Performance Pay Excluded Law Group

A. General

1. This document presents instructions for the administration of performance pay for -2000-2001 for members of the Law Group at LA Developmental, LA-1, LA-2A and LA-2B, LA-3A, LA-3B and LA-3C effective April 1, 2001.

2. The Law Group Salary Administration Plan (Treasury Board Compensation Manual, volume chapter 3-1) will apply to lawyers at levels LA-1, LA-2A and LA-2B and remains valid other than when exceptions are specified in these instructions. Departments will need to refer to both documents to ensure that all aspects of each case are addressed within the appropriate policy framework.

3. The Executive Group Salary Administration Plan (Treasury Board Manual, Executive Group volume, chapter 4-2) shall apply to lawyers at levels LA-3A, LA-3B and LA-3C and remains valid other than when exceptions are specified in these instructions. Departments will need to refer to both documents to ensure that all aspects of each case are addressed within the appropriate policy framework.

4. To be eligible for a performance related award an employee must be on strength on both March 31, 2001 and April 1, 2001, except, employees who are on leave without pay (see paragraphs 18 and 19). Anyone who has left the Public Service prior to April 1, 2001 is not entitled to receive any performance awards.

5. Performance awards for employees whose salaries are already at the job rate or have just reached the job rate by the application of an in-range increase are authorised for employees whose performance has been assessed as at least fully satisfactory.

B. Performance Pay for Fiscal year 2000-2001
(Executive Group Salary Administration Plan, section 6)

6. Performance pay is in respect of the fiscal period from April 1, 2000 to March 31, 2001. Performance awards, i.e. increases to base salary within the range and/or lump sum payments above the job rate (salary maximum), are to be based on the rate of pay that the individual is receiving as of March 31, 2001.

7. In the following section on performance pay, all references to individual salaries, salary ranges and job rates (maximums) mean those in effect on March 31, 2001.

C. Budgets for 2000-2001 Performance Pay

8. Departmental budgets for performance awards in respect of the 2000-2001 fiscal year are limited to 4.4 per cent of the departmental Law Group payroll for levels LA-3A, LA-3B and LA-3C as of March 31, 2001.

9. Departments with fewer than 20 lawyers should consult Annex "B" for the percentage to use when determining the size of their performance pay budgets.

D. Policy Framework for Performance Awards

10. Performance awards may range from 0 to 10 per cent but they may not exceed 10 per cent of individual salary. Deputy heads have full discretion to make a performance award up to the maximum of 10 per cent when an individual's performance has been assessed as at least "fully satisfactory", and provided that the overall budget limit is respected.

11. Performance awards for those paid below the job rate are to be applied as base salary increases within the current salary ranges. When the calculation of a performance award results in a salary that would exceed the current job rate, the difference is to be paid as a one-time lump sum.

12. When the individual salary is already at the current job rate, the entire performance award is to be paid as a one-time lump sum.

13. When performance has been evaluated as less than "fully satisfactory" or if there is no performance rating (i.e. "unable to assess"), the individual is not eligible for any performance award, either as a base salary increase within the range or as a lump sum.

14. Performance awards for the 2000-2001 fiscal period are to be calculated on the individual salaries in effect on March 31, 2001 and are to be implemented effective April 1, 2001.

15. Performance review and employee appraisal is in respect of the fiscal year April 1, 2000 to March 31, 2001. Performance related increases to base salary and lump sum payments are to be associated with the 2000-2001 fiscal period for pension purposes.

E. Performance Pay for Lawyers on Leave Without Pay (LWOP)

16. Lawyers who have been absent on leave without pay for the entire fiscal year 2000/2001 are not eligible for any performance pay award. Their salaries are not to be included in the calculation of the budget.

17. Lawyers absent on leave without pay for a part of the fiscal year may be eligible for performance awards if they have been on strength for long enough to permit a meaningful evaluation of performance. Any pay awards granted in these circumstances should be prorated for the time the individual has been on payroll. For budget purposes, the annual salary of these individuals as of March 31, 2001 should be included in budget calculations.

F. Rounding Salary Calculations

18.Note that all final salary calculations should reflect a practice of rounding to the nearest multiple of $100. In the interests of ensuring consistency across the Public Service, departments should adopt this approach.

April 1, 2001