Selection and Appointment

May - June 2005

Selection and Appointment Legal Foundation

New Public Service Employment Act

• Section 30 - Basis for Appointment (Merit)
• Appointments by the Commission to or from within the public service shall be made on the basis of merit and must be free from political influence.
• Section 40 and 41 - Appointment of priority
• Section 38 - Exception to Merit
• Section 39 - Preference to veterans and Canadian Citizen
• Section 47 - Informal Discussion
• Section 48 - Persons being considered for Appointment
• Section 49 - Finality of Appointments
• Section 50 - Appointment of a Casual Worker
• Section 54 - Oath or Affirmation

I, ...................., swear (or solemnly affirm) that I will faithfully and honestly fulfill the duties that devolve on me by reason of my employment in the public service of Canada and that I will not, without due authority, disclose or make known any matter that comes to my knowledge by reason of such employment. (Add, in the case where an oath is taken, "So help me God" (or name of deity).)

• Section 55 - Effective Date of Appointment or Deployment (of a person from outside PS)
• Section 56 - Effective Date of Appointment (of a person from within the PS)
• Section 57 - Indeterminate Employment

What is New and Different?

• No more individual merit and relative merit
• No need to rank candidates (no more eligibility lists): However, nothing precludes a manager from ranking and using the ranking to choose a candidate.
• Change regarding Veterans and Canadian Citizens' preference in advertised external appointment processes. When making appointments in advertised external appointment processes, those applications of Veterans and Canadian Citizens who meet the essential qualifications must be appointed first before the non-Canadian s.39(1)
• Casual Worker Appointment - 90 working days in one calendar year
• Oath or Affirmation - Impact on effective date of appointments from outside the public service
• Term Extension - no longer an "appointment"
• Roll-over of a term employee - no longer an "appointment"
• Employment Equity may be used as a merit criterion (organizational need)
• Internal Appointment Processes
  1. Possibility of appointing a person whether or not that person is the one previously considered (PSEA 48(3))
  2. Waiting period during which appointments or proposed appointments cannot be made (PSEA 48(2))

Policy Content

• Appointments are based on merit and are free from political influence and personal favouritism.

• To ensure that selection for appointment is fair and transparent.

• Persons proposed for appointment or appointed:
  • applied within the period for receiving applications, if such a period exists;
  • are within the area of selection, where required;
  • meet all the essential qualifications, except official language proficiency when excluded in accordance with the Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order (PSOLEAO);
  • meet any asset qualifications, operational requirements and organizational needs that were used to make the appointment decision; and
• the reasons for the appointment decision have been documented;
• the offer of appointment is extended by someone delegated to do so on behalf of the organization;
• offers of appointment are in writing and clearly set out all the conditions of the appointment; and
• appointments take effect only after all conditions of the appointment are satisfied.

Public Service Employment Act, which stipulates that:

• a person with a priority entitlement who meets the essential qualifications of a position must be appointed in priority to all other persons;
• in advertised external appointment processes, veterans, survivors of veterans, and Canadian citizens who meet the essential qualifications are appointed ahead of other candidates and in this order;
• a person being appointed from outside that part of the Public Service to which the Commission has exclusive authority to make appointments takes the oath or solemn affirmation as set out in section 54 of the PSEA before the appointment takes effect; where the oath or solemn affirmation is required, the effective date of the appointment is the later of the date that is agreed to in writing by the deputy head and that person, and the date on which that person takes and subscribes the oath or solemn affirmation;
• when a person is being appointed from within that part of the Public Service to which the Commission has exclusive authority to make appointments, the effective date of the appointment is the date agreed to in writing by the person to be appointed and the deputy head, regardless of the date of their agreement; and
• a period of employment is indeterminate, unless a term of employment has been specified by the deputy head (e.g., term, casual or student employment or an acting appointment);
• the PSOLEAO and the Public Service Official Languages Appointment Regulations (PSOLAR), which require persons proposed for appointment or appointed to a bilingual position on a non-imperative basis to meet the requirements of the PSOLEAO and the PSOLAR in order to be excluded from meeting the official language proficiency qualifications at the time of appointment;
• the PSC policy on official languages in the appointment process, which requires all communications to persons, including offers of appointment and the administration of the oath or solemn affirmation, be in the official language of choice of the person; and
• the Treasury Board/Public Service Commission Policy on the Duty to Accommodate Persons with Disabilities in the Federal Public Service, which requires the provision of accessible formats, upon request, for communicating with persons with disabilities when making an offer of appointment or administering the oath or solemn affirmation.

Considerations

• Although all of the essential qualifications established for an appointment must be met, only as many of the other merit criteria identified at the outset of an appointment process as are needed to make a selection decision need to be applied.
• Merit criteria may be applied in any order to provide for the efficient management of the appointment process.
• Additional merit criteria should not be added after the advertisement has been made if this would increase the number of potentially qualified persons in the area of selection.
• Managers will be expected to be able to explain selection decisions.
• Before making an appointment from an internal non-advertised appointment process, managers should ensure that the selected person is within the area of selection.
• Since appointments or deployments of persons not already employed under the PSEA cannot be effective before the administration of the oath or solemn affirmation, deputy heads may want to establish an organizational process to ensure the timely administration and documentation of the oath or solemn affirmation.
• Offers of appointment which clearly set out all the terms and conditions of the offer provide persons all information necessary to make an informed decision to accept or reject the offer.

What is being worked on?

• Guide to Implementing the Assessment and Selection and Appointment Policies
• Considerations for Managers

Definition of "veterans" is being reviewed by the PSC in consultation with the Departments of National Defence and Veterans Affairs and the outcome could impact significantly on external advertised processes in that the "preference" will apply in external process.

• Regulation allowing for a person in the EX group to be appointed at a level that is lower or higher than the classified level of the position, provided that the employer has made provision for compensation at the higher level.
• Staffing Tool Kit

Let's Discuss - Time for Questions

1. A manager is conducting an advertised internal or external appointment process and has only identified essential qualifications and no "other merit criteria" (i.e. asset qualifications, operational requirements or organizational needs). How does a manager make a selection for appointment among all qualified candidates? How does a manager ensure the "Right Fit"?
2. Can the oath or solemn affirmation be given by phone or letter OR must it be only given person to person?
3. From among all candidates who meet the essential qualifications, can a manager make an offer of appointment to an individual and base his/her selection decision on a merit criterion that was not advertised (i.e. was not a requirement at the time of advertising but circumstances have changed and now it is)?
4. Will managers be able to make conditional offers of employment? If so, what are the ramifications if any under the new Act?