Guide to the Sub-delegation of Appointment and Appointment-related Authorities

This Guide is provided by the Public Service Commission to help human resources advisors support deputy heads in developing organizational approaches.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. General information
3. Who is eligible to receive sub-delegated authority?
   1. Managers
   2. Human resources advisors
   3. Others
   4. Acting appointments or absence of sub-delegated employees
4. Identifying employees for sub-delegation
5. Ensuring competence and training
6. Signature and commitment
7. Consequences of non-compliance
   1. Public Service Commission
   2. Deputy heads
8. Communication

I. Introduction

The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) 2003 gives the Public Service Commission (PSC) the authority to make appointments to and within the public service. It further authorizes the Commission to delegate appointment and appointment-related authorities to deputy heads, for positions within their jurisdiction.

In the spirit of the new Act, the Commission has maximized delegation. Deputy heads, in turn, are encouraged to sub-delegate those authorities to as low a level as possible. Sub-delegation means that deputy heads authorize sub-delegated persons to make appointments on their behalf. The sub-delegation of these authorities will provide public service managers the flexibility they need to staff, manage and lead their personnel to achieve results for Canadians.

Under the new PSEA, deputy heads decide:

• which authorities should be sub-delegated;
• to what extent these should be sub-delegated;
• under what conditions these should be sub-delegated;
• when these should be sub-delegated;
• to whom these should be sub-delegated; and
• how appointment and appointment-related authorities will be sub-delegated in their organization.

Deputy heads will exercise their appointment and appointment-related authorities within a management framework, and will be accountable to the Commission for the proper use of delegated appointment and appointment-related authorities.

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II. General information

Although the new PSEA does provide increased flexibilities for deputy heads, there are nevertheless certain aspects of sub-delegating appointment and appointment-related authorities that are mandatory to ensure the integrity of the public service appointment system.

• Only deputy heads may sub-delegate appointment and appointment-related authorities, and make changes to the sub-delegation of these authorities.
• Sub-delegation is subject to the terms and conditions specified by the Commission in the Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument (ADAI).
• Certain authorities are not to be sub-delegated as specified in the ADAI. For example, only deputy heads can extend the exemption period to meet language requirements in non-imperative appointment situations, in accordance with the Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order, paragraph 8(1)(b), SOR/81-787.
• The instrument of sub-delegation will be consistent with the ADAI and its effective date must coincide with or follow the effective date of the ADAI signed by the PSC and the organization.
• Deputy heads must sub-delegate in writing, either by e-mail, regular mail, or by posting a message on the organization's intranet site.

Deputy heads may sub-delegate appointment and appointment-related authorities incrementally. For example, a deputy head may choose to delegate down to directors general, then down to directors and later on, to first-line supervisors.

The PSC encourages deputy heads to sub-delegate appointment and appointment-related authorities to as low a level as possible. Each deputy head will determine how low these authorities are sub-delegated in their organization, based on a number of considerations. As a result, the depth of sub-delegation may vary from one organization to another.

Deputy heads have the authority to impose conditions and limitations on the exercise of certain sub-delegated appointment and appointment-related authorities in addition to those imposed by the Commission in the ADAI. For example, they may sub-delegate the authority to make appointments under certain organizational programs, on condition that they themselves have approved those programs, to ensure that they have been established in the best interest of the entire organization.

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III. Who is eligible to receive sub-delegated authorities?

Deputy heads may sub-delegate appointment and appointment-related authorities as follows:

• for appointments to positions in the executive group: only to employees within their organization, unless a specific arrangement has been made with the PSC; and
• for appointments to all other positions: only to employees within their organization or to employees in another organization which has an ADAI with the PSC, unless a specific arrangement has been made with the PSC.

Deputy heads may sub-delegate appointment and appointment-related authorities to managers, to human resources advisors, to other employees and, under specific arrangements, persons outside the public service.

a) Managers

The Preamble to the new PSEA suggests that sub-delegation of appointment and appointment-related authorities should be to public service managers.

Deputy heads are responsible for defining what constitutes a manager in their organization. They may decide to link appointment and appointment-related authorities with others, such as financial authorities (1); however, there is no requirement to do so. Linking these authorities may have the effect of limiting the extent to which appointment and appointment-related authorities can be sub-delegated to as low a level as possible.

The PSC delegates appointment and appointment-related authorities to deputy heads for positions in their jurisdiction; managers receive sub-delegated authorities for positions in their area of responsibility, unless the deputy head has made other provisions in the instrument of sub-delegation. For example, the manager of a professional development or apprenticeship program may be sub-delegated certain appointment and appointment-related authorities for specific positions in any part of the organization.

The extent to which appointment and appointment-related authorities are sub-delegated depends on the size, structure and nature of the organization. It may also depend on how managers are defined and the extent to which adequate training and support will be available to them. Other considerations could include the following (the list is not exhaustive):

• organizational culture and management philosophy;
• degree of centralization or decentralization;
• existence of satellite organizations;
• potential partnerships/service provider arrangements;
• number and nature of appointment activities;
• adequacy of human resources planning;
• organization's past performance;
• organization's approach to accountability;
• existence of management control frameworks;
• existence of monitoring systems;
• extent of organizational change; and
• current approach to sub-delegation.

b) