ARCHIVED - Guidelines for Ministers' Offices (2005-09) - Archived

The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) identifies the following job titles for a Minister's or Minister's of State exempt staff: Executive Assistant, Special Assistant, and Private Secretary, however, other job titles exist for exempt staff. The Exempt Staff Position Structure is available in Appendix A. Ministers and Ministers of State have the flexibility of configuring the complement of exempt staff in their own offices.

A Minister may use the following positions and salary ranges:

• Chief of Staff (up to the maximum rate of pay for the EX-4 level);
• Senior Policy Advisor (up to the maximum rate of pay for the EX-2 level);
• Director of Communications (up to the maximum rate of pay for the EX-2 level);
• Director of Parliamentary Affairs (up to the maximum rate of pay for the EX-2 level);
• Policy Advisor (up to the maximum rate of pay for the AS-8 level);
• Senior Special Assistant (up to the maximum rate of pay for the AS-7 level);
• Special Assistant for Communications, Parliamentary Affairs, and Regional Offices (up to the maximum rate of pay for the AS-5 level).

A Minister of State may use the following positions and salary ranges:

• Chief of Staff (up to the maximum rate of pay for the EX-2 level);
• Senior Special Assistant (up to the maximum rate of pay for the AS-7 level);
• Special Assistant (up to the maximum rate of pay for the AS-5 level); and
• Support Staff (up to the maximum rate of pay for the CR-5 level).

A Minister or a Minister of State must respect the following conditions:

• There is a maximum of one Chief of Staff for any Minister's or Minister's of State Office;
• they must observe rules regarding position titles and respective salary range maxima; and
• while the number of exempt staff may vary, depending upon salaries paid, they must never exceed the budget for exempt staff salaries without prior Treasury Board approval.

The following exempt staff are specific to Ministers' Regional Offices (MRO's) and are additional to the exempt staff complement of only Regional Ministers. Regional exempt staff, unlike other exempt staff, which have the Offices of Ministers and Ministers of State as their work location, have the MRO's as their work location.

• Regional Affairs Director (up to the maximum rate of pay for the EX-1 level);
• Regional Communications Advisor (up to the maximum rate of pay for the IS-5 level);
• Special Assistant Regional Affairs (up to the maximum rate of pay for the AS-5).

The Regional Minister has the flexibility to configure their own regional exempt staff complement using existing approved salary ranges for exempt staff, however, they must observe rules regarding position titles and respective salary range maxima.

Ministers who have Parliamentary Secretaries within their portfolio are authorized to hire one exempt staff dedicated to support the Parliamentary Secretary. The Parliamentary Secretary's Assistant can be paid up to the maximum rate of pay of the Public Service AS-5 level

A member of a Minister's or Minister's of State exempt staff ceases to be so employed 30 calendar days after the Minister or the Minister of State ceases to be a Minister or a Minister of State of a given portfolio unless, within that 30-day period:

• the Minister or the Minister of State appoints that person to his or her new portfolio;
• the person is appointed to the exempt staff of another Minister or Minister of State; or

if entitled, the person is appointed by the Public Service Commission to a position in the Public Service.

• When exempt staff remain in the employ of the same Minister or Minister of State, either in the original or a new portfolio, they do not receive severance pay, separation pay, or a salary extension for 30 calendar days because their employment does not terminate.
• The Minister or the Minister of State may grant a salary increase for a promotion to a higher level of responsibility as defined in the Exempt Staff Position Structure (see Appendix A). Otherwise, the fact that there has been a change in Cabinet does not provide sufficient justification for salary increases for exempt staff. Therefore there should be no salary increases.
• Cashing out accumulated annual leave credits is at the discretion of the Minister or the Minister of State and is to be done according to the applicable terms and conditions of employment.

If another Minister or Minister of State employs exempt staff within the 30 calendar days:

• they will continue to receive the same rate of pay if appointed to the same exempt staff position;
• they may receive a salary increase only on promotion to a more senior exempt staff position (ref. Exempt Staff Position Structure, Appendix A);
• they do not receive severance, separation pay or a salary extension for 30 calendar days because their employment does not terminate; and
• cashing out accumulated annual leave credits is at the discretion of the Minister or the Minister of State. (Reference section 3.5.1).

