary education, or when the family relocates to the post, or on completion of the employee's assignment, whichever is earlier;
(e) where a dependant is ill and is unable to relocate with the employee; the period would normally end not later than 14 days following the date that the attending physician certifies that the dependant is medically fit to travel;
(f) where a dependant remains at the former place of duty in Canada to arrange for disposal of the employee's principal residence; the period would normally not exceed twelve months and would end on the day following the closing date of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale or the day following the commencement date of a rental agreement, whichever is applicable.
18.2.5. When assistance is requested under paragraphs 18.2.4(b), (c), (d), (e) and/or (f), it is the responsibility of the employee to complete the required application form, in advance of posting, informing the employer of the details of the anticipated spousal/family separation. However, in exceptional circumstances, the employer will consider an employee's application for these provisions during the posting.
18.2.6 Subject to paragraph 18.2.4(d) where less than three months remain in the employee's posting following completion of the child's final year of secondary education, the waiver of shelter cost may continue until the end of the employee's posting.
18.2.7 Assistance under paragraph 18.2.4(f) is to facilitate disposal of a principal residence which includes both sale and rental possibilities within the twelve month period and is not to dispose of income-producing property. It is the responsibility of the employee to provide evidence, satisfactory to the deputy head that active and realistic attempts have been made to dispose of the principal residence, following receipt of a Posting Confirmation Form (or equivalent).
18.3 Employee-Couple
18.3.1 The provisions of this directive apply to employee-couples.
18.4 Waiver of Shelter Cost
(FSD 25 - Shelter)
18.4.1 Notwithstanding the provisions of FSD 25 - Shelter, where the employee's spouse/common-law partner does not accompany the employee for all or part of the employee's posting because of circumstances outlined in subsection 18.2.4, the deputy head may authorize a waiver of 100% of the employee's shelter cost when the spouse/common-law partner resides in the headquarters city and incurs costs for shelter.
18.4.2 The waiver of shelter cost is designed to offset the cost of maintaining the second residence in the headquarters city and is not to place an employee in a more advantageous position or to provide a financial benefit by virtue of the family separation. Proof of actual and reasonable shelter costs incurred in maintaining a household must be provided by the employee to the deputy head.
18.4.3 A waiver of shelter cost for a period of less than three months at one time shall only be authorized when the spouse/common-law partner resides in the family's principal residence in the headquarters city.
18.4.4. Where an employee precedes the dependant(s) on relocation to a place of duty in Canada, a waiver of shelter cost shall take effect from the day of the employee's departure from the post.
18.4.5 It is not necessary for the spouse/common-law partner to continue to reside in the principal residence which they occupied when the employee was posted in order to claim a waiver of shelter cost however the principal residence occupied by the spouse/common-law partner must be in the headquarters city.
18.5 Family Reunion Travel
(FSD 51 - Family Reunion)
18.5.1 Notwithstanding the provisions of FSD 51 - Family Reunion,
(a) as long as the separation period is for a minimum of 6 months, family reunion travel for separated dependant(s) shall be authorized on the basis of 2 trips per year, which is calculated from the date the employee arrives at post, except that where the separated dependant relocates to the employee's post for a portion of the employee's assignment, the total number of times an employee may claim a family reunion travel allowance for the duration of posting shall normally be reduced by one;
(b) where the separated dependant(s) do not reside in the headquarters city the cost of travel is limited to return travel between the headquarters city and the employee's post, or, between the employee's post and the headquarters city, as applicable, less the cost of return travel between the location of the separated dependant(s) and the headquarters city, unless the employee accepts the assignment on an unaccompanied basis;
(c) at the request of the employee, approval shall be given for the employee, and any accompanying dependant(s) at the employee's post, for travel to the headquarters city, in lieu of travel of all separated dependants to the employee's post. Where there are school-age children, one of the trips must be for the purpose of family reunion during the long school holiday recess. Subject to paragraph 18.5.1(b), the allowance shall be calculated on the basis of return travel from the headquarters city to the employee's post, for the employee's separated dependants;
(d) at the request of the employee, travel may be approved to a third location, in accordance with FSD 51, except that travel must be for the employee and all dependant(s) eligible for travel; must be for a minimum of five days together at the approved third location; and subject to paragraph 18.5.1(b), the allowance shall be calculated on the basis of return travel from the headquarters city to the employee's post, for the employee's separated dependant(s).
18.6 Vacation Travel Assistance
(FSD 50 – Vacation Travel Assistance)
18.6.1 Notwithstanding the provisions of FSD 50 - Vacation Travel Assistance:
(a) in order to qualify for a vacation travel allowance under FSD 50 – Vacation Travel Assistance, a dependant must reside with an employee at a post for a minimum of 8 months of any consecutive 12-month period; and
(b) the allowance shall be determined on the basis of actual household size (employee plus eligible dependants at post) at the time the allowance is authorized.
