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APPENDIX "B"

WORK FORCE ADJUSTMENT

Table of Contents

• General
  • Application
  • Collective agreement
  • Objectives
  • **Definitions
  • Authorities
  • Monitoring
  • **References
  • Enquiries
• Part I Roles and responsibilities
  • 1.1 Departments
  • 1.2 The Treasury Board Secretariat
  • 1.3 The Public Service Commission
  • 1.4 Employees
• Part II Official notification
  • 2.1 Department
  • 2.2 Treasury Board Secretariat
• Part III Relocation of a work unit
  • 3.1 General
• Part IV Retraining
  • 4.1 General
  • 4.2 Surplus employees
  • 4.3 Laid-off persons
• Part V Salary protection
  • 5.1 Lower-level position
• Part VI Options for employees
  • 6.1 General
  • 6.2 Alternation
  • **6.3 Options
  • **6.4 Retention payment
• Part VII Special provisions regarding alternative delivery initiatives
  • Preamble
  • ** 7.1 Definitions
  • 7.2 General
  • 7.3 Responsibilities
  • 7.4 Notice of alternative delivery initiatives
  • 7.5 Job offers from new employers
  • 7.6 Application of other provisions of the appendix
  • 7.7 Lump-sum payments and salary top-up allowances
  • ** 7.8 Reimbursement
  • 7.9 Vacation leave credits and severance pay
• Annex A - Statement of pension principles
• Annex B

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General

Application

This appendix applies to all employees. Unless explicitly specified, the provisions contained in Parts I to VI do not apply to alternative delivery initiatives.

Collective agreement

With the exception of those provisions for which the Public Service Commission (PSC) is responsible, this Appendix is part of this Agreement.

Notwithstanding the Job Security Article, in the event of conflict between the present Work Force Adjustment Appendix and that article, the present Work Force Adjustment Appendix will take precedence.

Objectives

It is the policy of the Employer to maximise employment opportunities for indeterminate employees affected by work force adjustment situations, primarily through ensuring that, wherever possible, alternative employment opportunities are provided to them. This should not be construed as the continuation of a specific position or job but rather as continued employment.

To this end, every indeterminate employee whose services will no longer be required because of a work force adjustment situation and for whom the deputy head knows or can predict employment availability will receive a guarantee of a reasonable job offer within the public service. Those employees for whom the deputy head cannot provide the guarantee will have access to transitional employment arrangements (as per Part VI and VII).

Definitions

Accelerated lay-off

(mise en disponibilité accélérée) - occurs when a surplus employee makes a request to the deputy head, in writing, to be laid off at an earlier date than that originally scheduled, and the deputy head concurs. Lay-off entitlements begin on the actual date of lay-off.

Affected employee

(employé-e 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.

Alternation

(échange de postes) - occurs when an opting employee (not a surplus employee) who wishes to remain in the public service exchanges positions with a non-affected employee (the alternate) willing to leave the public service with a Transition Support Measure or with an Education Allowance.

Alternative delivery initiative

(diversification des modes de prestation des services) - is the transfer of any work, undertaking or business of the public service to any body or corporation that is a separate Employer or that is outside the public service.

Appointing department

(ministère d'accueil) - is a department or agency which has agreed to appoint or consider for appointment (either immediately or after retraining) a surplus or a laid-off person.

Deputy head

(administrateur général) - has the same meaning as in the definition of "Deputy Head" set out in section 2 of the Public Service Employment Act, and also means his or her official designate.

Education Allowance

(indemnité d'études) - is one of the options provided to an indeterminate employee affected by normal work force adjustment for whom the deputy head cannot guarantee a reasonable job offer. The Education Allowance is a cash payment, equivalent to the Transitional Support Measure (see Annex B), plus a reimbursement of tuition from a recognised learning institution, book and mandatory equipment costs, up to a maximum of seven thousand dollars ($7,000.00).