• they are entitled to receive severance pay calculated at the rate of two weeks' pay for each year of service as exempt staff, pro-rated with respect to part of a year's service. There is no minimum period of employment to receive severance.
• they may be entitled to separation pay which is a discretionary payment made only by the Minister or the Minister of State. Refer to section 3.7.2 for further details.

Ministers and Ministers of State are encouraged to make decisions as soon as possible within the 30 calendar days after their new appointment or their termination of office to retain or to release exempt staff members. If exempt staff are hired only after the 30 calendar days:

• they retain the full amount of any severance pay received;
• they must reimburse a proportionate amount of any separation pay if re-hired or engaged under contract, either directly or hired by or engaged under contract with a government contractor, during the period the payment covers (e.g., if paid four months separation pay and hired two months after her or his Minister or Minister of State left or changed portfolio, the exempt staff member would have to repay two months separation pay).

When contracting for professional or temporary help services, the additional requirements and obligations found at part 7 of these Guidelines must also be met. Neither professional services contracts nor contracts for temporary help are employment contracts. No employer-employee relationship can be created when entering into such a contract (see section 7.2 for more information).

A Minister or a Minister of State has discretionary authority to use the services of any member of the exempt staff on public business outside the National Capital Region. The salary or fee for that person is chargeable to the Minister's or Minister's of State exempt staff budget.

When there is more than one Minister or Minister of State within the portfolio, the services of the exempt staff in the administrative support categories should be pooled as much as possible.

Exempt staff members' names and the positions they hold are not considered as confidential and could be released under any Access to Information request.

For information on Conflict of Interest issues, please see section 1.1.1 of this document.

For information on Security issues for employees, please see section 2.2 of this document.

These are the maximum permissible salaries for the following positions. These maximums are effective as shown:

NOTE: All salaries set by a Minister or a Minister of State for their exempt staff will be deemed to include compensation for overtime.

Ministers and Ministers of State may pay exempt staff any salary up to the permitted maximum, as authorized by the Treasury Board, and may authorize increases up to the maximum rate. However, an exempt staff member should not be paid the maximum salary unless it can be fully justified by his or her experience and qualifications.

In exceptional circumstances, a Minister or a Minister of State may, with the prior approval of the Treasury Board, pay an exempt staff member a salary above the permitted maximum. A Minister or a Minister of State and the President of the Treasury Board should first discuss all requests for salaries above the permitted maximum.

The Treasury Board may authorize other exceptions to these guidelines in special circumstances. A Minister or a Minister of State and the President of the Treasury Board should discuss all such requests first.

Only a Minister or a Minister of State has the discretionary authority to award or withhold salary increases.

Provided funds are available in the exempt staff budget, a Minister or a Minister of State may authorize salary increases as follows:

• for those exempt staff members whose salaries are below the permissible maximum, a Minister or a Minister of State may increase their salaries as required, usually not more often than once a year until the maximum is reached;
• for those exempt staff members whose salaries are at the permissible maximum, a Minister or a Minister of State may not increase their salaries without the Treasury Board's approval;

for those exempt staff members whose salaries have been approved by the Treasury Board above the permissible maximum, a Minister or a Minister of State may increase their salaries by no more than the most recent percentage increase authorized for the corresponding Public Service group and level. A Minister or a Minister of State may not authorize such increases before the anniversary date of the exempt staff member's appointment or last increase, whichever is later, unless Treasury Board approval is obtained.

A Minister or a Minister of State may authorize acting pay when an exempt staff member temporarily performs the duties of a higher position. To qualify for acting pay, exempt staff members must continuously perform the temporary duties for a minimum of 10 consecutive working days.

The scheduled work week is usually 37 1/2 hours from Monday to Friday inclusive, and the scheduled work day is usually 7 1/2 hours.

For information on transportation allowances for exempt staff overtime, please see section 6.8 of this document.

Exempt staff are not eligible for overtime pay. Instead, when exempt staff members must work overtime hours, or when they work or travel on a day of rest or on a holiday, they may be granted management leave (leave with pay). This leave is granted as a Minister or a Minister of State considers appropriate with the appropriate documentation. Management leave should be granted as soon as possible after the period that justifies it, and should not exceed the overtime hours worked or spent in travel. In no circumstances shall management leave be granted after an election has been called or as compensation for election activities.

