ARCHIVED - Work Force Adjustment Directive

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General

Application

This Directive applies to represented employees of the public service who have the Work Force Adjustment Directive listed as a National Joint Council 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 or agencies listed in Schedules I and IV to the Financial Administration Act, for which the Public Service Commission has the sole authority to appoint). (revised April 1, 2005)

With the exception of those references to unions and the National Joint Council, 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 grievance procedure.

This directive does not apply to employees to whom the Executive Employment Transition policy 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 Public Service Commission (PSC) is responsible, this National Joint Council 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 December 6, 2001.

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 Public Service Labour Relations Act, will be in accordance with Section 14.0 of the National Joint Council By-laws. (revised April 1, 2005)

Notwithstanding any other provisions on presenting grievances under the National Joint Council (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 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 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 reply to the grievance directly to the Administrative Committee in accordance with NJC by-laws and, with the bargaining agent's approval, to adjudication.

The National Joint Council 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 a), Twelve-month surplus priority period in which to secure a reasonable job offer of Part VI of this directive.

Objectives

It is the policy of the Treasury Board to maximise 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 public service. Those employees for whom the deputy head cannot provide the guarantee will have access to transitional employment arrangements (as per Part 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 (fonctionnaire 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 (not a surplus employee) who wishes to remain in the public service exchanges positions with a non-affected employee (the alternate) willing to leave the public service 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 public service to any body or corporation that is a separate employer or that is outside the public service.

Appointing department (ministère d'accueil) - is a department or agency which has agreed to appoint or consider for appointment (either immediately or after retraining) a surplus or a laid-off person.

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 recognised learning institution, book and mandatory equipment costs, up to a maximum of $8,000.00.

Guarantee of a reasonable job offer (garantie d'une offre d'emploi raisonnable) - is a guarantee of an offer of indeterminate employment within the public service 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 public service. Surplus employees in receipt of this guarantee will not have access to the Options available in Part VI of this directive.

Home department (ministère d'attache) - is a department or agency declaring an individual employee surplus.

Laid off person (personne mise en disponibilité) - is a person who has been laid off pursuant to PSEA 29(1) and who still retains a reappointment priority under PSEA 29(3).

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 for appointment without competition or appeal to a position in the public service for which, in the opinion of the PSC, they are qualified. This priority is accorded for one year following the lay-off date, pursuant to subsection 29(3) of the Public Service Employment Act, or following the termination date, pursuant to paragraph 11(2.01) of the Financial Administration Act.

Opting employee (fonctionnaire 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 Part 6.3 of this directive.

Pay (rémunération) - has the same meaning as "rate of pay" in the employee's collective agreement.

Priority administration system (système d'administration des priorités) - is a system designed by the PSC to facilitate appointments of individuals entitled to statutory and regulatory priorities.

Public Service (fonction publique) - means the several positions in or under any department, agency, or other portion of the public service of Canada specified in Schedules I and IV to the Financial Administration Act (FAA), for which the PSC has the sole authority to appoint. (revised April 1, 2005)

Reasonable job offer (offre d'emploi raisonnable) - is an offer of indeterminate employment within the public service, normally at an equivalent level but could include lower levels. 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: (revised April 1, 2005)

1. 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.
2. It is a seamless transfer of all employee benefits including a 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 appointment priority accorded by the PSC, pursuant to the Public Service Employment Regulations, to certain individuals salary-protected under this directive for the purpose of assisting such persons to re-attain an appointment level equivalent to that from which they were declared surplus.

Relocation (réinstallation) - is the authorised 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 authorised 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 public service.

Surplus employee (fonctionnaire excédentaire) - is an indeterminate employee who has been formally declared surplus, in writing, by his or her deputy head.

Surplus priority (priorité de fonctionnaire excédentaire) - is an entitlement for a priority in appointment accorded by the PSC, pursuant to the Public Service Employment Regulations, to surplus employees to permit them to be appointed to other positions in the public service without competition or right of appeal.

Surplus status (statut de fonctionnaire excédentaire) - An indeterminate employee is in surplus status from the date he or she is declared surplus until the date of lay-off, until he or she is indeterminately appointed to another 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 Annex C.

Twelve month surplus priority period in which to secure a reasonable job offer (Priorité de fonctionnaire 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 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:

Canada Labour Code, Part I.

Financial Administration Act, section 11.

Pay Rate Selection (Treasury Board Manual, Pay administration volume, chapter 3).

Policy on termination of Employment in Alternative Delivery Situations (Treasury Board Manual, Human Resources Volume, Chapter 1-13)

Public Service Employment Act, section 29.

Public Service Employment Regulations, sections 34, 35, 36, 37, 39 and 42.

Public Service Labour Relations Act, sections 79 and 81. (revised April 1, 2005)

Public Service Superannuation Act, section 40.1.

Relocation Directive (Treasury Board Manual, Employee Services Volume, Chapter 3-1).

Travel Directive (Treasury Board Manual, Employee Services Volume, Chapter 1-1).

Enquiries

Enquiries about this directive should be referred to the respective bargaining agent, or the responsible officers in departmental headquarters.

Responsible officers in departmental headquarters may, in turn, direct questions regarding the application of this directive to the Human Resources Management Group, Human Resources Branch, 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 human resource advisors or to the regional and district offices of the PSC responsible for their case. Responsible officers in departmental headquarters seeking interpretations and guidance may contact the Employment Equity and Priority Administration Division of the Recruitment Programs and Priority Administration Directorate, Resourcing and Learning Branch, Public Service Commission Canada.

 

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