Frequently Asked Questions: Guide on Priority Entitlements

• 6. How does the PSC ensure that persons with a priority entitlement are considered by hiring organizations?

  The PSC has implemented the Priority Administration Directive to ensure persons with a priority entitlement are considered by organizations. The Directive specifies the roles and responsibilities of the PSC, organizations and persons with a priority entitlement in the administration of priority entitlements.

  The PSC Priority Entitlements Program uses the Priority Information Management System (PIMS) to register, manage and monitor persons with a priority entitlement and identify positions for their consideration.

  The PSC also monitors the results of organizations’ assessment of persons with a priority entitlement and adherence to the requirements of the Directive and guidance materials related to priority entitlements through their actions in PIMS.

• 7. Who can assist persons with a priority entitlement who feel that they are not being supported by the organization?

  Depending on the situation, persons with a priority entitlement may contact their organizations’ human resources personnel, their bargaining agent or their PSC priority entitlements consultant .

• 8. Should an organization appoint or deploy a person with a priority entitlement?

  It is the PSC’s preference that persons with a priority entitlement be appointed, rather than deployed, since priority appointments require clearance. In this way, the Priority Information Management System (PIMS) is informed of the proposed appointment of the person with a priority entitlement. This ensures accurate data is captured in PIMS, resulting in effective management of the person with a priority entitlement’s file and accurate statistical data on Priority Entitlements. As an independent agency reporting to Parliament, the PSC is responsible for providing Parliamentarians and Canadians with accurate and timely information on matters related to the Public Service Employment Act. PIMS is the system of record for the administration of priority entitlements and is the source of statistical data for organizations and the PSC. Accurate and timely input to PIMS is crucial in order for the PSC to fulfill its obligations to Parliamentarians and Canadians.

• 9. What happens if a person with a priority entitlement accepts a specified term position?

  If the specified term period is not subject to conversion under subsection 59(1) of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), or a conversion only becomes possible or is offered after the end of the entitlement period:

  • a person with a priority entitlement who accepts a specified term position will continue to be identified and notified for positions for which they may be qualified until the end of the entitlement period, or until they accept an indeterminate position

  If the specified term period becomes subject to conversion under subsection 59(1) of the PSEA:

  • if the person holds one of the entitlements listed in Question 1 of these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), for specified terms converted to indeterminate under subsection 59(1) of the PSEA, the entitlement will end on the day of the conversion to indeterminate, as the person will have obtained permanent employment in the federal public service
  • if the original entitlement is identified in paragraph 10(1)(b) of the Public Service Employment Regulationsand if the new position is at a lower group and level, the person with a priority entitlement who accepts a conversion may be eligible for a reinstatement priority entitlement as of the day of the conversion to indeterminate
  • if the person with a priority entitlement listed in Question 1 of these FAQs instead requests, without good and sufficient reason, that the specified term continue without conversion to indeterminate despite subsection 59(1) of the PSEA, their priority entitlement will end on the day the request is made

• 10. Does an employee receive remuneration when his position has been backfilled indeterminately while on an approved leave without pay?

  No. When employees are on approved leave without pay and their position has been backfilled indeterminately, they benefit from a return from leave of absence priority entitlement. The entitlement starts on the date the position is backfilled and lasts for the remaining leave, plus one year thereafter. During that year, the employee remains on leave without pay. If the person is not appointed during the entitlement period, he or she ceases to be employed at the end of the priority period (Note: leave is the responsibility of the employer, please consult the TBS policy on Terms and conditions of employment for more details).

• 12. Is the hiring organization required to assess persons with a priority entitlement who self-refer to an anticipatory process, and when?

  Yes, the organization must consider persons with a priority entitlement who self-refer to an anticipatory appointment process. Persons with a priority entitlement must be assessed before other candidates. All assessments of persons with a priority entitlement must be conducted in a timely manner to ensure their entitlements are not jeopardized.

  If the person with a priority entitlement who self-referred meets the essential qualifications and conditions of employment, the organization must request priority clearance through PIMS for their appointment.

Identifying lower-level positions

• 13. Can persons with a priority entitlement be identified for positions at a lower level than their substantive position? What happens if a person with a priority entitlement accepts such a position?

