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Questions and Answers for Managers on the Priority Administration Directive

Table of Contents

Purpose

Q 1: Why is there a directive on priority administration?

The Priority Administration Directive forms part of the Priority Appointment Policy. It outlines in one document the roles and responsibilities of the PSC, organizations, and persons with a priority entitlement in ensuring respect for priority entitlements. The PSC developed the Priority Administration Directive in response to feedback from organizations on the need for greater clarity, awareness and understanding of roles and responsibilities of the three key parties: the PSC, organizations, and persons with a priority entitlement. This need was also a major finding of an evaluation of the Priority Entitlements Program.

Referrals of Persons with a Priority Entitlement

Q 2: Why are hiring managers accountable for respecting priority entitlements?

Under the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), the PSC has sub-delegated appointment authorities to your deputy head through the Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument (ADAI). Some of these authorities have been sub-delegated to hiring managers. In exercising delegated authorities, hiring managers must:

Q 3: What is my role as a hiring manager in considering persons with a priority entitlement?

As the hiring manager, you set the essential qualifications to reflect the range of duties to be performed for the position that you are trying to fill. The essential qualifications used to assess a person with a priority entitlement should be the same as what would be used in an appointment process.

The consideration of persons with a priority entitlement is an independent step that should be undertaken prior to proceeding with an appointment process. In situations where no persons with a priority entitlement are found qualified for appointment, you would then proceed with another type of appointment process. Once the Statement of Merit Criteria and assessment tools for the specified term or indeterminate position being staffed are finalized, you should seek the referral of persons with a priority entitlement from the PSC. This is done by submitting a Priority Clearance Request Form, which human resources personnel complete via the Priority Information Management System. You will need to assess persons with a priority entitlement and appoint one if they meet the essential qualifications and conditions of employment of the position, while respecting the order of precedence of priority entitlements.

Persons with a priority entitlement referred by the PSC should be assessed prior to candidates in an appointment process to ensure fairness in their assessment and avoid comparison with candidates. Persons with a priority entitlement must be given a reasonable opportunity to prepare for any interviews, exams or other assessment methods that will be used (i.e. the same treatment provided to candidates in an advertised or non-advertised process).

Q 4: To what types of staffing actions does priority clearance apply?

With certain limited exceptions, the requirement to obtain priority clearance applies to the staffing of all specified term and indeterminate positions across all regions and all organizations subject to the Public Service Employment Act, regardless of the type of proposed appointment process (advertised/non-advertised; internal/external).

Except for persons with a reinstatement priority entitlement, persons with a  priority entitlement can be considered and appointed to any occupational group and level, as long as they meet the position’s essential qualifications and conditions of employment.

The surviving spousal or common-law partner priority entitlement applies to external advertised appointment processes only.

Area of selection does not apply to persons with a priority entitlement.

Self-Referrals of Persons with a Priority Entitlement

Q 5: At what point can a person with a priority entitlement self-refer to an appointment process?

A person with a priority entitlement can self-refer to an appointment process after an advertising period has ended or a priority clearance number has been issued. For internal appointment processes, persons with a priority entitlement can self-refer for any position being staffed or about to be staffed and at any point in an appointment process prior to the issuance of a Notification of Appointment or Proposed Appointment on the Public Service Resourcing System (GC Jobs). For external appointment processes, self-referrals must be considered until a letter of offer is signed by the proposed appointee.

Q 6: Can a person with a lay-off priority entitlement apply to any appointment process?

Yes. An employee who is laid off is entitled to participate in any advertised appointment process for which the person would have been eligible had the person not been laid off.

Assessing Persons with a Priority Entitlement

Q 7: Why is it important that organizations inform persons with a priority entitlement of the steps in the assessment process?

Persons with a priority entitlement must be treated fairly and the appointment process and outcome must be transparent. They must be given a reasonable opportunity to prepare for interviews, exams or other assessment methods that will be used.

Allowing persons with a priority entitlement a reasonable opportunity to prepare for assessment also enables persons with disabilities to consider whether they need to request accommodation in the assessment.

It is also important to keep in mind that some persons with a priority entitlement are not public service employees and may require further explanation of the appointment process and/or assessment methods.

Q 8: Once an organization has been notified of the persons with a priority entitlement interested in the position to be staffed, how much time do they have to assess them?

Once the organization receives the names of persons with a priority entitlement, they are expected to assess and provide feedback to them within 60 calendar days. The organization is expected to consider the duration of entitlement periods when planning assessments. The Public Service Commission monitors delays in assessment that may jeopardize priority appointments, and it follows up with hiring organizations as necessary.

Referral Feedback

Q 9: Am I required to provide assessment results and feedback to persons with a priority entitlements?

Yes. Assessment results must be provided to persons with a priority entitlement in writing via the Referral Feedback Form in the Priority Information Management System. You should indicate the details of the assessment and provide reasonable grounds for finding whether the person meets the essential qualifications or conditions of employment. If the person requests additional feedback on the assessment results, you are required to discuss the results of the assessment with them in a timely manner. The goal of the additional feedback session is to ensure persons with a priority entitlement who were eliminated from consideration understand the basis of your decision.

Priority Clearance

Q 10: As a manager, do I have access to the Priority Information Management System (PIMS)?