Guarantee of a reasonable job offer

(garantie d'une offre d'emploi raisonnable) - is a guarantee of an offer of indeterminate employment within the public service 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 public service. Surplus employees in receipt of this guarantee will not have access to the Options available in Part VI of this appendix.

Home department

(ministère d'attache) - is a department or agency declaring an individual employee surplus.

Laid off person

(personne mise en disponibilité) - is a person who has been laid off pursuant to PSEA 64(1) and who still retains a reappointment priority under PSEA 41(4) and 64.

Lay-off notice

(avis de mise en disponibilité) - is a written notice of lay-off to be given to a surplus employee at least one month before the scheduled lay-off date. This period is included in the surplus period.

Lay-off priority

(priorité de mise en disponibilité) - a person who has been laid off is entitled to a priority for appointment without competition or appeal to a position in the public service for which, in the opinion of the PSC, they are qualified. This priority is accorded for one year following the lay-off date, pursuant to subsection 41(5) of the Public Service Employment Act, or following the termination date, pursuant to paragraphs 41(4), 44 and 46 of the Public Service Employment Act.

Opting employee

(employé-e optant) - is an indeterminate employee whose services will no longer be required because of a work force adjustment situation and who has not received a guarantee of a reasonable job offer from the deputy head and who has ninety (90) days to consider the Options of Part 6.3 of this appendix.

Pay

(rémunération) - has the same meaning as "rate of pay" in this Agreement.

Priority administration system

(système d'administration des priorités) - is a system designed by the PSC to facilitate appointments of individuals entitled to statutory and regulatory priorities.

Public Service

(fonction publique) - means the several positions in or under any department, agency, or other portion of the public service of Canada specified in Schedule I, Part I of the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA), for which the PSC has the sole authority to appoint.

Reasonable job offer

(offre d'emploi raisonnable) - is an offer of indeterminate employment within the public service, normally at an equivalent level but could include lower levels. 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 appendix.

Reinstatement priority

(priorité de réintégration) - is an appointment priority accorded by the PSC, pursuant to the Public Service Employment Regulations, to certain individuals salary-protected under this appendix for the purpose of assisting such persons to re-attain an appointment level equivalent to that from which they were declared surplus.

Relocation

(réinstallation) - is the authorised geographic move of a surplus employee or laid-off person from one place of duty to another place of duty, beyond what, according to local custom, is a normal commuting distance.

Relocation of work unit

(réinstallation d'une unité de travail) - is the authorised move of a work unit of any size to a place of duty beyond what, according to local custom, is normal commuting distance from the former work location and from the employee's current residence.

Retraining

(recyclage) - is on-the-job training or other training intended to enable affected employees, surplus employees and laid-off persons to qualify for known or anticipated vacancies within the public service.

Surplus employee

(employé-e excédentaire) - is an indeterminate employee who has been formally declared surplus, in writing, by his or her deputy head.

Surplus priority

(priorité d'employé-e excédentaire) - is an entitlement for a priority in appointment accorded by the PSC, pursuant to the Public Service Employment Regulations, to surplus employees to permit them to be appointed to other positions in the public service without competition or right of appeal.

Surplus status

(statut d'employé-e excédentaire) - An indeterminate employee is in surplus status from the date he or she is declared surplus until the date of lay-off, until he or she is indeterminately appointed to another position, until his or her surplus status is rescinded, or until the person resigns.

Transition Support Measure

(mesure de soutien à la transition) - is one of the options provided to an opting employee for whom the deputy head cannot guarantee a reasonable job offer. The Transition Support Measure is a cash payment based on the employee's years of service in the public service, as per Annex B.

Twelve-month surplus priority period in which to secure a reasonable job offer

(Priorité d'employé-e excédentaire d'une durée de douze mois pour trouver une offre d'emploi raisonnable) - is one of the options provided to an opting employee for whom the deputy head cannot guarantee a reasonable job offer.

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.

Authorities

The PSC has endorsed those portions of this appendix for which it has responsibility.