An exempt staff member who works overtime extending beyond the normal meal period, or works at least three hours on a day of rest or on a designated holiday, may be reimbursed based on receipts, for one or more meals (depending upon the number of meal periods occurring in the overtime period) in accordance with the amounts prescribed in the Treasury Board Travel Directive, or with the meal rate negotiated for equivalent groups and levels under collective bargaining of the Program and Administration Services Group (PA).

Rates for meals are updated regularly, consult Departmental Financial Services for current rates.

• Employment Insurance plan;
• Provincial health insurance plans; and
• Canada/Quebec pensions plans.

• Public Service Superannuation Plan;
• Supplementary death benefit (Part II of the Public Service Superannuation Act);
• Long-term disability (LTD) insurance (part of the Public Service Management Insurance Plan); and
• Public Service Dental Care Plan.

• The following components of the Public Service Management Insurance Plan:
  • basic life insurance equal to twice the adjusted annual salary;
  • accidental death and dismemberment insurance of $250,000; and
  • dependants' insurance.
• the following components of the Public Service Health Care Plan:
  • single or family extended health care coverage; and
  • hospital benefit, level III.

• Public Service Health Care Plan (Extended Health Provision plus Hospital Level I Government paid; Optional Hospital Levels II and III member paid).
• the following components of the Public Service Management Insurance Plan:
  • basic and supplementary life insurance, both equal to the adjusted annual salary;
  • accidental death and dismemberment insurance up to $250,000; and
• dependants' insurance.

The following component of the Public Service Management Insurance Plan: an additional supplementary life insurance equal to the adjusted annual salary.

Vacation leave entitlements

Determination of leave entitlements is in accordance with section 3.5 above with the exception that service for the accumulation of vacation leave under this clause will include employment with any government department as defined in the Financial Administration Act: (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/F-11/index.html) if severance has not been issued upon termination of such employment. Vacation entitlements are as follows:

A Minister or a Minister of State may authorize an advance payment of the estimated net salary for vacations of two or more complete weeks if this is requested in writing at least six weeks before the last pay day before the vacation begins.

When exempt staff are recalled from vacation leave, they shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, as the Treasury Board normally defines them, incurred in travelling to the place of duty and back to the place where they were vacationing, if they resume the vacation immediately. They must submit expense accounts with receipts. When the Minister or the Minister of State cancels or alters vacation leave that was previously approved, the employee shall be reimbursed for any reasonable monetary penalty incurred in cancelling reservations.

If a person on the Minister's or Minister's of State exempt staff ceases to be employed or dies, the person or the estate shall be paid for any earned but unused vacation leave, except management leave, according to the following formula:

(days of unused vacation) X (daily pay rate on the day service ends)

In the event of the termination of employment for reasons other than death, a change in government, or when the Minister or the Minister of State ceases to be a Minister or a Minister of State, unearned vacation leave taken by the employee will be recovered from any monies owed upon termination.

Exempt staff may cash out any or all of their vacation leave at any time during the year with the approval of their Minister or Minister of State.

The following are designated paid holidays:

• New Year's Day;
• Good Friday;
• Easter Monday;
• the day fixed by proclamation by the Governor in Council for celebration of the Sovereign's birthday;
• Canada Day;
• Labour Day;
• the day fixed by proclamation of the Governor in Council as a general day of Thanksgiving;
• Remembrance Day;
• Christmas Day;
• Boxing Day; and
• one additional day that is recognised as a provincial or civic holiday in the area where the person on a Minister's or Minister's of State exempt staff is employed, or the first Monday in August in any area where no such day is recognised as a provincial or civic holiday.

Ministers' or Ministers' of State exempt staff are not entitled to designated paid holidays if they are on leave without pay on the full working day immediately before and the full working day immediately after a designated paid holiday.

A member of a Minister's or Minister's of State exempt staff is not required to resign or request leave without pay in order to seek nomination as a candidate for a federal, provincial or territorial election, including by-elections, provided that the nomination takes place before the writs are issued.

Once the writs¹ are issued, however, any exempt staff member who is already nominated, or who seeks to be nominated, as a candidate for an election must resign or be granted leave without pay, at the Minister's or Minister's of State discretion. This resignation or leave without pay should take effect, at the latest, the day before the exempt staff member accepts in writing the official nomination²  as an election candidate.

