Civilian classification

Civilian employees at the Department of National Defence (DND) are public servants who are governed by the Public Service Employment Act. Employees of the staff of the Non-Public Funds, which is a separate agency listed under Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act, are not defined as civilian employees of DND.

A job description is a document approved by the responsible manager which describes the work requirements of a position or a job. A job description contains all the information needed to evaluate the work using the appropriate job evaluation standard. A job evaluation standard is an instrument that describes the factors, elements, and other criteria used to establish the relative value of work for an occupational group.

For more information on job descriptions, review the Directive on Classification and Job Descriptions (accessible only on the Human Resources-Civilian (HR-Civ) Intranet). If you are unable to access the Intranet, contact your manager or our office for assistance.

All positions in the public service are classified in a way that is intended to reflect their relative value accurately and consistently. Positions that have similar characteristics form occupational groups, and levels of compensation within those groups depend on factors such as intellectual or physical effort, sustained attention, essential knowledge, responsibility for money or other assets, or working conditions including possible health risks.

Classification is not based on an individual’s performance. Rather, it results from detailed analysis of what it takes to do a job properly, and how this compares with the characteristics of other public service positions. In this way, the classification system can contribute to achieving fairness in compensation for people who do work of similar overall value.

For more information on classification, such as who can classify a position, when does a classification change and how are positions classified, review our Helpful Information.

The Director Civilian Classification and Organization (DCCO) has service standards (accessible only on the Human Resources-Civilian (HR-Civ) Intranet) to ensure that classification activities are processed within a reasonable timeframe. These service standards are determined by the type of request and the complexity of the review that is required by the DCCO. Each type of classification service has a distinct service standard:

1. Administrative change: five days
   • For example: change to the linguistic profile, security level, create/change to student/casual position.
2. Position management: 20 days
   • For example: create/apply standardized job description, change a reporting relationship, abolish a position, review/update positions using an existing job description.
3. Job evaluation: 60 days
   • For example: create a new position using a unique or modified job description, applying an existing job description or standardized job description which results in reclassification.

When new classification requests are submitted by a manager, they are received by the DCCO’s E-Class team. If the request relates to an administrative change, it will be processed by E-Class. If the request relates to position management or job evaluation actions, E-Class will relay these cases to the Fast Track team or the Centre of Expertise, respectively.

In cases where information is missing from a request, the file is returned to the manager for action and the request is put on hold until the required information is provided. The calculation of service standards does not include this period.

Once a classification action has been completed, DCCO will advise the manager. The manager is then responsible for notifying the employees occupying the position of the classification decision.

The Directorate Civilian Classification and Organization (DCCO) launched a Three-year Cyclical Plan (accessible only on the Human Resources-Civilian (HR-Civ) Intranet) in July 2017. The Plan commits DCCO to engage with all departmental organizations within the Department of National Defence in order to review their organizational structures on a recurring and holistic basis. The first three-year cycle is scheduled to take place over the course of 2017-2020.

During the implementation of the Three-year Cyclical Plan, DCCO has identified that there is no capacity to process non-urgent/non-priority actions. As a result, these routine cases are generally placed on hold by DCCO or remain pending until the departmental organization becomes due for its review.

Exceptions exist where requests can be processed if there is a need to act on urgent classification requests that fall outside of the Three-year Cyclical Plan’s schedule. Prioritization is given to cases where there is a need for immediate staffing, pending retirement, or a classification request resulting from a labour relations grievance. However, this prioritization can only occur if the classification officer is made aware of the circumstances by either a manager or labour relations officer.

Standardized job descriptions are similar to other job descriptions. However, they are designed to encompass a large number of positions where employees carry out the same work in the same organizational context, but in different parts of a department.

The Directorate of Civilian Classification and Organization within the Department of National Defence evaluates the use and appropriateness of standardized job descriptions as well as ensures that job descriptions remain current. However, managers are still required to regularly review standardized job descriptions linked to positions under their purview to ensure they match the work performed by their employees.