Monitoring

Departments shall retain central information on all cases occurring under this appendix, including the reasons for the action; the number, occupational groups and levels of employees concerned; the dates of notice given; the number of employees placed without retraining; the number of employees retrained (including number of salary months used in such training); the levels of positions to which employees are appointed and the cost of any salary protection; and the number, types, and amounts of lump sums paid to employees.

This information will be used by the Treasury Board Secretariat to carry out its periodic audits.

References

The primary references for the subject of Work Force Adjustment are as follows:

• Canada Labour Code, Part I.
• **
  Financial Administration Act, section 12.3(1).
• Pay Rate Selection (Treasury Board Manual, Pay administration volume, chapter 3).
• Policy on termination of Employment in Alternative Delivery Situations (Treasury Board Manual, Human Resources Volume, Chapter 1-13)
• **
  Public Service Employment Act, section 40, 41, 46 and 64.
• **
  Public Service Employment Regulations, sections 3-12 and 21.
• **
  Public Service Labour Relations Act, sections 80 to 93.
• Public Service Superannuation Act, section 40.1.
• Relocation Directive (Treasury Board Manual, Employee Services Volume, Chapter 3-1).
• Travel Directive (Treasury Board Manual, Employee Services Volume, Chapter 1-1).

Enquiries

Enquiries about this appendix should be referred to the Bargaining Agent, or the responsible officers in departmental headquarters.

Responsible officers in departmental headquarters may, in turn, direct questions regarding the application of this appendix to the Human Resources Management Group, Human Resources Branch, Treasury Board Secretariat.

Enquiries by employees pertaining to entitlements to a priority in appointment or to their status in relation to the priority appointment process should be directed to their departmental human resource advisors or to the regional and district offices of the PSC responsible for their case. Responsible officers in departmental headquarters seeking interpretations and guidance may contact the Employment Equity and Priority Administration Division of the Recruitment Programs and Priority Administration Directorate, Resourcing and Learning Branch, Public Service Commission Canada.

Part I
Roles and responsibilities

1.1 Departments

1.1.1 Since indeterminate employees who are affected by work force adjustment situations are not themselves responsible for such situations, it is the responsibility of departments to ensure that they are treated equitably and, whenever possible, given every reasonable opportunity to continue their careers as public service employees.

1.1.2 Departments shall carry out effective human resource planning to minimise the impact of work force adjustment situations on indeterminate employees, on the department, and on the public service.

1.1.3 Departments shall establish work force adjustment committees, where appropriate, to manage the work force adjustment situations within the department.

1.1.4 Departments shall, as the home department, cooperate with the PSC and appointing departments in joint efforts to redeploy or retrain for redeployment to appointing departments departmental surplus employees and laid-off persons.

1.1.5 Departments shall establish systems to facilitate redeployment or retraining of the department's affected employees, surplus employees, and laid-off persons.

1.1.6 When a deputy head determines that the services of an employee are no longer required beyond a specified date due to lack of work or discontinuance of a function, the deputy head shall advise the employee, in writing, that his or her services will no longer be required.

Such a communication shall also indicate if the employee:

• is being provided a guarantee of a reasonable job offer from the deputy head and that the employee will be in surplus status from that date on,
  or
• is an opting employee and has access to the Options of Section 6.3 of this appendix because the employee is not in receipt of a guarantee of a reasonable job offer from the deputy head.

Where applicable, the communication should also provide the information relative to the employee's possible lay-off date.

1.1.7 Deputy heads will be expected to provide a guarantee of a reasonable job offer for those employees subject to work force adjustment for whom they know or can predict employment availability in the public service.

1.1.8 Where a deputy head cannot provide a guarantee of a reasonable job offer, the deputy head will provide ninety (90) days to consider the three (3) Options outlined in Part VI of this appendix to all opting employees before a decision is required of them. If the employee fails to select an option, the employee will be deemed to have selected Option (a), Twelve (12)-month surplus priority period in which to secure a reasonable job offer.

