Term Employment Policy: Performance Indicators for Departments and Agencies
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I. Introduction
The Term Employment Policy (TEP) was introduced (between April 1, 2003 and April 1, 2004) on the basis of the recommendations made in the joint study conducted by the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat in August 2002. The objective of the new policy is to balance the fair treatment of term employees with the need for operational flexibility.
In order to provide departments and agencies with a better understanding of the policy and to assist them with the monitoring of their activities, the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada (PSHRMAC) in consultation with an interdepartmental working group has developed performance indicators covering all the major aspects of the policy. We believe that this tool will help departments and agencies to measure regularly, without hindrance, their level of performance in applying the policy. This tool is not intended to provide the PSHRMAC with a means of assessing departments and agencies. Rather, the goal is to provide departments and agencies with a simple and effective method of self-assessment in order to help them meet the objective set by the Treasury Board in the TEP.
We have identified 8 indicators that, together, best express the expected results of the TEP. Each indicator includes a series of statements.
The following statistical data are required to ensure a proper self-assessment:
- Total number of employees
- Number of term employees
- Number of term employees with at least three years of continuous service within the department or agency
- Number of term employees converted after three years of continuous service within the department or agency
- Number of term employees not converted after three years of continuous service within the department or agency, and the reasons why they were not converted
- Number of term employees with at least three years of continuous service whose contracts were not renewed, and the reasons why the contracts were not renewed
- Number of term employees whose contracts were not renewed and who were close to accumulating three years of continuous service, and the reasons why the contracts were not renewed
- Number of term employees assigned to sunset programs whose days of service do not count
- Number of term employees whose days of service do not count owing to workforce adjustment situations
- Number of term employees who are Aboriginal, persons with a disability, Women or are members of a visible minority group. How many in each class have been converted? How many in each class have not been converted and why?
II. The 8 performance indicators and related statements
1. Existence of an HR plan
The department or agency has a human resources plan that is adapted to its operational needs and that is integrated into its business planning.
The hiring of term employees is carried out in compliance with the established human resources plan.
Term employees are hired, or their contracts are extended, for periods that reflect the expected duration of the work.
Term employees are not hired to perform permanent ongoing duties simply for the purpose of speeding up the hiring process.
Term employees are not hired to perform permanent ongoing duties as a means of assessing them prior to hiring them as indeterminate employees.
2. Conversions
Term employees with a cumulative working period of three years within the department or agency without a break in service longer than 60 consecutive calendar days were appointed to indeterminate positions.
All appointments were made in accordance with the merit principle, that is, the term employees appointed to indeterminate positions had the required competencies and qualifications.
The appointments were made without any complaints filed by term employees.
The recorded conversions reflect the diversity of the department or agency's term employee population.
3. Non-renewal of contracts
The number of term employees whose contracts were not renewed and who needed three months or less to accumulate three years of service is very small.
Term employees needing only a few weeks or months to accumulate the three years of service were not replaced.
Those same term employees who needed only a few months or weeks to accumulate three years of service and whose contracts were not renewed were not rehired immediately after the break in service of 60 calendar days.
Where an employee contested the decision not to renew his or her contract, steps were quickly taken to objectively re-examine the decision to ensure that it was well-founded.
4. Sunset funding and workforce adjustment
Term employees' days of service cease to count in the calculation of the cumulative working period of three years for appointment to indeterminate status only when: 1. the source of funding for the projects or programs to which the term employees are assigned is from external sources and is for a limited duration; 2. the department or agency, in reviewing its human resources planning, has established that any new indeterminate appointments would result in workforce adjustment situations in the department as a whole.
The sunset program is always of limited duration and the term employees concerned are not continuously assigned to one sunset program after another.
Where the department or agency decided to stop counting term employees' days of service in the calculation of the cumulative working period of three years because of sunset funding or workforce adjustment situations, the term employees and their bargaining agents were always notified in writing.
When the sunset program or workforce adjustment situation ended, the term employees affected were notified and their work days began accumulating normally.
The department or agency takes into account the percentage of external funding when assigning sunset status to a program.
5. Regular and appropriate assessment
When hired, each term employee was clearly informed of his or her role and of the expected results.
All term employees were given the training they needed and received the appropriate advice from supervisors to help them perform their duties.
The manager assessed the term employee's performance in a timely manner, that is, prior to end of the contract in order to give the employee time to improve.
The manager met with the term employee periodically to provide performance feedback or to discuss related issues.
6. Compliance with the one-month written notification
Where a term employee was renewed, not renewed or laid off, the employee was given one month's written notification.
If, for any reason, the manager did not give sufficient notice, everything possible was done to extend the work period of the employee concerned in order to comply with the policy.
7. Complaints
The department or agency has not received any substantiated complaints that would indicate improper application of or non-compliance with the Term Employment Policy.
The Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada and the Public Service Commission have not indicated that they have received complaints.
The department or agency dealt with complaints from term employees in an objective, fair and timely manner.
Where, after reviewing the file, the department or agency determined that the complaint was valid, it quickly found a solution that was acceptable to the employee concerned.
8. Corrective measures
Where the department or agency discovered shortcomings in its application of the policy, measures were taken to improve its practices.
A follow-up was conducted to ensure that the measures were in fact applied and that they produced the expected results
III. Follow-up plan
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Issues identified |
Measures to be taken |
Expected results |
Lead |
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Human Resources Management Modernization Branch
Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada
May 2005
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