  Generally, the Priority Information Management System (PIMS) identifies persons with a priority entitlement for positions that are equivalent to the group and level of their substantive position. However, if a person with a priority entitlement requests that they be identified for lower-level positions in the interest of improving their chances of finding employment, and with the approval of their home organization, PIMS will identify them for positions one level lower than the group and level of their substantive position.

  If the person with a priority entitlement accepts a position at a lower level, and their type of entitlement is referred to in the Public Service Employment Regulations (PSER) subsection 10(1), they will benefit from a one-year reinstatement priority to assist them in finding a position at the level of their former substantive position, if the lower-level position meets the requirements under PSER subsection 10(3) .

  Surplus and lay-off priorities appointed or deployed to a lower-level position may benefit from salary protection in accordance with the Work Force Adjustment Directive and workforce adjustment appendices to the collective agreements , as well as the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment for Executives.

  These agreements are the responsibility of the Employer (Treasury Board), and all questions about their application and interpretation should be addressed to them. For more information, please consult the Employer’s website.

• 14. When must organizations obtain a priority clearance in the context of an anticipatory staffing process?

  The organization must obtain priority clearance before making an appointment. As the purpose of the anticipatory staffing process is to meet future needs in the organization, and there is typically no vacant position when the process is launched, the organization must obtain a priority clearance when ready to fill a position using this process or its pool of qualified candidates (Please refer to the Guide on Priority Entitlements, section 1.5.1).

• 15. What happens if a person with a priority entitlement who has self-referred qualifies in the context of an anticipatory staffing process?

  The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) and the Public Service Employment Regulations (PSER) set out that a person with a priority entitlement who meets all the essential qualifications of a position must be appointed in priority to all other persons.

  Therefore, when a vacant position is to be filled from an anticipatory advertised appointment process, a person with a priority entitlement who has self-referred and who meets the essential qualifications of the position to be staffed would be considered before other candidates.

  When a manager wants to appoint a person with a priority entitlement who self-referred and qualified in an anticipatory advertised appointment process, the hiring manager must submit a request for priority clearance to the Public Service Commission (PSC) via the Priority Information Management System (PIMS) choosing option B entitled Consideration of a specific person with a priority entitlement. This is required in order to respect the order of precedence of priority entitlements as set out in the PSEA and the PSER. PIMS will search for persons with a priority entitlement, including the person proposed for the appointment. Any persons with a higher priority entitlement who may be identified and interested in the opportunity, must be given priority consideration. For more information, refer to sections 1.5 and 1.9 of the PSC Guide on Priority Entitlements.

• 16. Must an organization consider a person with a priority entitlement who has qualified to be in a pool as a result of an internal advertised (anticipatory) staffing process and who does not hold a substantive position with the federal public service?

  Yes. Area of selection does not apply for persons with a priority entitlement. Only persons with a surviving spouse or common-law partner entitlement have a restriction, in that their entitlement applies only to external advertised processes, and a reinstatement priority entitlement applies only to groups and levels that meet subsection 10 (1.1) of the Public Service Employment Regulations.

  The other entitlements have no restrictions on their application, whether the persons who have the entitlements hold substantive positions or not.

  Persons with a priority entitlement who self-refer to an internal advertised process where there is no intent to staff immediately may, if qualified, be placed in a pool for consideration for the duration of their priority entitlement or until the pool is closed. However, as soon as there is an intent to staff a position, the person with a priority entitlement must be the first person appointed from the pool if they meet the essential qualifications and conditions of employment. If there are both partially and fully qualified individuals in the pool, the person with a priority entitlement cannot be passed over for a fully qualified regular candidate if their assessment has not been completed. Their entitlement rights must still be fully respected, and their assessment and consideration completed ahead of the appointment of others.

  If a person with a priority entitlement applied to the process during the application period, was in the area of selection and their entitlement ended while the process was ongoing, they can continue to be considered in the process as a regular candidate.

• 17. Can an employee whose priority entitlement recently expired, but who had previously self-referred to an appointment process during their entitlement period, be appointed as a person with a priority entitlement?