1.1.9 The deputy head shall make a determination to either provide a guarantee of a reasonable job offer or access to the Options set out in 6.3 of this appendix, upon request of any indeterminate affected employee who can demonstrate that his or her duties have already ceased to exist.

1.1.10 Departments shall send written notice to the PSC of the employee's surplus status, and shall send to the PSC such details, forms, resumes, and other material as the PSC may from time to time prescribe as necessary for it to discharge its function.

1.1.11 Departments shall advise and consult with the Bargaining Agent representatives as completely as possible regarding any work force adjustment situation as soon as possible after the decision has been made and throughout the process and will make available to the Bargaining Agent the name and work location of affected employees.

1.1.12 The home department shall recommend in writing to the PSC whether the employee is suitable for appointment. Where an employee is not considered suitable for appointment, the department shall advise the employee and the Bargaining Agent of that recommendation. The department shall send to the employee a copy of the written communication to the Public Service Commission, indicating the reasons for the recommendation together with any enclosures. The department shall also advise the employee that he or she may make oral or written submissions about the matter to the Public Service Commission before the PSC makes its decision. Where the Public Service Commission does not accept the department's recommendation, the department shall provide the surplus period required under this appendix, beginning on the date the department is advised of the decision. The department shall so advise the employee.

1.1.13 The home department shall provide the PSC with a statement that it would be prepared to appoint the surplus employee to a suitable position in the department commensurate with his or her qualifications, if such a position were available.

1.1.14 Departments shall provide that employee with the official notification that he or she has become subject to a work force adjustment and shall remind them that Appendix "E" on Work Force Adjustment of this Agreement applies.

1.1.15 Deputy heads shall apply this appendix so as to keep actual involuntary lay-offs to a minimum, and lay-offs shall normally only occur where an individual has refused a reasonable job offer, or is not mobile, or cannot be retrained within two years, or is laid-off at his or her own request.

1.1.16 Departments are responsible to counsel and advise their affected employees on their opportunities of finding continuing employment in the public service.

1.1.17 Appointment of surplus employees to alternative positions, whether with or without retraining, shall normally be at a level equivalent to that previously held by the employee, but this does not preclude appointment to a lower level. Departments shall avoid appointment to a lower level except where all other avenues have been exhausted.

1.1.18 Home departments shall appoint as many of their own surplus employees or laid-off persons as possible, or identify alternative positions (both actual and anticipated) for which individuals can be retrained.

1.1.19 Home departments shall relocate surplus employees and laid-off individuals, if necessary.

1.1.20 Relocation of surplus employees or laid-off persons shall be undertaken when the individuals indicate that they are willing to relocate and relocation will enable their redeployment or reappointment, providing that:

• there are no available priority persons, or priority persons with a higher priority, qualified and interested in the position being filled;
  or
• no available local surplus employees or laid-off persons who are interested and who could qualify with retraining.

1.1.21 The cost of travelling to interviews for possible appointments and of relocation to the new location shall be borne by the employee's home department. Such cost shall be consistent with the Travel and Relocation directives.

1.1.22 For the purposes of the Relocation directive, surplus employees and laid-off persons who relocate under this appendix shall be deemed to be employees on Employer-requested relocations. The general rule on minimum distances for relocation applies.

1.1.23 For the purposes of the Travel directive, laid-off persons travelling to interviews for possible reappointment to public service are deemed to be "other persons travelling on government business".

1.1.24 For the priority period, home departments shall pay the salary costs, and other authorised costs such as tuition, travel, relocation, and retraining for surplus employees and laid-off persons, as provided for in this Agreement and the various directives; all authorised costs of termination; and salary protection upon lower-level appointment, unless the appointing department is willing to absorb these costs in whole or in part.

1.1.25 Where a surplus employee is appointed by another department to a term position, the home department is responsible for the costs above for one year from the date of such appointment, after which the appointing department becomes the new home department.

1.1.26 Departments shall protect the indeterminate status and surplus priority of a surplus indeterminate employee appointed to a term position under this appendix.

