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Position Elimination

Policy Statement

Permanent employees whose positions are eliminated by the Employer will receive notification of termination of employment or pay in lieu of notice, as well as severance pay if eligible. These permanent employees will be eligible to apply for internal competitions for a period of 2 years following the date of notification that their employment is terminated due to position elimination. When positions to which permanent employees have been temporarily assigned are eliminated, employees will return to their permanent positions.

Application

This policy applies to permanent management and non-management/non-bargaining employees. Bargaining unit employees should consult their collective agreement.

Definitions

Continuous Service:
unbroken service within a Government department or within an agency from which an employee has transferred pension credits and other benefits.

Notice Period:
number of weeks notice of termination of employment given to an employee based on age and years of continuous service, and calculated in accordance with the Notice Period Table.

Pay in Lieu of Notice:
payment made to employees, based on age and years of continuous service, where it is decided that the employee should leave the workplace rather than work during the notice period.

Permanent Employee:
employees who have completed the probationary period and are employed to hold office without reference to any specified date of termination of service.

Position Elimination:
employer-initiated elimination of a position as approved by Treasury Board.

Severance Pay:
one week of pay for each year of service, up to a maximum of 20 weeks, for employees who have completed 9 or more years of continuous service.

Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of Departments and Agencies to:

• plan ahead for their staffing needs;
• identify positions that are surplus to their needs and are to be eliminated;
• obtain Treasury Board approval to eliminate positions; and
• notify employees in writing that their employment is terminated due to position elimination, the effective date of the termination, the period of notice for which they are eligible and the severance pay (if any) for which they are eligible.

Notice of Position Elimination

Departments will give written notice of termination of employment to employees whose positions have been eliminated in accordance with the Notice Period Table. The number of weeks of notice commences as of the date of the letter which notifies the employee that their position has been eliminated. During the notice period, the employee will continue to access all employment benefits and accumulate pension credits while in receipt of salary. At the end of this notice period, the employee may be eligible to receive:

• severance pay; and
• pay for unused paid leave, annual leave, travel time or overtime.

Pay in Lieu of Notice

Departments may seek approval from Treasury Board to give employees, whose employment is terminated due to position elimination, pay in lieu of notice in accordance with the Notice Period Table.

Employees may choose to receive the pay in lieu of notice as a lump sum payment or as salary continuance in which they receive the pay in lieu of notice in bi-weekly cheques during the notice period. Regardless of whether the employee opts for a lump sum payment or salary continuance for pay in lieu of working notice, he/she is entitled to the equivalent compensation and benefits as if he/she had worked through the notice period, including the following:

1. pension credits;
2. salary;
3. paid leave; and
4. entitlement for health insurance benefits up to the end of the notice period.

The employee is entitled to receive any salary, paid leave, overtime pay and severance pay accrued up to the end of the notice period. Coverage for health insurance benefits ceases when the period of notice expires. It is the employee’s responsibility to make alternate arrangements for these benefits.

Eligibility for Internal Competition

Employees whose employment is terminated due to position elimination under this policy will be eligible to apply, as internal candidates, for internal competitions within Government for a period of 2 years following the date of the notice to terminate employment.

Re-Employment

Employees who receive a lump sum payment (in lieu of notice), and who are subsequently re-employed in any capacity in the public service before the expiry of the pay in lieu of notice period, will be required to pay back that portion of the notice period and severance which overlaps with their return to work.

Departments will recover the actual net dollar amount owed by the rehired employee for the period that overlaps with the period of re-employment.

The repayment period will not exceed the number of weeks for which the employee was originally given pay in lieu of notice. The interest rate to be charged on repayments will be that which is set, from time to time, by the Department of Finance.

Notice Period Table (in weeks)

	Age (years)
Continuous Service (years)	<35	35 - 39	40 - 44	45 - 49	50 - 54	>54
< 6 months	2	4	6	8	10	12
>= 6 months - < 1 year	4	6	8	10	12	14
>= 1 year - < 2 years	7	9	11	13	15	17
>= 2 years - < 4 years	11	13	15	17	19	21
>= 4 years - < 6 years	15	17	19	21	23	25
>= 6 years - < 8 years	19	21	23	25	27	29
>= 8 years - < 10 years	23	25	27	29	31	33
>= 10 years - < 12 years	27	29	31	33	35	37
>= 12 years - < 14 years	31	33	35	37	39	41
>= 14 years - < 16 years	35	37	39	41	43	45
>= 16 years - < 18 years	39	41	43	45	47	49
>= 18 years - < 20 years	43	45	47	49	51	53
>= 20 years - < 22 years	47	49	51	53	55	57
>= 22 years	52	54	56	58	60	62

Reference: TBM2009-321, TBM2012-059
Last Updated: March 1, 2012