  No. Persons with a priority entitlement cannot be appointed in priority (i.e. ahead of other regular candidates) if their priority entitlement period has expired. Appointment of persons with a priority entitlement must be made prior to the expiration of their priority entitlement. Technically, they are no longer persons with a priority entitlement, as their priority status ended with the expiration of their priority entitlement. When the priority entitlement of a person expires, this person cannot be appointed as a person with a priority entitlement. If the priority entitlement of the person expires before an appointment is made, the possibility of appointing this person in priority also ends.

  However, the person can still be considered for appointment as a qualified candidate in that appointment process if, when this person applied:

  • They were in the area of selection of the advertised staffing process;
  • They applied within the advertising period; and
  • After assessment, they meet the merit principle (i.e. the person meets the essential qualifications of the position and any asset qualifications, operational requirements or organizational needs that were used to make the appointment decision).

  As the person with a priority entitlement is now considered a regular candidate, the asset qualifications can be considered in order to select the candidate to be proposed for appointment.

• 18. An anticipatory internal advertised process is being run with an area of selection restricted to a division with affected employees. The goal of the process is to appoint one or more of these employees to reduce potential lay-offs. Must persons with a priority entitlement be considered if they self-refer? Will priority clearance be required for the appointment of an affected employee?

  In the context of workforce adjustment, the hiring organization must still obtain a priority clearance through the Priority Information Management System. If the organization can demonstrate to the Public Service Commission (PSC)’s satisfaction that the appointment of a person with a right to be appointed in priority will result in another person having a priority right, the organization can invoke section 43 of the Public Service Employment Act. If the PSC is satisfied, it can decide not to apply the provisions governing priority entitlements. As a result, the hiring manager would not have to consider persons with a priority entitlement.

• 19. How is the priority entitlement order of precedence applied when appointing persons with a priority entitlement?

  The appointment of persons with a priority entitlement must respect the priority entitlements’ order of precedence. The hiring organization can determine the assessment strategy for priority consideration as long as the approach follows the values and provisions of the Public Service Employment Act, the Public Service Employment Regulations and the PSC Appointment Framework. Assessment results and the rationale for the appointment decisions must be clearly communicated to all persons with a priority entitlement identified by PIMS or who have self-referred, as required by section 8.2.5 of the Priority Administration Directive.

• 20. How can the PSC help me apply the priority entitlement order of precedence to efficiently manage priority consideration?

  The PSC’s Priority Information Management System (PIMS) provides a Priority Referrals Management Tool containing the names, contact information and feedback results of all persons with a priority entitlement identified by PIMS. Housed within the Priority Referral Feedback Form in PIMS, the list in Excel is sorted alphabetically by name and by priority type/order of precedence, as established in the PSEA and the PSER.

  PIMS users can also generate an updated list at any time to verify whether any changes to priority entitlement types/order of precedence have occurred since the initial list was sent to the organization, including a person’s change in priority status (e.g., surplus to lay off), as this may have an impact on how entitlements are applied.

  This tool facilitates the tracking of assessment results and respect for the order of precedence of entitlements. It does not replace the need to formally report the feedback results via the Priority Referral Feedback Form in PIMS for all identified persons with a priority entitlement.

• 21. If an organization has an internal priority management system to consider its own priority population, must they consider any other persons with a priority entitlement?

  Yes. Although the Public Service Commission (PSC) strongly encourages organizations to manage their own priority population and to find positions for them within their home organization, the appointment of persons with a priority entitlement still needs to be conducted in a manner that respects the legislated order of precedence for priority entitlements.
  For example, if an organization wishes to appoint one of its own persons with a regulatory priority entitlement, there is still a requirement to consider all persons with a priority entitlement identified by the Priority Information Management System who have a statutory priority entitlement or those who self-referred.
  Specifically, within the statutory priority entitlements, the following order of precedence must be respected prior to considering a regulatory person with a priority entitlement:

  1. Canadian Armed Forces members released for medical reasons attributable to service
  2. Organizational Surplus employees
  3. Leave of Absence returnees and replacements
  4. Persons laid off

• 22. Can an organization create an order of precedence for regulatory persons with a priority entitlement? For example, after considering persons with a statutory priority status in the order of precedence, can an organization consider persons with a priority entitlement from a specific regulatory priority type next?

