Computer Systems (CS) to Information Technology (IT) Conversion Close-Out Information and Reminders

Effective Date and General Information

The Computer Systems (CS) to Information Technology (IT) conversion came into effect on December 9, 2021.

The Computer Systems occupational group definition, job evaluation standard and qualification standard were rescinded on the conversion effective date and replaced by an IT occupational group definition, job evaluation standard, and qualification standard.

The selected abbreviation in both English and French for the Information Technology Group is “IT”, and this satisfies federal bilingual requirements and emphasizes the responsibilities inherent in the work.

The IT designation is to be used in all HR systems including those for the:

• Public Service Employment Surveys, Jobs.gc.ca.
• Public Service Staffing - Advertisements & Notifications.
• Registration for courses at the Canada School of Public Service.
• Management of priorities, et cetera.

All HR actions with an effective date of December 9, 2021, or later are to be completed using the new IT group.

Vacant CS positions

We are noticing that CS positions are still appearing in the PeopleSoft data. Since CS is no longer a valid group, these vacant CS positions must be converted to IT positions if you intend to staff them in the future. If you do not intend to use these positions, they should be abolished with an effective date of December 9, 2021.

CS Employees on Long-Term Leave

Employees on long-term leave must be sent an Official Personal Notification (OPN) advising them of the conversion of their CS position to IT. The manager should discuss the situation with Labour Relations (LR) to determine what would be the appropriate timing and means of communicating the classification decision to the individual (that is, courier, or other). The manager must also track the date of receipt of the OPN by employees who are on leave.

Classification Action Code “E” - Conversion

As was explained in the instructions with the Systems Implementation Plan that was sent to organizations in October 2021, users were to enter code “E” as the reason code for the classification action in their HR Systems. Code “E” signifies a Treasury Board imposed classification conversion.

Now that all CS positions have been converted to IT, please ensure that your teams are no longer using code “E” in the system.

Official Personal Notification (OPN) - Classification Grievances and Grace Period

In the interest of providing employees and managers with sufficient time to discuss conversion results and resolve issues, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada agreed to a 120-calendar day grace period beginning the day after employees received their OPN.  During this period, managers and employees are encouraged to resolve concerns via informal discussions. The 35-calendar day deadline to present a classification grievance (pursuant to the Directive on Classification Grievances) relating to the employees’ conversion to the IT group will start the day after the end of the grace period.

CS Job Codes

If you have CS job codes that are still active or available for use when processing new HR actions, these should be disactivated and the new IT job codes used instead.

For example, if there are casuals being hired using job codes rather than position numbers, make sure these are linked to IT job codes and not old CS job codes, otherwise the HR and Phoenix pay systems will be receiving invalid CS transactions.

Employee Pay

The changes in classification from CS to IT appeared for the first time on the pay of January 5, 2022. To date, no adverse impacts to employee pay have been noted due to the conversion exercise.  Should employees experience issues with their pay going forward, they should contact their manager and the group within their organization that provides support for resolving pay issues.

Collective Agreement

Although the group definition for the IT group has changed, the bargaining affiliation with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) remains valid.

The current CS collective agreement will apply to all IT positions until a new contract is signed.

Additional Information

A friendly reminder that any organization-specific information and lessons-learned while applying the new IT job evaluation standard (JES) during conversion should be incorporated into your training plans for future classification advisors within your department. This is valuable information and will help to ensure the original intent of the IT JES is maintained across the CPA and over the coming years. 

For all information related to the new IT group, please consult the Occupational groups for the public service website and select the IT group in the filter items field above the occupational group table.

For conversion information, please consult the Classification Renewal (Conversion Initiatives) webpage.