Corrective Action and Revocation

(amended January 16, 2006 - changes indicated in blue text)

Policy Statement

If a deputy head decides that corrective action or a revocation of an appointment is warranted, the deputy head provides any person(s) affected by the action a meaningful opportunity to present relevant facts and to have their position fully and fairly considered.

Policy Objective

To ensure fairness and transparency in making a decision to take corrective action or revoke an appointment.

Application

This policy applies to all appointments made or proposed as a result of delegated internal advertised and non-advertised appointment processes. It does not apply to external appointment processes or to any appointment processes where the appointment may have been subject to political influence or where fraud may have occurred.

Policy Requirements

In addition to being accountable for respecting the policy statement, deputy heads must:

• establish and communicate an organizational policy on corrective action and revocation. This policy must, at a minimum, contain provisions to ensure that:
  • before deciding to take corrective action or revoke an appointment,
    • persons whose appointments or proposed appointments are affected by the decision have been given an opportunity to be heard; and
    • the deputy head is satisfied that there has been an error, omission or improper conduct which affected the selection of the person appointed or proposed for appointment;
  • in circumstances involving revocation, the person is informed in writing of:
    • the effective date of the revocation and the reasons for the decision;
    • whether or not the deputy head will appoint him or her to another position for which he or she is deemed to meet the essential qualifications; and
    • his or her right to file a complaint, and the time period within which to make a complaint to the Public Service Staffing Tribunal on the ground that the revocation was unreasonable;
  • suspend an internal investigation and refer the matter to the PSC if there is reason to believe that the appointment may have been subject to political influence or where fraud may have occurred; and
  • establish a monitoring and review mechanism for corrective action and revocations.

Other Requirements

Deputy heads must respect:

• The Public Service Employment Act, which:
  • authorizes the Public Service Commission
    • to investigate external appointment processes;
    • to investigate any appointment processes where it believes that the appointment was not free from political influence or where fraud may have occurred; and
    • to take corrective action or revoke the appointment, where appropriate; and
  • states that the deputy head's power to revoke appointments cannot be sub-delegated (subsection 24(2));
• procedural fairness in the process followed for corrective action and revocation, in particular the right to be heard and the right to have a fair investigation;
• the Official Languages Act, in terms of employees' rights to use the official language of their choice; and
• the Treasury Board/Public Service Commission Policy on the Duty to Accommodate Persons with Disabilities in the Federal Public Service, which requires, for example, the provision of accessible formats, upon request, for communicating with persons with disabilities.