1.1.27 Departments shall inform the PSC in a timely fashion of the results of all referrals made to them under this appendix, whether such referrals are for immediate appointment, for retraining designed to qualify individuals for appointment, or for anticipated vacancies.

1.1.28 Departments shall review the use of private temporary agency personnel, employees appointed for a specified period (terms) and all other non-indeterminate employees. Where practicable, departments shall not re-engage such temporary agency personnel nor renew the employment of such employees referred to above where such action would facilitate the appointment of surplus employees or laid-off persons.

1.1.29 Nothing in the foregoing shall restrict the Employer's right to engage or appoint persons to meet short-term, non-recurring requirements. Surplus and laid-off persons shall be given priority even for these short-term work opportunities.

1.1.30 Departments may lay off an employee at a date earlier than originally scheduled when the surplus employee requests them to do so in writing.

1.1.31 Departments, acting as appointing departments, shall cooperate with the PSC and other departments in accepting, to the extent possible, affected, surplus and laid-off persons, from other departments for appointment or retraining.

1.1.32 Departments shall provide surplus employees with a lay-off notice at least one (1) month before the proposed lay-off date, if appointment efforts have been unsuccessful.

1.1.33 When a surplus employee refuses a reasonable job offer, he or she shall be subject to lay-off one month after the refusal, however not before six (6) months after the surplus declaration date.

1.1.34 Departments are to presume that each employee wishes to be redeployed unless the employee indicates the contrary in writing.

1.1.35 Departments shall inform and counsel affected and surplus employees as early and as completely as possible and shall, in addition, assign a counsellor to each opting and surplus employee and laid-off person to work with them throughout the process. Such counselling is to include explanations and assistance concerning:

1. the work force adjustment situation and its effect on that individual;
2. the work force adjustment appendix;
3. the PSC's Priority Administration System and how it works from the employee's perspective (referrals, interviews or "boards", feedback to the employee, follow-up by the PSC, how the employee can obtain job information and prepare for an interview, etc.);
4. preparation of a curriculum vitae or resume;
5. preparation for an interview with the PSC;
6. the employee's rights and obligations;
7. the employee's current situation (e.g. pay, benefits such as severance pay and superannuation, classification, language rights, years of service);
8. alternatives that might be available to the employee (alternation, appointment, relocation, retraining, lower-level employment, term employment, retirement including possibility of waiver of penalty if entitled to an annual allowance, Transition Support Measure, Education Allowance, pay in lieu of unfulfilled surplus period, resignation, accelerated lay-off);
9. the likelihood that the employee will be successfully appointed;
10. the meaning of a guarantee of reasonable job offer, a Twelve-month surplus priority period in which to secure a reasonable job offer, a Transition Support Measure, an Education Allowance;
11. the Human Resources Centres and their services (including a recommendation that the employee register with the nearest office as soon as possible);
12. preparation for interviews with prospective Employers;
13. repeat counselling as long as the individual is entitled to a staffing priority and has not been appointed;
    and
14. advising the employee that refusal of a reasonable job offer will jeopardize both chances for retraining and overall employment continuity.

1.1.36 Home departments shall ensure that, when it is required to facilitate appointment, a retraining plan is prepared and agreed to in writing by themselves, the employee and the appointing department.

1.1.37 Severance pay and other benefits flowing from other clauses in this Agreement are separate from, and in addition to, those in this appendix.

1.1.38 Any surplus employee who resigns under this appendix shall be deemed, for the purposes of severance pay and retroactive remuneration, to be involuntarily laid off on the day as of which the deputy head accepts in writing the employee's resignation.

1.2 The Treasury Board Secretariat

1.2.1 It is the responsibility of the Treasury Board Secretariat to:

1. investigate and seek to resolve situations referred by the PSC or other parties,
   and
2. consider departmental requests for retraining resources.

1.3 The Public Service Commission

1.3.1 The PSC shall establish and modify staffing policies and procedures to ensure the most effective and efficient means of maximizing the redeployment of surplus employees and the appointment of laid-off persons to positions in the public service.