For more information on standardized job descriptions review our office’s Helpful Information and the Directive on Classification.

If you believe that your job description does not reflect accurately the duties you are assigned, you should engage with your manager to discuss your concerns. If your manager agrees, they will review your duties and submit a request to Director Civilian Classification and Organization (DCCO) to have either a new and unique job description or a standardized job description applied to your position.

If you remain unsatisfied with the decision rendered on your job description, you can submit a labour relations grievance. The time limit to submit a labour relations grievance is determined by the employee’s collective agreement. The outcome of a labour relations grievance may result in a job description being sent to DCCO for review.

For more information about labour relations grievances, review the Defence Administrative Orders and Directives 5026-0 – Civilian Grievances.

A position’s classification can only change when there has been a significant and permanent change in its main functions. If the work being done is significantly different from what is described in the last evaluated job description, the job description needs to be reviewed and amended.

Step 1: If you believe that your job description does not reflect accurately the duties you are assigned, you should contact your manager to discuss your concerns. If your manager agrees, they will prepare a written job description. This description must identify the main purpose of the work performed by the position and list the key activities involved in doing that work. Where possible, managers are encouraged to select an existing standardized job description rather create a unique one. For more information on standardized job descriptions, review our office’s Helpful Information and the Directive on Classification.

Step 2: In order to prepare a written job description, your manager must consider the value of the position within its organizational context. This involves looking at where the position fits within the reporting structure of its section, directorate, division, or even within the Department of National Defence as a whole.

Step 3: Once a job description has been written or selected and the organizational importance of a position has been determined, the results are submitted to the Directorate Civilian Classification and Organization (DCCO) for evaluation. This process requires the DCCO to assess the work performed in a position against classification standards for the position’s occupational group. A classification committee may be required to review the decision, including in situations where a reclassification is proposed or when the job description applies to multiple positions. Once the evaluation is complete, DCCO will classify the position and the manager will ensure that employees occupying the position are notified about the classification decision. DCCO’s review may result in the reclassification of a position.

For more information on the classification review, visit the Helpful information section of our office’s website or review Classification De-Classified (accessible only on the Human Resources-Civilian (HR-Civ) Intranet). If you are unable to access the Intranet, contact your manager or our office for assistance.

Directorate Civilian Classification and Organization (DCCO) is responsible for the administration of classification for the Department of National Defence. Following a classification decision being rendered on your position, DCCO will advise the manager of the outcome. Then the manager will ensure that you are notified of the classification decision.

Step 1: If you are not satisfied with the decision, as a first step you should ask your manager for clarification. If necessary, your manager can follow up with DCCO for additional information.

Step 2: Should you remain unsatisfied with the decision rendered on a classification request for your position, you can file a classification grievance. A classification grievance is a formal written complaint filed by a civilian employee in objection to a classification decision made on the position the employee holds. Employees have 35 days from the date of the classification decision (or when they are made aware of it) to present their grievance. The grievances are presented either through the employee’s union representative or directly to their manager.

Step 3: Classification grievance decisions are final and binding. As such, if an employee is dissatisfied with the decision, their only recourse is to apply for judicial review at the Federal Court.

For more information on classification grievances, review our office’s Helpful Information and Directive on Classification Grievances.

In accordance with the Treasury Board Secretariat Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment, when a position is reclassified, only employees currently occupying a position are entitled to retroactive salary adjustments for upward reclassifications. However, managerial discretion to award acting pay retroactively to a former employee, including retirees, is permitted on a case-by-case basis. In these cases, managers would have to proactively contact former employees to notify them of the change in the classification of the position they once occupied in order to process the acting pay. If you were previously in a position that has been reclassified, you should contact the current manager of that position to inquire about the effective date of the reclassification and whether you are eligible for acting pay.

Where a classification grievance results in an upward reclassification, an employee is entitled to retroactive salary if they occupied the position the day the classification grievance was filed.