After the writs are issued or once Parliament or any provincial legislature or territorial council is dissolved, the exempt staff member should avoid declaring or having himself or herself declared by others to be a candidate before he or she has resigned or started the leave without pay.

Should a member of the Minister's or Minister's of State exempt staff decide to become actively involved on a full time basis in a federal, provincial or territorial election or by-election, the member is required to take leave without pay or resign their position. If a member becomes engaged in campaign activities on a part-time basis, their involvement must be on their own time and not during regular office hours. No vacation leave or any other leave with pay will be permitted for election purposes.

Any period of leave without pay will not count as service toward qualifying for priority staffing under the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA). If the member of the exempt staff did not qualify for priority staffing prior to going on leave without pay, any period of leave without pay will have to be made up later to meet the PSEA's qualifying criteria.

A Minister or a Minister of State may grant leave of absence with pay, for a period no longer than two weeks, when the place of work has been rendered uninhabitable and the employee cannot perform his or her duties until an alternative place has been found, or when the employee is required or urgently needed to help with a community emergency.

Employees have a right to severance pay when they end their services voluntarily, are dismissed, die, or are laid off owing to lack of work or discontinuance of a function. Severance pay stays the same, whatever the circumstances of termination, that is, the amounts will be the same for resignation, death, dismissal, lay-off and retirement.

When a person on a Minister's or Minister's of State exempt staff ceases to be employed, severance pay is calculated at the rate of two weeks' pay (based on salary at termination) for each year of service. "Service" for this purpose, refers to service as an exempt staff member only. Calculations are pro-rated in respect of part of a year's service. There is no ceiling on the maximum number of weeks to be paid.

Severance payments are to be funded centrally, through Treasury Board Vote 5, as required.

For severance purposes, in certain cases Ministers and Ministers of State may recognise (or "transfer-in") an exempt staff member's previous service with a Member of Parliament staff or in the Public Service, as described in the Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA). The exempt staff member must have gone directly from this service to the Minister's or Minister's of State office (in other words, there must not have been a break in service of more than three months). Furthermore, the exempt staff member must not have received severance payment from the House of Commons or from the previous Public Service employer. If the exempt staff member wants to transfer in previous service, he or she must obtain approval in writing from the Minister or the Minister of State at the time of hiring. The exempt staff member then sends a copy of this approval to the department's pay office and another copy to the House of Commons or to the previous employer. Upon termination of employment, an exempt staff member's severance pay for service as a Member of Parliament's (MP) staff member or in the Public Service will be one week's pay per completed year of service (based on the salary at termination of employment as an exempt staff member) as long as the exempt staff member, with the combined service of the previous employer and service with the Minister or the Minister of State, has fulfilled the requirements of the previous employer to receive severance pay.

Note:

For those exempt staff members in their 30-day period, starting November 4, 1993, and who transferred into a Minister's office from an MP's office or the Public Service (as defined in the PSSA) immediately prior to April 1, 1987 (i.e., without a break in service of more than three months) and who did not receive severance pay for their service from the House of Commons or their previous Public Service employer, departments are advised that for severance purposes, this previous service as a member of an MP's staff or in the Public Service (as defined in the PSSA) is deemed to have been transferred in with the employee. Severance for this previous service will be calculated at one week's pay per completed year of service as an MP's staff member, at the final salary at termination of employment as an exempt staff. The regular severance pay provisions for their service as exempt staff members will also apply.

Separation pay may be paid at the discretion of the Minister or the Minister of State when the employee's services are ended. This pay is intended to compensate for possible loss of earnings resulting from an often unpredictable and, at times, abrupt termination of employment.

A Minister or a Minister of State may authorize separation pay when

• the Minister or the Minister of State dismisses a person on the exempt staff without notice;
• the Minister or the Minister of State ceases to be a Minister or a Minister of State;
• the Minister or the Minister of State changes portfolios or responsibilities and does not retain the employee's services; or
• a person on the exempt staff resigns, retires, is laid off or dies.