1.3.2 The PSC shall temporarily restrict or suspend any authority delegated to deputy heads to make appointments in specified occupational groups when such action is necessary.

1.3.3 The PSC shall actively market surplus employees and laid-off persons to all departments unless the individuals have advised the PSC in writing that they are not available for appointment.

1.3.4 The PSC shall advise the Treasury Board Secretariat when departments fail to comply in good faith with this appendix and/or to cooperate with the PSC in redeployment, retraining, or appointment activities.

1.3.5 The PSC shall determine, to the extent possible, the occupations in which there are skill shortages for which surplus employees or laid-off persons could be retrained, and advise departments accordingly.

1.3.6 The PSC shall provide surplus and laid-off individuals with counselling on their work force adjustment situation and its impact on them during their priority entitlement.

1.3.7 The PSC shall provide information directly to the Bargaining Agent on the numbers and status of their members who are in the Priority Administration System and, on a service-wide basis, through reports to the Bargaining Agent.

1.3.8 The Public Service Commission shall decide whether employees are suitable for appointment. Where a deputy head recommends that an employee is not suitable, the PSC shall, after considering such a recommendation, and representations of the employee or his or her representative, advise the deputy head, the employee, and his or her representative of its decision whether the employee is entitled to surplus and lay-off priority and the reasons for the decision. The PSC shall also inform the Bargaining Agent of its decision.

1.3.9 The PSC shall, wherever possible, ensure that reinstatement priority is given to all employees who are subject to salary protection.

1.3.10 While the responsibility for retraining lies with the home department, the PSC is responsible for making the appropriate referrals and may recommend retraining where it would facilitate appointment, and the appointing department is responsible for considering retraining the individual and for justifying a decision not to retrain.

1.3.11 The PSC shall inform, in a routine and timely manner, a surplus employee or laid-off person, his or her home department and a representative of the Bargaining Agent, when he or she has been referred to a department for consideration but will not be offered the position. The PSC shall include full details of why he or she will not be appointed to or retrained for that position.

1.4 Employees

1.4.1 Employees have the right to be represented by the Bargaining Agent in the application of this appendix.

1.4.2 Employees who are directly affected by work force adjustment situations and who receive a guarantee of a reasonable job offer, or who opt, or are deemed to have opted, for Option a) of Part VI of this appendix are responsible for:

1. actively seeking alternative employment in co-operation with their departments and the PSC, unless they have advised the department and the PSC, in writing, that they are not available for appointment;
2. seeking information about their entitlements and obligations;
3. providing timely information to the home department and to the PSC to assist them in their appointment activities (including curriculum vitae or resumes);
4. ensuring that they can be easily contacted by the PSC and appointing departments, and attending appointments related to referrals;
5. seriously considering job opportunities presented to them (referrals within the home department, referrals from the PSC, and job offers made by departments), including retraining and relocation possibilities, specified period appointments and lower-level appointments.

1.4.3 Opting employees are responsible for:

1. considering the Options of Part VI of this appendix;
2. communicating their choice of Options, in writing, to their manager no later than ninety (90) days after being declared opting.

Part II
Official notification

2.1 Department

2.1.1 In any work force adjustment situation which is likely to involve ten or more indeterminate employees covered by this appendix, the department concerned shall notify the Director, Human Resources Management Group, Human Resources Management Division, Human Resources Branch, Treasury Board Secretariat, in confidence, at the earliest possible date and under no circumstances less than ninety-six (96) hours before the situation is announced. The department shall send a copy of the advice to the Director General, Recruitment Programs and Priority Administration Directorate, Resourcing and Learning Branch, Public Service Commission.

2.2 Treasury Board Secretariat

2.2.1 Upon notification by the department concerned in 2.1 above, and under no circumstances less than fourty-eight (48) hours before the situation is announced, the Director, Human Resources Management Group, Human Resources Branch, Treasury Board Secretariat shall inform, in writing and in confidence, the chief executive officer of the Bargaining Agent. This information is to include the identity and location of the work unit(s) involved; the expected date of the announcement; the anticipated timing of the situation; and the numbers of employees, by group and level, who will be affected.

