Lajoie Decision - Information Notice

DATE: January 31, 2001

TO: Compensation Managers
Chiefs of Staff Relations

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide clarification regarding the application of the Lajoie Decision (Federal Court of Appeal Decision 149 N.R.223) when implementing retroactive salary revisions.

In accordance with the Lajoie Decision, rates of pay resulting from promotions, transfers, deployments, or acting situations are not recalculated during the retroactive period of a pay rate scale revision. The new rate of pay to be implemented is the one immediately below the former rate of pay being revised. This applies to all retroactive revisions to rates of pay paid to represented employees.

In a Treasury Board bulletin dated November 8, 2000, entitled Economic Increase for Excluded and Unrepresented PE, OM, CA and MM Groups, you were advised that when implementing retroactive rate of pay revisions applicable to excluded or unrepresented employees the Lajoie Decision is applied and a recalculation is done. The excluded or unrepresented employees then benefit from the better of the two resulting revised rates of pay.

When trying to determine which of the above is applicable when a represented employee is promoted, deployed, transferred, or acting in an excluded or unrepresented position, or when an excluded or unrepresented employee is promoted, deployed, transferred, or acting in a represented position, the terms and conditions of the higher level position apply. The Lajoie Decision only is applied when the higher position is represented, and the Lajoie Decision or better is applied when the higher level position is excluded or unrepresented.

Please note that wording in certain collective agreements, such as that found in the current Electronics Group (EL) agreement (i.e., "Acting pay will be recalculated as the result of any pay increment or any change to the range of rates in the employee’s substantive position or any change to the range of rates in the higher position.") does not negate the Lajoie Decision which is still applied to the retroactive portion of the pay rate revisions. Recalculations are performed only when pay rate changes are effective on a date which is after the collective agreement signing date.

Various examples illustrating the above are attached for your reference.

Departmental Compensation managers should direct any questions that they may have regarding this bulletin to their corporate Compensation officials who, if need be, can contact the Pay Administration Section for represented employees, or the Executive and Excluded Groups for excluded or unrepresented employees.

Tom Smith
Director, Pay Administration
Labour Relations Division
Human Resources Branch

Attach.

The following pay scales will be used in examples below:

* during the retroactive period

* during the retroactive period