Archived - Policy Statement – Area of Selection

Policy Statement

An area of selection provides reasonable access to internal and external appointments and a reasonable area of recourse for internal non-advertised appointments.

A national area of selection is established for all advertised external appointment processes.

• This requirement does not apply to processes:
  • for part-time student appointments;
  • for appointments for a specified period of six months or less except full-time student appointments;
  • run subsequent to an initial, unproductive student appointment process which used a national area of selection;
  • for the re-appointment of a student in a student employment program;
  • to employ persons not ordinarily required to work more than one third of the normal period for persons doing similar work;
  • for employees performing duties of a seasonal nature;
  • that are limited to members of designated Employment Equity groups;
  • for which an exception has been approved by the Public Service Commission on a case-by-case basis.

Policy Objective

To ensure that an area of selection:

• respects the core and guiding values while providing flexibility, efficiency and cost-effectiveness;
• provides for a reasonable pool of potential candidates;
• when established for an external appointment process, enhances access to persons who reflect a myriad of backgrounds, skills and professions needed to serve Canadians in their official language of choice; and
• when established for an internal non-advertised appointment process, provides meaningful access to recourse.

Application

The policy applies to all advertised internal and external appointment processes and to all non-advertised internal appointment processes in accordance with the PSEA. It does not apply to incumbent-based processes.

The requirement for the establishment of national areas of selection only applies to advertised external appointment processes.

Policy Requirements

In addition to being accountable for respecting the policy statement, deputy heads must:

• establish and communicate an organizational policy that complies with the Commission's policy on area of selection. This policy must, at a minimum, contain provisions to ensure that:
  • where an area of selection is limited to one or more designated groups, it is supported by the organization's employment equity plan or human resources plan; and
  • Veterans Affairs headquarters employees and National Energy Board (NEB) employees (employed in NEB prior to July 1, 1996), whose substantive positions are located in Charlottetown and Calgary respectively are included in any internal advertised appointment process open to employees or persons occupying positions in the NCR.

Other Requirements

Deputy heads must respect:

• the Employment Equity Act, in terms of achieving and maintaining a representative organization; and
• the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Agreement on Internal Tradeand the Social Union Framework Agreement, in terms of the mobility provisions.