Part III
Relocation of a work unit

3.1 General

3.1.1 In cases where a work unit is to be relocated, departments shall provide all employees whose positions are to be relocated with the opportunity to choose whether they wish to move with the position or be treated as if they were subject to a work force adjustment situation.

3.1.2 Following written notification, employees must indicate, within a period of six months, their intention to move. If the employee's intention is not to move with the relocated position, the Deputy head can either provide the employee with a guarantee of a reasonable job offer or access to the Options set out in section 6.3 of this appendix.

3.1.3 Employees relocating with their work units shall be treated in accordance with the provisions of 1.1.19 to 1.1.23.

3.1.4 Although departments will endeavour to respect employee location preferences, nothing precludes the department from offering the relocated position to employees in receipt of a guarantee of a reasonable job offer from their deputy heads, after having spent as much time as operations permit looking for a reasonable job offer in the employee's location preference area.

3.1.5 Employees who are not in receipt of a guarantee of a reasonable job offer shall become opting employees and have access to the Options set out in Part VI of this appendix.

Part IV
Retraining

4.1 General

4.1.1 To facilitate the redeployment of affected employees, surplus employees, and laid-off persons, departments shall make every reasonable effort to retrain such persons for:

1. existing vacancies,
   or
2. anticipated vacancies identified by management.

4.1.2 The PSC and departments shall be responsible for identifying situations where retraining can facilitate the appointment of surplus employees and laid-off persons, and shall cooperate in such efforts.

4.1.3 Subject to the provisions of 4.1.2, the deputy head of the home department shall approve up to two years of retraining, unless retraining costs cannot be absorbed, in which case the prior approval of the Treasury Board Secretariat is required following review of a retraining plan by the PSC.

4.2 Surplus employees

4.2.1 A surplus employee is eligible for retraining providing:

1. retraining is needed to facilitate the appointment of the individual to a specific vacant position or will enable the individual to qualify for anticipated vacancies in occupations or locations where there is a shortage of qualified candidates;
   and
2. there are no other available priority persons who qualify for the position.

4.2.2 The home department is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate retraining plan is prepared and is agreed to in writing by the employee and the delegated officers of the home and appointing departments.

4.2.3 Once a retraining plan has been initiated, its continuation and completion are subject to satisfactory performance by the employee.

4.2.4 While on retraining, a surplus employee continues to be employed by the home department and is entitled to be paid in accordance with his or her current appointment, unless the appointing department is willing to appoint the employee indeterminately, conditional on successful completion of retraining, in which case the retraining plan shall be included in the letter of offer.

4.2.5 When a retraining plan has been approved and the surplus employee continues to be employed by the home department, the proposed lay-off date shall be extended to the end of the retraining period, subject to 4.2.3.

4.2.6 An employee unsuccessful in retraining may be laid off at the end of the surplus period, provided that the Employer has been unsuccessful in making the employee a reasonable job offer.

4.3 Laid-off persons

4.3.1 A laid-off person shall be eligible for retraining, with the approval of the PSC, providing:

1. retraining is needed to facilitate the appointment of the individual to a specific vacant position;
2. the individual meets the minimum requirements set out in the relevant Selection Standard for appointment to the group concerned;
3. there are no other available persons with a priority who qualify for the position;
   and
4. the appointing department cannot justify a decision not to retrain the individual.

4.3.2 When an individual is offered an appointment conditional on successful completion of retraining, a retraining plan reviewed by the PSC shall be included in the letter of offer. If the individual accepts the conditional offer, he or she will be appointed on an indeterminate basis to the full level of the position after having successfully completed training and being assessed as qualified for the position. When an individual accepts an appointment to a position with a lower maximum rate of pay than the position from which he or she was laid-off, the employee will be salary protected in accordance with Part V.

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