Implementation of the new Law Practitioner (LP) Classification Standard - Conversion

a) Classification

A new classification standard for Law Practitioners (LP) to be effective on the date of the conversion January 6, 2014.

The elimination of the LA Classification Standard effective the date of conversion. There should be no LA positions in any HR related systems after the conversion is completed.

b) Renaming the LA Group

The LA Group Definition and Qualification Standard are renamed “Law Practitioner (LP)”.

The group definition for lawyers has not changed. Consequently the bargaining affiliation with the Association of Justice Council (AJC) remains valid.

c) Collective Agreement

The current LA collective agreement will apply to all LP positions until a new contract is signed. However, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) has provided new Bargaining Unit Designation (BUD) codes for the LP group.

The Salary administration policy - Law Group - Department of Justice and other excluded legal officers is rescinded effective January 6, 2014.

a) Reclassifications

Any position being reclassified as a result of the re-writing of a work description must be evaluated within the LA Classification Standard no later than January 3, 2014. Subsequently, these reclassified LA positions must be converted to the new LP structure effective January 6, 2014.

Articling student positions classified in groups other than LA should be reviewed and reclassified as LA before conversion to LP.

Law work meeting the LA/LP group definition classified in groups other than LA, should also be reviewed and reclassified before conversion. For these exceptional cases, please contact Angela Mutesi with the details.

b) Conversion

No later than the week of January 6, 2014, departments and agencies will provide all employees occupying an LA position, with a letter informing them of the new group and level of their position. This letter is referred to as an Official Personal Notification (OPN). A template letter is available in Appendix A of this bulletin.

Please note that employees acting in an LA position should also receive an OPN informing them of the new group and level of their acting position.

c) Types of positions to be converted

All LA positions must be converted. This includes term positions, the positions of employees on special assignments, leave without pay, long term disability, etc.

Given the LA Classification Standard will cease to exist as of January 6, 2014, all LA pay files along with managerial or confidential positions must be updated as well.

d) Excluded Positions

Departments and agencies are reminded that they are responsible for amending their LA positions in the Position Exclusions System.

The Association of Justice Council (AJC) has agreed to transfer the exclusions of existing LA positions to the new LP Group as long as the position number does not change. TBS has provided the AJC with the list of excluded LA positions.

e) Communications

TBS has prepared a suite of communication products to inform managers and employees of this initiative. Departments and agencies may adapt the products to better reflect their operational needs. See Appendix B for speaking points for managers and frequently asked questions for employees.

A crosswalk table demonstrating the change from the LA to LP classification structure is also provided in Appendix C.

a) Official Designation

The selected abbreviation for the Law Practitioner Group, “LP”, satisfies federal bilingual requirements and emphasizes the practitioner responsibilities inherent in the work.

The LP designation is to be used in all HR systems including those for the Public Service Employment Surveys, Job.gc.ca, Publiservice Public Service Staffing - Advertisements & Notifications, registration for courses at the Canada School of Public Service, management of priorities, etc.

b) Bargaining Unit Designation Code

The PWGSC has provided the following two BUD codes for compensation purposes:

• BUD code for LP rates of pay is 24400.
• BUD code for the LP rates of pay in the Toronto region is 24401.

c) Classification

The new LP Classification Standard includes a level description for articling work, LP-00 which aligns with the LA-DEV pay level provided for in the collective agreement.

Please note that the classification evaluation results for each sub-element under element 5 (Physical and Sensory Effort) and element 6 (Work Environment) should be entered separately as follows: 5a, 5b, 5c, 6a and 6b in all HR systems.

d) Compensation

PWGSC will provide departments with information and instructions on the conversion to the new classification structure in the Regional Pay System.

Please note the old LA BUD Code 21402 is no longer valid. Pay files currently using these BUD codes should be immediately converted to the code 21400.

e) Systems freeze

Departments are asked not to enter any new classification or staffing actions in HRIS or PeopleSoft during conversion. This will allow PWGSC to convert pay files.

a) Website

• Law Practitioner Occupational Group Definition
• Law Practitioner Qualification Standard

The LP Classification Standard, the qualification standards and occupational group definition are available on the Publiservice Conversion site.

b) Contacts

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact members of the classification conversion team at TBS listed below:

• Sylvie Cavanagh, Manager Classification Program Support
• Angela Mutesi, Senior Analyst, Classification
• Adelaide Correia, Senior Analyst, Classification
• Mary Rowat, Senior Analyst, Qualification Standards
• John Park, Negotiator, Compensation and Labour Relations

For Managers to Use with Employees
New Law Practitioner Group

• In 2006, a review was conducted of the work and responsibilities of the Law (LA) Group. These types of classification reviews are conducted periodically by the Treasury Board Secretariat as part of its mandate.
• The review was conducted in close collaboration with senior managers from the Department of Justice and those of the Public Prosecution Services of Canada, and validated with management of other government organizations.
• This review identified two distinct streams of work: one for management and the other for practitioners.
• As a result, Treasury Board Secretariat designed two new classification standards—a Law Management (LC) Standard for positions with managerial responsibilities and a Law Practitioner (LP) Standard for positions performing legal work without having managerial responsibilities.
• In 2011, LA positions with management responsibilities were converted to Law Management (LC).
• All remaining LA positions, those without managerial responsibilities, i.e. without financial or staffing delegation, are now being converted to LP using the new LP Classification Standard.
• The Law Practitioner (LP) Classification Standard comes into effect on January 6, 2014.
• Employees will be provided with a letter informing them of the new group and level of their position, and of their classification grievance rights.
• What is important for employees to know is that:
  • The bargaining agent remains the same.
  • The current LA collective agreement will apply to all LP positions.
  • The new LP classification structure is aligned with the LA pay structure, which means that an employee’s salary remains the same unless his or her duties have changed.
• By restructuring the LA Group, the Government is improving the way it organizes and values legal work.

New Law Practitioner Group

Issue: The restructure of the Law (LA) Group resulted in two new classification standards, one for managers and another for practitioners. The new Law Practitioner (LP) Classification Standard comes into effect January 6, 2014.

Questions and Answers