18.7 Education and Education-Related Provisions
(FSD 30 - Post Transportation and Related Expenses)
(FSD 33 - Education Assistance at a Lycée in Canada)
(FSD 34 - Education Allowances)
(FSD 35 - Education Travel)
18.7.1 Education and education-related costs/expenses are payable for kindergarten, primary and secondary level education of accompanying dependent children at the employee's post, in accordance with the above directives, except that:
(a) notwithstanding the provisions of FSD 35 - Education Travel, travel for an escort from post to Canada shall not normally be approved; and
(b) education expenses at a lycée in Canada are payable in accordance with FSD 33 for a child residing with the employee's spouse/common-law partner in the headquarters city.
18.7.2 Travel for an escort under paragraph 18.7.1(a) shall only be approved when the employee can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the deputy head, that:
(a) the airline will not accept the dependent child on an unaccompanied basis, i.e. letter from the airline; and
(b) arrangements cannot be made for travel under FSD 51 - Family Reunion or FSD 50 - Vacation Travel Assistance.
18.7.3 Assistance under paragraph 18.7.1(b) will not be authorized a second time when the child has not attended a lycée outside Canada since assistance at a lycée in Canada was previously authorized under this directive.
18.8 Relocation
(FSD 15 – Relocation)
18.8.1 Notwithstanding the provisions of FSD 15 – Relocation, at the request of the employee, relocation travel to and from the employee's post for all separated dependant(s) shall be authorized once during the employee's assignment, except that, where the separated dependant(s) are not residing in the headquarters city, the employee shall be responsible for travel between the location of the separated dependant(s) and the headquarters city.
18.8.2 Except for relocation travel, as specified in subsection 18.8.1, there is no entitlement to relocation provisions under FSD 15 - Relocation, where the separated dependant(s) are not residing in the headquarters city.
18.8.3 Subject to subsection 18.8.1, payment of relocation expenses (including relocation travel) for separated dependants shall be approved for periods of 12 months or longer at the post and, with the approval of the deputy head, may be approved for periods of less than 12 months at the post.
18.8.4 At the time of an employee's relocation to a post, the employee may claim actual and reasonable expenses for packing, crating, transportation (including in-transit insurance), and storage of household effects.
18.8.5 At the time of an employee's relocation to a post, the employee may not claim expenses for packing, crating, transportation (including in-transit insurance), and unpacking of household effects to a temporary residence in the headquarters city, when the employee's principal residence is rented or sold.
18.8.6 Once during an assignment, an employee may claim actual and reasonable expenses for packing, crating, local transportation, shipment and unpacking of household effects for separated dependant(s) from the employee's headquarters city to and from the employee's post, where the cost shall not normally exceed the cost which would otherwise have been incurred if the separated dependant(s) accompanied the employee for the duration of posting. The total weight limitation for all shipments for the employee and dependant(s) shall be determined on the basis of the employee's normal household size, as if all dependant(s) had accompanied the employee for the duration of posting.
18.8.7 An employee may claim the cost of one return trip to the former place of duty when the deputy head is satisfied that the employee's dependant(s) who is a pre-school aged child or dependant(s) with a disability, require the assistance of the employee in travelling to the new place of duty. It is not designed for situations such as assistance in the preparation of inventories, and/or in making travel and/or relocation arrangements, including packing, shopping, etc., unless there are extenuating circumstances which justify the use of managerial discretion under subsection 18.9.1.
18.9 Managerial Discretion
18.9.1 When the deputy head, on the recommendation of the appropriate foreign service interdepartmental coordinating committee, is of the opinion that the assistance provided under this directive is clearly inadequate for an employee (because of special circumstances not taken into account by this directive), such additional assistance may be authorized as is considered necessary to facilitate a departmental program or to rectify what would otherwise be an obvious injustice to the employee, subject to the following:
(a) use of discretion should not be exercised which would place an employee in a more advantageous position outside Canada than in Canada;
(b) use of discretion is not placing an employee in neither a more nor a less advantageous situation than employees on assignment outside Canada who do not have separated dependants residing in Canada;
(c) use of discretion should recognize the exigencies and demands of the foreign service in circumstances which are beyond the reasonable control of the employee; or
(d) use of discretion should not be exercised to correct fault, error or negligence on the part of an employee or dependant.
18.9.2 Managerial discretion may be exercised, on an individual case basis, to apply the provisions of this directive, including a waiver of shelter cost, to career foreign service employees who are relocated to a post outside Canada from a regional office in Canada, where the employee's spouse/common-law partner remains at the employee's former place of duty in Canada for any of the reasons outlined in subsection 18.2.4.
18.10 Reporting
18.10.1 Departments and agencies are required to keep records of each case of Special Family Separation Assistance and to submit them to the appropriate foreign service interdepartmental coordinating committee annually on April 1st, commencing April 1, 2010.
18.10.2 Use of managerial discretion under Section 18.9 shall be reported to the NJC Committee on Foreign Service Directives on April 1st of each year.