A Workforce Adjustment (WFA) situation arises when a deputy head determines that the services of one or more indeterminate employees will no longer be required beyond a specific date. This may result from a lack of work, the discontinuance of a function, a relocation where the employee chooses not to move, or an alternative delivery initiative. These situations are governed by the National Joint Council (NJC) Workforce Adjustment Directive (referred to as the “WFAD” or “Directive”).
The key elements of the WFAD are depicted in Appendix D of the Directive.
WFA applies to indeterminate employees who are informed in writing that their services may no longer be required for one of the reasons outlined in the WFAD. This includes lack of work, the discontinuation of a function, a relocation the employee does not accept, or an alternative delivery initiative.
Below, please find key terms relating to WFA as defined in the NJC Directive:
“Affected employee (employé touché) – is an indeterminate employee who has been informed in writing that his or her services may no longer be required because of a work force adjustment situation.
Guarantee of a reasonable job offer (garantie d’une offre d'emploi raisonnable) – is a guarantee of an offer of indeterminate employment within the core public administration provided by the deputy head to an indeterminate employee who is affected by work force adjustment. Deputy heads will be expected to provide a guarantee of a reasonable job offer to those affected employees for whom they know or can predict employment availability in the core public administration. Surplus employees in receipt of this guarantee will not have access to the options available in Part VI of this Directive.
Reasonable job offer (offre d'emploi raisonnable) – is an offer of indeterminate employment within the core public administration, normally at an equivalent level. Surplus employees must be both trainable and mobile. Where practicable, a reasonable job offer shall be within the employee's headquarters as defined in the Travel Directive. In alternative delivery situations, a reasonable offer is one that meets the criteria set out in Type 1 and Type 2 of Part VII of this Directive. A reasonable job offer is also an offer from a FAA Schedule V employer, providing that:
- The appointment is at a rate of pay and an attainable salary maximum not less than the employee’s current salary and attainable maximum that would be in effect on the date of offer;
- It is a seamless transfer of all employee benefits including recognition of years of service for the definition of continuous employment and accrual of benefits, including the transfer of sick leave credits, severance pay and accumulated vacation leave credits.
Work force adjustment (réaménagement des effectifs) – is a situation that occurs when a deputy head decides that the services of one or more indeterminate employees will no longer be required beyond a specified date because of a lack of work, the discontinuance of a function, a relocation in which the employee does not wish to relocate or an alternative delivery initiative.”
1 National Joint Council, Work Force Adjustment Directive, Definitions
According to the Work Force Adjustment Directive, a “work force adjustment” is defined as “a situation that occurs when a deputy head decides that the services of one or more indeterminate employees will no longer be required beyond a specified date because of a lack of work, the discontinuance of a function, a relocation in which the employee does not wish to relocate or an alternative delivery initiative.”
For a SNAPSHOT on the process, see Appendix D to the Directive outlining a summary of the Key Elements of the WFAD.
A Work Force Adjustment applies to indeterminate employees upon being informed in writing that his or her services may no longer be required beyond a specified date. See Appendix D outlining a summary of the Key Elements of the WFAD.
The Work Force Adjustment Directive does not apply to term employees, whose contracts are expected to terminate at the end of their term, unless otherwise renewed.
You may be the subject of the Work Force Adjustment Directive. In other words, you may receive notice from your department regarding possible workforce adjustment while you are on official leave, provided that you have not been on leave for a period in excess of one year or where your position has not been permanently backfilled.
Seniority may be a relevant consideration however it is up to the deputy heads to establish the criteria being used.
Article 34 of the collective agreement requires the employer to make every reasonable effort to ensure that any reduction in the work force is accomplished through attrition.
For information on the merit criteria used, please refer to the Public Service Commission´s Guidance Series: Selecting Employees for Retention or Layoff.
Generally, disputes relating to the hiring and laying off of public servants fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act (“PSEA”). As staffing policies are not subject to collective bargaining, your available remedies may be limited to the PSEA, which provides for limited recourse in the case of certain predefined types of complaints. More specifically, section 65(1) of the PSEA states:
“Where some but not all of the employees in a part of an organization are informed by the deputy head that they will be laid off, any employee selected for lay-off may make a complaint to the Tribunal, in the manner and within the time fixed by the Tribunal´s regulations, that his or her selection constituted an abuse of authority.” (Emphasis added.)
Section 65(2) of the PSEA prevents complaints against the actual decision to layoff employees, the determination of the part of the organization impacted or the number of employees to be laid off from that part.
For more information on the evaluation criteria used in determining who should be laid off, you may consult the Public Service Commission´s Guidance Series: Selecting Employees for Retention or Layoff.
For union advice on whether or not you may have other avenues available to you on account of your particular situation which may bring other collective agreement provisions into play, you may contact the AJC by completing an InTake form outlining your details and forwarding it to admin@ajc-ajj.com .
For official notification obligations relating to employees being declared surplus, consult section 1.1.6. of the WFAD.
For all other notification obligations, see Part II of the WFAD.
See Appendix D Chart outlining the Key Elements of the WFAD, including options.
For more details regarding your options if you declared a surplus and have not received a guarantee of a reasonable job offer, consult Part VI, section 6.4 of the WFAD.
In such instances, you will be placed on surplus priority status when a guaranteed reasonable job offer is made (GRJO) until you receive/accept a reasonable job offer (RJO), are laid off or resign. If a reasonable job offer is extended to you, you may choose to accept or reject the offer. Consequences relating to the acceptance or rejection of job offers are covered under Appendix D outlining the Key Elements of the WFAD, and more specifically covered under Part I of the WFAD.
If for some reason, you refuse a reasonable job offer, you will be placed on lay-off but no sooner than 6 months from the beginning of the surplus period (i.e. the date you were offered a GRJO). You would remain on lay-off priority status (unpaid) for 1 year.
If you refuse a reasonable job offer, you will be laid off, in which case you will be paid until you are laid off.
If you are an opting employee, you will continue to be paid until you are laid off or choose to resign from the Public Service.