Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat - 2014–15 Report on Plans and Priorities

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Horizontal Initiatives

Name of Horizontal Initiative: Workplace Wellness and Productivity Strategy (WPS)

Name of Lead Department: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (Secretariat)

Lead Department Program Activity Architecture (PAA) Program: Pensions and Benefits

Start Date of the Horizontal Initiative: February 2013

End Date of the Horizontal Initiative: Ongoing

Total Federal Funding Allocation (start to end date)

The amount of $25,010,838 of total funding has been allocated over a four-year period for the Secretariat, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Health Canada to carry out a range of activities in support of modernizing the current system for disability and sick leave management. The total allocated funding includes an amount of $21,092,649 in funding from the fiscal framework along with $3,918,189 from existing departmental reference levels.

Description of the Horizontal Initiative (including funding agreement)

This initiative is in its initial phase of implementation. The objective of the initiative is to modernize the management of disability and sick leave in the federal public service. Following three years of research and analysis, undertaken by the Disability Management Initiative in 2009, several structural problems in relation to the existing disability management framework were identified. These include lack of active case management with return-to-work support, gaps in income coverage during disability, and increasing system costs.

A business case was developed to identify options for addressing the structural gaps in the current system based on leading industry practices and those adopted by other public jurisdictions. Funding for the initiative was subsequently earmarked in the fiscal framework and supplemented by resources from existing departmental reference levels.

Shared Outcomes

The targeted result to be achieved by the Secretariat and its partners is the modernization of key elements of the disability and sick leave management regime in the federal public service with a view to creating a seamless, integrated and sustainable system to support employee wellness and productivity. The project will aid in the prevention and improved management of employee disability, return a higher percentage of employees back to work than is currently the case, and reduce or contain overall system costs associated with disability and sick leave management across the federal public service.

Specifically, all employees in the federal public service will have:

• Appropriate incentives and access to services to maintain their mental and physical health; and
• Support to recover and stay at work, if possible, when illness or injury occurs, or to return to work as soon as it is safe to do so, including with all necessary accommodations. If return to work is not possible due to the severity of the disability, employees will have assurance of reasonable income security.

Absence rates due to illness, injury and disability in the federal public service are targeted to be in line with rates in other public sector jurisdictions in Canada.

Governance Structures

In February 2013 the Secretariat was mandated to lead the project in collaboration with its federal partners PWGSC, ESDC (then Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)) and Health Canada. A Treasury Board submission in fall 2013, signed by the Ministers responsible for the Secretariat, PWGSC and HRSDC, approved the overall funding and the project implementation plan.

A Project Charter and Brief, prepared for the initiative and reviewed by senior officials from each of the partner organizations, provides implementation details on the initiative and spells out the roles, responsibilities and deliverables of each of the partners.

In addition, the WPS initiative has put in place a detailed governance structure to support effective, collaborative and timely decision making regarding the resolution of emerging issues. The governance structure includes oversight at the highest levels, through a Deputy Minister Project Governance Committee, an ADM Steering Committee and a working-level group of work stream committees covering each of the initiative’s major activities.

The chair of each of the work stream committees is responsible for monitoring work, directing corrective actions to be taken when required, reporting regularly on progress, and submitting deliverables as completed to the project management office. The latter would have core responsibility for monitoring progress, directing any required corrective actions and approving deliverables. As the senior project director is responsible for project progress overall, he or she is the chair of the project management office.

Planning Highlights for 2014–15

Continuous reporting and monitoring of the initiative (as described above) ensures that progress is closely tracked using evidence-based information.

Federal Partners

PWGSC’s Acquisitions Branch and Accounting, Banking and Compensation Branch: The Acquisitions Branch is to provide procurement expertise in the retendering of the long-term disability plan, as well as in the procurement of a new short-term disability plan. The Accounting, Banking and Compensation Branch is to support the development of the technological solution required for interoperability with the People Soft–based absence management system and human resources and pay systems in the federal public service.

ESDC – Labour: This organization identifies options for improving the administration of occupational claims under the Government Employees Compensation Act.

Health Canada: This organization’s activities support the provision of an updated Policy on Employee Assistance Program and related departmental advice. Its activities also support a streamlined application process for medical retirement under the Public Service Superannuation Act.

Workplace Wellness and Productivity Strategy

Contact Information

Ashique Biswas, Senior Director

Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer
4th Floor, 222 Nepean St.

Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0R5

Telephone: 613-948-5075

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