  No. Although statutory priority entitlements have an order of precedence, there is no similar order for regulatory priority entitlements. Pursuant to paragraph 22(2)(a) of the Public Service Employment Act, the Public Service Commission has the sole authority to establish an order of precedence for regulatory priority entitlements and has chosen not to do so. As such, a hiring organization cannot establish its own order of precedence when considering persons with a regulatory priority entitlement.

• 23. What is the goal of the reinstatement priority entitlement?

  The goal of priority entitlements and the priority entitlements program is for persons with a priority entitlement to find continued employment in positions at their substantive group and level or equivalent. However, this is not always possible. To secure continuity of employment, persons with a priority entitlement  sometimes accept positions that are at a lower level than their former position.

  The purpose of the reinstatement priority entitlement is to provide employees who have accepted an indeterminate lower-level position, as a result of an appointment, deployment or conversion under subsection 59(1) of the Public Service Employment Act, while holding a priority type indicated under Public Service Employment Regulations subsection 10(1), with the opportunity to be reinstated to the level of the position they formerly occupied.

• 24. Who is eligible for the reinstatement priority?

  To be eligible for the reinstatement priority entitlement, an employee must first have been the recipient of another priority type, as indicated in Public Service Employment Regulations (PSER) subsection 10(1):

  • surplus employees
  • leave of absence returnee or replacement
  • persons laid off
  • employees unable to carry out their duties
  • relocation of spouse or common-law partner

  The person with a priority entitlement must also have been appointed or deployed indeterminately, or converted to indeterminate under subsection 59(1) of the Public Service Employment Act, to a position at a lower level in accordance with PSER subsection 10(1.1).

  To ensure consistency in establishing what it means to be appointed to a lower level, the PSER now provides a definition in subsection 10(3). This subsection refers to the criteria set out in Section 1 and 3 of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Definition of Promotion Regulations. While now defined in the PSER, the criteria to determine a lower level have not changed from what was used before the coming into force of PSER subsection 10(3).

  To ensure consistency in establishing what it means to be appointed to a higher level (or what is a promotion), the PSER now provides a definition in subsection 10(4). This subsection refers to the criteria set out in Section 1 and 3 of the Definition of Promotion Regulations. While now defined in the PSER, the criteria to determine a higher level have not changed from what was used before PSER subsection 10(4) came into force.

• 25. Who is responsible for activating the reinstatement priority in PIMS?

  The responsibility for activating the reinstatement priority entitlement in the Priority Information Management System (PIMS) rests with the organization that indeterminately appointed or deployed the person with a priority entitlement, or converted them to indeterminate under subsection 59(1) of the Public Service Employment Act to the lower-level position.

  The hiring organization must send the Public Service Commission the signed letter of offer and activate the entitlement in PIMS.

  The entitlement can only be activated as of the date of appointment, deployment or conversion to the lowerlevel position.

  The supporting documentation must be sent no later than 10 business days following the activation of the reinstatement entitlement in PIMS.

• 26. If an employee is receiving salary protection, does it mean they are entitled to a reinstatement priority entitlement?

  A surplus or laid off person with a priority entitlement, who accepts a position for which the rate of pay is lower than that of their former position, may be entitled to salary protection. However, being in receipt of salary protection does not necessarily mean that the employee is eligible for a reinstatement priority entitlement.

  If the appointment is to a position that, in accordance with subsection 10(3) of the Public Service Employment Regulations and the Definition of Promotion Regulations, is not of a lower level than their former substantive position, there is no eligibility for a reinstatement priority entitlement, even though the employee may be in receipt of salary protection.

• 27. How is eligibility for the reinstatement priority entitlement calculated?

  Eligibility for the reinstatement priority entitlement is calculated based on the salaries in effect in the former and new positions on the date of the indeterminate appointment, deployment or conversion under subsection 59(1) of the Public Service Employment Act, to the new position.

• 28. If an employee is in receipt of salary protection, will they lose salary protection when the reinstatement priority entitlement ends?

  No. Salary protection is independent of the reinstatement priority. It does not end if the reinstatement priority entitlement expires without the employee being appointed to a position at their former group and level or equivalent.

  Questions related to salary protection should be addressed by the organization's Human Resources contact.