Casual Worker
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A casual worker is a person appointed pursuant to section 50 of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) for a period not exceeding 90 working days in one calendar year in any department or agency to which the Public Service Commission has exclusive authority to make appointments; that is, the organizations listed in Schedule I and Schedule IV of the Financial Administration Act (FAA) which form the core public administration, unless excluded by specific acts, regulations, or Orders in Council.
Casual employment is a temporary resourcing option provided to Deputy Heads to meet short-term, unforeseen, and urgent operational needs of the organization.
Authority
Deputy Heads have the authority to appoint any person as a casual worker under section 50 of the PSEA.
Hiring casual workers
Casual workers are not subject to the provisions of the PSEA, except Section 50, and are not considered as employees of their department or agency, nor are they employees of the federal public service as per the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act. However, the Treasury Board Terms and Conditions of Employment policy instruments, as well as the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector, are applicable to casual workers.
The department or agency must issue a letter of offer to the casual worker confirming the period of casual employment, the rate of pay, the group and level as determined by the duties to be performed, hours of work (e.g., full-time, part-time), and the conditions of employment. Casual workers must meet the security requirements, and the other conditions of employment associated with the work to be performed before the casual appointment can take effect.
Language obligations
Moreover, casual workers are expected to meet the official language requirements of the position, or alternative administrative arrangements must be made to ensure the organization meets its official languages obligations. Casual workers are not entitled to the bilingual bonus. The hiring manager is accountable for determining that the casual worker has the language skills required to perform the duties of the position.
Conditions
The hiring manager is also required to ensure that casual workers are hired in a fair and consistent manner, and that the casual worker is qualified and competent to undertake the duties to be performed in the position being staffed.
Casual workers are not eligible to apply to any internal processes. They may apply to external appointment processes and would then be subject to a complete assessment based on merit as established in the PSEA.
Jobs assigned to casual workers do not require a formally classified position. However, organizations are to identify the functions or duties a casual worker is expected to perform and to obtain a fair assessment of the duties for pay purposes.
Considerations
Casual workers are hired for a specified period and can be terminated before the end of the specified period, with or without notice.
They can be hired on a part-time or full-time basis:
- Full-time casual workers work the same number of scheduled hours of work as defined by the relevant collective agreement, but they are not a member of the bargaining unit
- Part-time casual workers work less than the scheduled hours of work as defined by the relevant collective agreement, but they are not a member of the bargaining unit
Any number of hours worked in a day (e.g., full or part-time hours of work) constitutes one full working day for the calculation of the maximum of 90 working days in a calendar year in a department or agency.
There are two exceptions to the maximum period of casual employment, as stated on the PSEA:
- 50.1 The maximum period of employment of casual workers appointed in the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer for the purposes of an election held under that Act or a referendum held under the Referendum Act is 165 working days in one calendar year.
- 50.2 (1) A person may be appointed as a casual worker to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for a period of more than 90 working days in one calendar year in the circumstances prescribed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Casual Employment Regulations.
Leave, pay and termination
Casual workers are not covered by the collective agreements. However, certain portions of the relevant collective agreement apply; for example, overtime and compensation for work on a designated holiday is paid in accordance with the relevant collective agreement, or sick leave credits are granted in accordance with the relevant collective agreement. The Treasury Board Policy on Terms and Conditions of Employment and Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment apply to casual workers.
Leave
Casual workers are not entitled to earn annual leave credits or to vacation leave with pay. Instead, as stated in Part 4 of the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment, casual workers are paid 4 per cent vacation pay on all hours worked, including overtime hours.
Paid sick leave is not granted to casual workers. The casual worker earns sick leave credits, as prescribed in the relevant collective agreement; however, these sick leave credits cannot be granted but remain in the casual worker’s leave account for future use, should they become employees subject to the PSEA. Casual workers are granted bereavement leave for a period of up to 3 consecutive calendar days to include the day of the funeral when a member of the immediate family dies. Such leave is to be without pay in the first 3 months of continuous employment and with pay after the casual worker has completed 3 months of continuous employment.
A delegated manager may grant the casual worker leave without pay. As specified in the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment, such leave is not to be extended beyond the expiry date of the casual employment.
Pay
Casual workers are paid at the minimum rate of the applicable pay scale for the group and level assigned to the requirements of the job, in accordance with the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment (Part 2 of the Appendix, section 2.1). They also can be paid above the minimum as provided for in the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment. According to 2.1.2 of Part 2 of the Appendix to this Directive, the person with the delegated authority has the discretion to appoint a person above the minimum salary only when one of the provided conditions applies.
Casual workers are eligible to receive remuneration for overtime. In addition, acting pay is to be paid to a casual worker who is assigned the duties of a higher classification level on an acting basis for at least the qualifying period specified in the relevant collective agreement. The rate of pay is to be the rate that is nearest to but not less than the rate of pay the person was receiving immediately before the acting appointment.
Termination
Casual workers can be terminated before the end of the specified period, with or without notice. If the termination is a result of a lack of work or discontinuance of a function, the casual worker would receive 2 weeks of pay in lieu of notice.
Pension and benefits
Paying into the pension plan
If a casual worker is hired on a full-time or part-time basis and work
- 12 hours or more per week, and
- for more than 6 months,
they must contribute to the Public Service Pension Plan and the Supplementary Death Benefit.
Important: If a period of casual employment ends before reaching 2 years of continuous service, the casual worker will receive a refund of the amount they paid into the pension plan. This is called a return of contributions.
Retired members returning to work
If a retired member of the federal public service returns as a casual worker for more than 6 months, their monthly pension will stop while they contribute to the pension plan. The indexing of their pension will be recalculated to take into consideration their new retirement date.
Casual workers hired for 6 months or less
If a casual worker is hired for 6 months or less, they do not qualify for coverage under the following plans:
- Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP)
- Public Service Dental Care Plan (PSDCP)
- Disability Insurance Plan (DI)
- Public Service Management Insurance Plan (PSMIP)
If a casual worker works for more than 6 months, they may qualify for benefits.
Casual workers may contact the Pay and Benefits Client Contact Centre or their departmental compensation office for more information.
Executives
Casual workers may be hired in executive positions defined under the Policy on the Management of Executives.
In addition to elements applicable to casual workers under the Policy on People Management and its associated directives, Appendix A of the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment for Executives identifies applicable and non-applicable elements of compensation for executives employed as casual workers.
As per Appendix A, Part 2 of the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment for Executives, executives are not entitled to overtime. As such, executives employed as casual workers are not entitled to payment of overtime or career transition options and are not eligible for performance pay.
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