Application
This Directive applies to represented employees of the core public administration who have the Work Force Adjustment Directive listed as a National Joint Council (NJC) Directive in their collective agreements (see Appendix B, List of bargaining agents subject to this Directive) and for which Treasury Board is the employer (departments and organizations listed in Schedules I and IV to the Financial Administration Act, for which the Public Service Commission (PSC) has the sole authority to appoint).
With the exception of those references to unions and the NJC, this Directive in its entirety will also apply to all employees appointed on an indeterminate basis who are excluded or unrepresented. Any grievances for these employees shall be dealt with under the normal departmental/organizational grievance procedure.
This Directive does not apply to employees to whom the Directive on Career Transition for Executives or other directives on work force adjustment apply.
Unless explicitly specified, the provisions contained in Parts I to VI do not apply to alternative delivery initiatives.
Collective agreement
With the exception of those provisions for which the PSC is responsible, this NJC Directive is deemed to be part of the collective agreements between the parties, and employees are to be afforded ready access to it.
Effective date
This Directive is effective on January 1, 2019.
Grievance procedure
In cases of alleged misinterpretation or misapplication arising out of this Directive, the grievance procedure for all represented employees within the meaning of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, will be in accordance with Section 15.0 of the National Joint Council By-Laws.
Notwithstanding any other provisions on presenting grievances under the NJC grievance procedure, an affected, surplus or laid-off employee, or one who has received a notice of termination, who feels aggrieved by a department’s or organization’s decision in applying or interpreting this Directive in respect of his or her situation may grieve directly to the departmental liaison officer of the department or organization that made that decision.
If the matter is not resolved at this step to the grievor's satisfaction, the grievor may refer the department’s or organization's reply to the grievance directly to the Executive Committee in accordance with NJC By-Laws and, with the bargaining agent's approval, to adjudication.
The NJC agrees to expedite the redress process at any parties’ request in cases of dispute when an employee has chosen or is deemed to have chosen Option 6.4.1(a), twelve-month surplus priority period in which to secure a reasonable job offer as per Part VI of this Directive.
Objectives
It is the policy of the Treasury Board to maximize employment opportunities for indeterminate employees affected by work force adjustment situations, primarily through ensuring that, wherever possible, alternative employment opportunities are provided to them. This should not be construed as the continuation of a specific position or job but rather as continued employment.
To this end, every indeterminate employee whose services will no longer be required because of a work force adjustment situation and for whom the deputy head knows or can predict employment availability will receive a guarantee of a reasonable job offer within the core public administration. Those employees for whom the deputy head cannot provide the guarantee will have access to transitional employment arrangements (as per Parts VI and VII).
Definitions
Accelerated lay-off (mise en disponibilité accélérée) – occurs when a surplus employee makes a request to the deputy head, in writing, to be laid off at an earlier date than that originally scheduled, and the deputy head concurs. Lay-off entitlements begin on the actual date of lay-off.
Affected employee (employé touché) – is an indeterminate employee who has been informed in writing that his or her services may no longer be required because of a work force adjustment situation.
Alternation (échange de postes) – occurs when an opting employee or a surplus employee who is surplus as a result of having chosen Option 6.4.1(a) wishes to remain in the core public administration and exchanges positions with a non-affected employee (the alternate) willing to leave the core public administration with a Transition Support Measure or with an Education Allowance.
Alternative delivery initiative (diversification des modes d'exécution) – is the transfer of any work, undertaking or business of the core public administration to any body or corporation that is a separate agency or that is outside the core public administration.
Appointing department or organization (ministère ou organisation d'accueil) – is a department or an organization which has agreed to appoint or consider for appointment (either immediately or after retraining) a surplus or a laid-off person.
Core public administration (Administration publique centrale) – means that part in or under any department or organization, or other portion of the federal public administration specified in Schedules I and IV to the Financial Administration Act (FAA) for which the PSC has the sole authority to appoint.
Deputy head (administrateur général) – has the same meaning as in the definition of "deputy head" set out in section 2 of the Public Service Employment Act, and also means his or her official designate.
Education Allowance (indemnité d’étude) – is one of the options provided to an indeterminate employee affected by normal work force adjustment for whom the deputy head cannot guarantee a reasonable job offer. The Education Allowance is a cash payment, equivalent to the Transitional Support Measure (see Appendix C), plus a reimbursement of tuition from a recognized learning institution, books and relevant equipment costs, up to a maximum of $17,000.
Guarantee of a reasonable job offer (garantie d’une offre d'emploi raisonnable) – is a guarantee of an offer of indeterminate employment within the core public administration provided by the deputy head to an indeterminate employee who is affected by work force adjustment. Deputy heads will be expected to provide a guarantee of a reasonable job offer to those affected employees for whom they know or can predict employment availability in the core public administration. Surplus employees in receipt of this guarantee will not have access to the options available in Part VI of this Directive.
Home department or organization (ministère ou organisation d'attache) – is a department or an organization declaring an individual employee surplus.
Laid-off person (personne mise en disponibilité) – is a person who has been laid off pursuant to subsection 64(1) of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) and who still retains an appointment priority under subsection 41(4) and section 64 of the PSEA.
Lay-off notice (avis de mise en disponibilité) – is a written notice of lay-off to be given to a surplus employee at least one month before the scheduled lay-off date. This period is included in the surplus period.
Lay-off priority (priorité de mise en disponibilité) – a person who has been laid off is entitled to a priority, in accordance with subsection 41(4) of the PSEA with respect to any position to which the PSC is satisfied that the person meets the essential qualifications; the period of entitlement to this priority is set out in section 11 of the Public Service Employment Regulations (PSER).
Opting employee (employé optant) – is an indeterminate employee whose services will no longer be required because of a work force adjustment situation and who has not received a guarantee of a reasonable job offer from the deputy head and who has 120 days to consider the options of Section 6.4 of this Directive.
Organization (organisation) – any board, agency, commission or other body specified in Schedules I and IV of the FAA that is not a department.
Pay (rémunération) – has the same meaning as “rate of pay” in the employee’s collective agreement.
Priority Information Management System (Système de gestion de l’information sur les priorités) – is a system designed by the PSC to facilitate appointments of individuals entitled to statutory and regulatory priorities.
Reasonable job offer (offre d'emploi raisonnable) – is an offer of indeterminate employment within the core public administration, normally at an equivalent level. Surplus employees must be both trainable and mobile. Where practicable, a reasonable job offer shall be within the employee's headquarters as defined in the Travel Directive. In alternative delivery situations, a reasonable offer is one that meets the criteria set out in Type 1 and Type 2 of Part VII of this Directive. A reasonable job offer is also an offer from a FAA Schedule V employer, providing that:
- The appointment is at a rate of pay and an attainable salary maximum not less than the employee’s current salary and attainable maximum that would be in effect on the date of offer;
- It is a seamless transfer of all employee benefits including recognition of years of service for the definition of continuous employment and accrual of benefits, including the transfer of sick leave credits, severance pay and accumulated vacation leave credits.
Reinstatement priority (priorité de réintégration) – is an entitlement under section 10 of the PSER provided to surplus employees and laid-off persons who are appointed or deployed to a position in the core public administration at a lower level.
Relocation (réinstallation) – is the authorized geographic move of a surplus employee or laid-off person from one place of duty to another place of duty, beyond what, according to local custom, is a normal commuting distance.
Relocation of work unit (réinstallation d'une unité de travail) – is the authorized move of a work unit of any size to a place of duty beyond what, according to local custom, is normal commuting distance from the former work location and from the employee's current residence.
Retraining (recyclage) – is on-the-job training or other training intended to enable affected employees, surplus employees and laid-off persons to qualify for known or anticipated vacancies within the core public administration.
Surplus employee (employé excédentaire) – is an indeterminate employee who has been formally declared surplus, in writing, by his or her deputy head.
Surplus priority (priorité d’employé excédentaire) – is an entitlement for a priority in appointment, in accordance with section 5 of the PSER and pursuant to section 40 of the PSEA; this entitlement is provided to surplus employees to be appointed in priority to another position in the federal public administration for which they meet the essential requirements.
Surplus status (statut d’employé excédentaire) – An indeterminate employee is in surplus status from the date he or she is declared surplus until the occurrence of one of the following: the date of lay-off, the date he or she is indeterminately appointed or deployed to another indeterminate position, until his or her surplus status is rescinded, or until the person resigns.
Transition Support Measure (mesure de soutien à la transition) – is one of the options provided to an opting employee for whom the deputy head cannot guarantee a reasonable job offer. The Transition Support Measure is a cash payment based on the employee’s years of service in the public service, as per Appendix C.
Twelve-month surplus priority period in which to secure a reasonable job offer (Priorité d’employé excédentaire d'une durée de douze mois pour trouver une offre d’emploi raisonnable) – is one of the options provided to an opting employee for whom the deputy head cannot guarantee a reasonable job offer.
Work force adjustment (réaménagement des effectifs) – is a situation that occurs when a deputy head decides that the services of one or more indeterminate employees will no longer be required beyond a specified date because of a lack of work, the discontinuance of a function, a relocation in which the employee does not wish to relocate or an alternative delivery initiative.
Monitoring
Departments or organizations shall retain central information on all cases occurring under this Directive, including the reasons for the action; the number, occupational groups and levels of employees concerned; the dates of notice given; the number of employees placed without retraining; the number of employees retrained (including number of salary months used in such training); the levels of positions to which employees are appointed and the cost of any salary protection; and the number, types, and amounts of lump sums paid to employees.
This information will be used by the Treasury Board Secretariat to carry out its periodic audits.
References
The primary references for the subject of work force adjustment are as follows:
Financial Administration Act
Pay Rate Selection (Treasury Board Homepage, Organization, Human Resource Management, Compensation and Pay Administration)
Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector
Employer regulations on promotion
Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act
Public Service Employment Act
Public Service Employment Regulations
Public Service Superannuation Act
Pension Eligibility at Age 60 – Workforce Adjustment and Pension Waivers
Employer Directives:
Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment
Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive
NJC Relocation Directive
Travel Directive
Enquiries
Enquiries about this Directive should be referred to the respective bargaining agent, or the responsible officers in departmental/organizational headquarters.
Responsible officers in departmental/organizational headquarters may, in turn, direct questions regarding the application of this Directive to the senior director, Union Engagement and NJC Support, Compensation and Labour Relations Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat.
Enquiries by employees pertaining to entitlements to a priority in appointment or to their status in relation to the priority appointment process should be directed to their departmental/organizational human resource advisors or to the priority advisor of the PSC responsible for their case.