Horizontal Initiatives - 2017–18 Departmental Results Report - Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
General Information
| Name of horizontal initiative | Employee Wellness Support Program (EWSP), formerly the Workplace Wellness and Productivity Strategy (WPS) |
|---|---|
| Lead department | Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat |
| Federal partner departments |
Employment and Skills Development Canada (ESDC) (Labour Program) Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) Health Canada |
| Non‑federal and non‑governmental partners |
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) |
| Start date of the horizontal initiative | The WPS started in November 2013 and evolved into the EWSP in 2017. |
| End date of the horizontal initiative | The EWSP is funded until the end of 2020–21. EWSP work that started under the WPS is underway, but it is subject to ongoing discussions with key stakeholders, including bargaining agents. |
| Description of the horizontal initiative |
In 2013, funding was approved under the WPS to modernize disability management practices across the federal public service, including developing and implementing, in collaboration with bargaining agents, a new short-term disability plan. In late 2016 and early 2017, in the context of collective bargaining, several bargaining agents signed memoranda of agreement with the employer to create 2 joint task forces to address employee wellness issues, including sick leave and disability. Under these memoranda of agreement, the WPS evolved and became the EWSP. The joint task forces will develop recommendations for consideration in the next round of collective bargaining. The recommendations will include measures to improve employee wellness and better reintegrate employees into the workplace after periods of leave due to illness or injury. The EWSP is an important partnership between bargaining agents and the employer. Given the stage of the work, the federal partner organizations’ participation is not anticipated during the 2018–19 fiscal year. Once negotiations on the EWSP and other wellness measures have been completed, the Secretariat will resume discussions with its partners. |
| Governance structures |
The joint task forces consist of equal numbers of representatives of the bargaining agents and the employer, who are working together to support employee wellness. The discussions are led by 2 joint technical committees, which meet regularly and report to 2 steering committees. The steering committees are co-chaired by the Chief Human Resources Officer of Canada, representing the employer, and by either the President of the PSAC or the President of the PIPSC, representing the bargaining agents. |
| Total federal funding allocated (from start to end date) (dollars) |
The Secretariat, PSPC, ESDC and Health Canada have allocated $25,010,838 in total funding over a 4-year period to carry out a range of activities to modernize the current system of disability and sick leave management. The funding consists of $21,092,649 from the fiscal framework and $3,918,189 from existing departmental reference levels. Funding for the WPS was re-profiled to bring forward unspent amounts from the WPS for previous years. Those amounts are being used to develop and implement a range of wellness measures, including those negotiated with bargaining agents. |
| Total federal planned spending to date (dollars) | Total cumulative federal planned spending on the WPS from its inception to March 31, 2018, is $25,010,838. |
| Total federal actual spending to date (dollars) | Total spending for the WPS from 2013 to March 31, 2018, was $11,766,205. Unused resources have been re-profiled to develop and implement a range of wellness measures, as a result of the various memoranda of agreement concluded during the last round of collective bargaining. |
| Date of last renewal of the horizontal initiative | Not applicable |
| Total federal funding allocated at the last renewal, and source of funding (dollars) | Not applicable |
| Additional federal funding received after the last renewal (dollars) | Not applicable |
| Funding contributed by non‑federal and non‑governmental partners (dollars) | Not applicable |
| Fiscal year of planned completion of next evaluation | 2023–24 |
| Shared outcome of federal partner departments |
Better support for employee wellness, which could include the following:
|
| Performance indicator(s) | Percentage decrease in the length of time off work on long-term disability for mental health issues |
| Target(s) | Target will be included in the 2019–20 Departmental Plan once baseline data has been collected. |
| Data source and frequency of monitoring and reporting |
Data source: SunLife Frequency of monitoring and reporting: Annually |
| Results | 12% increase (2017–18) |
| Expected outcome of non‑federal and non‑governmental partners | Not applicable |
| Name of theme | Not applicable |
| Performance highlights |
Since signing the 2016–17 memoranda of agreement, the Secretariat has renewed relations with the unions on wellness discussions. In 2017–18, 2 concurrent tracks of wellness discussions resumed with the bargaining agents:
The discussions are expected to conclude in 2018–19. |
| Contact information | John Park, Director Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer 219 Laurier Avenue, 8th Floor Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R5 |
Performance information
Note: In 2017–18, the Employee Wellness Support Program was still being developed. As such, partner organizations did not perform program activities during this period and are not reflected in the table below.
| Federal departments | Link to the department’s Program Inventory | Horizontal initiative activities | Total federal allocation (from start to end date) (dollars) | 2017–18 Planned spending (dollars) | 2017–18 Actual spending (dollars) | 2017–18 Expected results | 2017–18 Performance indicators | 2017–18 Targets | Date to achieve target | 2017–18 Actual results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat | Pensions and Benefits | EWSP | 12,779,343 | 1,360,753 | 1,312,741 | Transition to new employee wellness support programs | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Wellness work operating under a new framework Discussions underway with bargaining agents |
| Total for all federal departments | Not applicable | Not applicable | 12,779,343 | 1,360,753 | 1,312,741 | See above | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable | See above |
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