No. Access to the Priority Information Management System (PIMS) is restricted to Priority Administration staff at the PSC, and human resources personnel in your organizations. People with access to the system are informed about privacy and the proper use and disclosure of the information contained in the system.

There is a "Guest Entry" button in the system that managers can use to access only the customizable PIMS reports with aggregate information on, for example, the inflows and outflows of the current priority population.

Q 11: My staffing needs have changed since my organization submitted a priority clearance request. Must a new priority clearance request be submitted to the PSC?

A new priority clearance request must be submitted if the essential qualifications, including official languages requirements, or conditions of employment, are amended in a way that would mean that other persons with a priority entitlement may have been identified in the search and therefore would need to be considered.

Appointing a Person with a Priority Entitlement

Q 12: On what basis can the decision to appoint a priority person be made?

The decision to appoint a priority person can be made solely on the basis of the assessment of essential qualifications and that the persons meet the conditions of employment. The other merit criteria, such as asset qualifications, operational requirements or current or future organizational needs, cannot be assessed or form the basis of a decision.

Registration of a Person with a Priority Entitlement

Q 13: What are managers expected to do with respect to the Manager's Attestation Form?

Managers must sign the Manager’s Attestation Form before registering a person with a surplus priority entitlement in the Priority Information Management System. By signing the form, the manager responsible for the surplus employee attests that the organization is willing to appoint the individual to a position commensurate with their qualifications if such a position were available within the organization. The signed form must be sent to the Public Service Commission as part of the supporting documentation listed in the Guide on Priority Entitlements.

Q 14: What happens if the manager is not willing to sign the Manager's Attestation Form?

If the responsible manager is not willing to sign the Manager’s Attestation Form, they should discuss their concerns with their superior to determine an appropriate strategy for their employee. The form must be signed before a surplus employee can be registered in the Priority Information Management System to be identified and notified about positions in the public service. The organization’s human resources can discuss specific situations with a priority entitlements consultant.

Q 15: What happens if a person with a priority entitlement does not want to sign the privacy consent form?

If a person with a priority entitlement chooses not to sign or accept the privacy consent form, they cannot be registered in the Priority Information Management System (PIMS), because including their personal information in PIMS without consent contravenes the requirements of the Privacy Act. 

PIMS is the only way the Public Service Commission (PSC) identifies persons with priority entitlements for positions. If a person is not registered in the PIMS, they cannot be identified and notified for positions by the PSC; as a result, the burden is on the person with a priority entitlement to self-refer to positions, with their organization’s support, to find continued employment.

Providing Support to Persons with a Priority Entitlement

Q 16: What kind of support should be provided to persons with a priority entitlement?

A key factor in successful appointments of persons with a priority entitlement is the support and guidance provided by the home organization’s managerial and human resources personnel. A human resources advisor must be made available to persons with a priority entitlement to help them understand their rights and responsibilities, and to ensure that they have all the information required to make informed decisions.

In addition, the home organization must provide the tools needed to help persons with a priority entitlement with their job search (for example, help with résumé preparation, interview techniques, access to GC Jobs). The manager also plays an important role in supporting persons with a priority entitlement in their search for continued employment and in providing meaningful work opportunities and references for their employees.

Q 17: Can a person with a priority entitlement engage in temporary work during their entitlement period?

Yes. A person with a priority entitlement who accepts an assignment or a secondment will continue to be identified for positions that they may be qualified for until the end of the entitlement period, or until they accept an indeterminate position.

Persons whose entitlement does not allow for an assignment or secondment as they do not hold a substantive position (for example, leave of absence or medically released Canadian Armed Forces member) can be offered other temporary types of employment, such as specified terms, casual contracts or part-time work. Note: These options are not limited to persons who do not hold substantive positions.

Depending on their priority entitlement type, if a person’s specified term period of employment is converted to indeterminate under subsection 59(1) of the Public Service Employment Act(PSEA), their priority entitlement will end, as they will have obtained permanent employment in the federal public service. Also depending on their original priority entitlement type, if the new position is at a lower group and level, they may be eligible for a reinstatement priority entitlement as of the day of their conversion to indeterminate.

However, in that same scenario, if the person with a priority entitlement instead requests, without good and sufficient reason, that the specified term continue without conversion to indeterminate despite subsection 59(1) of the PSEA, their priority entitlement will end on the day the request is made.

Q 18: In addition to the priority entitlement provisions of the Public Service Employment Act, do employees affected by workforce adjustment have other rights that I need to respect as a manager?

Employees also have entitlements under the Work Force Adjustment Directive and the related appendices to collective agreements, as well as the Directive on the Terms and Conditions of Employment for Executives. These entitlements include retraining for surplus and laid-off employees who are not qualified for immediate appointment, as well as salary protection for those appointed to a lower level.

All questions about the application and interpretation of these agreements should be addressed to the Employer (the Treasury Board), who is responsible for them.

For more information, refer to: Workforce adjustment and career transition

Need Help?

Q 19: Who can I contact for questions about priority entitlements?

A manager’s first point of contact for any questions about priority entitlements is their organizational human resources advisor.

Human resources advisors may contact their corporate services or their priority entitlements consultant for assistance.

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