Assignments and secondments

On this page

• Assignment
• Secondment
• Eligibility
• Conditions
• Written agreements
• Considerations

Assignment

An assignment is a temporary lateral move of an employee within their department or agency. This resourcing mechanism allows employees to be assigned temporarily to a different position or project at the same group and level (or equivalent) within the same organization for a specific period, where there is no change in pay or terms and conditions of employment.

Employees on assignment perform the functions or duties of the assigned position or take on a special project, while remaining incumbent of their substantive position.

Secondment

A secondment is a temporary lateral move of an employee to another department or agency in the core public administration (Schedule I and IV of the Financial Administration Act), and other organizations for which the Treasury Board is the Employer.

This resourcing mechanism allows employees to be seconded temporarily to a different position for a specified period at the same group and level (or equivalent) outside of their home organization, where there is no change in pay or terms and conditions of employment.

Employees on secondments perform the functions or duties of the seconded position that already exists or take on a project, while remaining incumbent of their substantive position.

Temporary lateral movements that do not meet these criteria are not considered assignments/secondments and may have unintended impacts.  Deputy Heads have a range of staffing options at their disposal and have the authority to select the most appropriate mechanism to fulfill resourcing needs.

Eligibility

Employees for whom the Treasury Board is the Employer (core public administration) are eligible to undertake assignments or secondments. Neither an assignment nor a secondment may change the employee’s employment tenure (e.g., term to indeterminate). 

Conditions

An assignment or secondment cannot result in paying the assigned or seconded employee a salary higher than that obtained in their substantive position. This would be considered an acting appointment under the Public Service Employment Act and the Public Service Employment Regulations.

The employee continues to maintain the terms and conditions attached to their substantive position in the home organization and is paid by the home organization. The assignment or secondment does not constitute an appointment under the Public Service Employment Act. In the case where the employee is assigned or seconded to (or from) an excluded position or a position subject to performance pay, the corporate Human Resources office of the home organization should be consulted.

Written agreements

The assignment or secondment arrangement is covered by a written agreement between the home, the host organization and the employee, which specifies the period of the assignment or secondment, and any conditions. It clarifies that:

• the employee will return to their substantive position at the end of the assignment or secondment
• the employee continues to be paid by their home organization (with cost-recovery from the host organization) 
• the employee continues to be paid at their substantive group and level
• the employee’s career development and progression possibilities are protected by the home organization

Specifically, an assignment or secondment agreement should include the following information:

• Applicable terms and conditions of employment
• Impact on union dues or exclusions
• Impact on performance pay
• Tombstone data
• Start and end dates
• Payment responsibilities for training the employee (especially when the employee signed an agreement to become bilingual), membership fees, etc.
• Duties/tasks to be performed
• Information on performance evaluation and supervisor or manager responsibilities
• Process for approving and tracking periods of leave
• Notice period for changes to the agreement
• Financial codes and contact names for home and host organization
• Host and home organization responsibilities, including information on employee training, Duty to Accommodate, ergonomic equipment, telework arrangements, etc., when applicable
• Information on whether the assignment or secondment could be extended
• Approval signatures
• Any additional documentation that is relevant to the assignment or secondment.

Considerations

An assignment or secondment may be terminated at any time by any of the parties. The mutual consent of all parties involved is required for any change or modification to an assignment or secondment agreement.

The period of assignment or secondment may be extended upon the agreement of all parties. Assignments or secondments should not, however, be continuously extended. The period of assignment or secondment can also be reduced or terminated prior to the initially agreed upon end date by either the employee, home, or host organization.

These are administrative actions that can be leveraged at the manager’s discretion as viable options to meet their short-term staffing needs. As such, they decide whether to approve or refuse an assignment or secondment request.

Persons employed in separate agencies and Crown corporations may use Interchange Canada to be “seconded” to work in an organization for which the Treasury Board is the Employer, and vice versa.