To compensate for possible loss of earnings, Ministers or Ministers of State may, at their discretion, authorize a maximum of up to six months' separation pay for those exempt staff members subject to Part III of the Conflict of Interest and, Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders (see section 1.1.1). A maximum of up to four months' separation pay applies in all other cases.

While a Minister or a Minister of State may authorize separation pay up to the maximums set out above, separation pay of one month per year of service is considered reasonable.

Separation pay is not paid when the member of the exempt staff has been granted leave without pay from the Public Service to work in the Minister's or Minister's of State office. In this case, the person remains an employee in the department that granted the leave without pay, and any subsequent termination benefit would be the responsibility of that department.

Separation payments are to be funded through departmental operating budgets and not charged to the Minister's or Minister's of State exempt staff budget or operating budget.

If a person who has received separation pay works in or for another Minister's or Minister's of State office or any federal institution during the period covered by his or her separation pay, whether compensated directly as employee or contractor, or indirectly, as an employee or sub-contractor of a contractor, the separation pay is to be refunded proportionately. This provision averts a duplication of payments out of government funds (i.e. the Consolidated Revenue Fund). Refer to government Estimates and appropriations documents to determine organizations funded through the Consolidated Revenue Fund at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/estime.asp.

When a Minister or a Minister of State ceases to be a Minister or a Minister of State, or changes portfolio and does not take a member of the exempt staff to the new portfolio, affected employees continue to draw salary for 30 calendar days, in accordance with paragraph 39(2) of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA). Where a Minister or a Minister of State authorizes separation pay, the payment begins at the end of this 30-day period. When Ministers and Ministers of State cease to hold office due to a cabinet shuffle or a general election, members of their exempt staff who are not rehired by a Minister or by a Minister of State or in the Public Service, are to be deemed to have been laid off at the end of the 30-day period for the purposes of the Public Service Health Care Plan and the Public Service Dental Plan.

A member of the exempt staff shall be paid according to the following formula for vacation leave that is earned but unused:

(days of unused vacation) X (daily pay rate on the day service ends)

Management leave may not be counted as earned vacation leave.

The Ministers' exempt staff priority entitlement is provided for in the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), section 39. The entitlement lasts for one-year from the date on which the priority person ceases to be employed in the Minister's office, which is either:

• 30 days after the Minister ceases to hold a portfolio; or
• the day on which the priority person ceases to be employed in the Minister's office;
• whichever comes first.

The priority entitlement applies to the Minister's exempt staff, hired to conduct activities related to the Minister's portfolio. The priority applies to someone who:

• Was an employee immediately before becoming employed in the office of the Minister (PSEA (39)(3)(a)); or
• While employed in the office of a Minister, qualified for appointment to the Public Service under this Act (open competition process) (PSEA (39)(3)(b)); or
• Was employed for at least three consecutive years in the office of a Minister or Ministers, in certain capacities successively (PSEA (39)(4)). Please refer to Appendix E for details.

The Ministers' exempt staff priority entitlement also applies to exempt staff employed in the office of:

• Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons;
• Leader of the Government in the Senate;
• Leader of the Opposition in the Senate; and
• Ministers of State.

For additional information see Appendix E of this document. Please note that information provided in this Appendix is taken directly from the Public Service Commission's Guide to Ministers' Exempt Staff Priority, which is revised, as needed, independently from this document. An electronic version of the guide can be obtained at http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/priority-priorite/index_e.htm. Please check the revised date on both documents to ensure that you have the most recent version of the guide.

A Minister or a Minister of State may authorize up to $5,000 to cover fees for professional outplacement services for a member of his or her exempt staff whose employment has been ended. An exempt staff member whose employment has been terminated should register with an outplacement firm within 30 days of the termination date, or in the 30 days after a Minister or a Minister of State ceases to be a Minister or a Minister of State. This should be done within these time frames, even if services may be rendered at a later date. However, in all cases, services must be rendered within one-year of the termination date.

Outplacement services usually provide such information as: how to prepare a résumé, how to prepare for an interview, and how to present yourself at an interview. Costs for training or skill improvement, such as computer literacy or language courses, are not included.

Typically, the outplacement firm enters into a signed agreement with the member of the exempt staff that stipulates what services will be rendered. Invoices are to be sent to the Departmental Financial Services Unit. The cost of outplacement services is charged to the Minister's or Minister's of State operating budget.