Performance Rating “Unable to Assess” and Lock Step Pay Increments

From Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Date: January 30, 2019

To: Heads of Human Resources, Directors/Chiefs of Labour Relations and Compensation, Public Service Pay Centre, Miramichi

The purpose of this bulletin is to clarify the interpretation of the Law Practitioner (LP) (formerly the Law (LA) Group) collective agreement with regards to lockstep pay increments.

All lawyers in the LP Group bargaining unit, other than lawyers at the LP-04 and LP-05 group and level, are entitled to a lockstep pay increment unless specifically exempted in the collective agreement. For greater certainty, a rating of "Unable to Assess" does not disentitle a lawyer to a lockstep pay increment.

Departments employing lawyers are to inform them that a rating of "Unable to Assess" does not disentitle a lawyer to a lockstep pay increment, unless the lockstep pay increment is excluded elsewhere in the collective agreement.

The entitlement is effective as of the date of conversion to lockstep increments in 2013.

Within six months of the issuance of this Information Bulletin, departments must make reasonable efforts to:

1. identify lawyers in the LP Group bargaining unit who did not receive a lockstep pay increment in accordance with the above terms, and
2. make the necessary pay adjustments for those lawyers.

All questions should be directed to your Departmental Corporate Labour Relations or Corporate Compensation Official who, if required, will direct the questions to the Compensation and Collective Bargaining Management group at the following email address: Interpretations@tbs-sct.gc.ca.

Original signed by

Zia Proulx
Senior Director
Compensation and Collective Bargaining Management
Compensation and Labour Relations
Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer