Responsibilities of Supervisors and Senior Officers

Key responsibilities

• Show leadership by modelling ethical behaviour.
• Ensure employees have a general understanding of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA) and the procedures for making disclosures.
• Provide informal advice.
• Receive disclosures of wrongdoing from employees.
• Protect the identity of all persons involved in the disclosure process and maintain the confidentiality of information collected, in accordance with the Act.
• Protect from reprisal the employee who discloses wrongdoing or who is involved in a disclosure investigation.
• Make recommendations to chief executives regarding measures to correct wrongdoing.

Informing and advising employees

Employees who are considering making a disclosure can come to you for advice and guidance. This includes explaining how confidentiality is maintained.

Employees should also know where to go if they need more information, such as your organization’s own policy for disclosure. You can also refer employees to the related resources found on the Canada Public Service Agency website at www.psagency.gc.ca and the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner website at www.psic-ispc.gc.ca.

Dealing with disclosures

If an employee provides you with a disclosure, you must decide whether it qualifies as wrongdoing as defined by the PSDPA, or whether it is a situation that should be dealt with under another process or through another recourse mechanism such as a grievance, harassment complaint or a staffing complaint.

If you believe the employee’s information concerns a potential wrongdoing, follow the procedures established by your organization to deal with the disclosure at your level. Then outline to the employee the steps that will be taken.

Protecting identities and keeping confidential records

You must protect the identity of the employee making a disclosure and other persons involved in a disclosure situation. This means you should keep disclosure records separate from existing files. You must also only reveal information about a disclosure to individuals authorized to deal with the situation, such as investigators, the Senior Officer for Disclosure or your chief executive (e.g. the Deputy Minister).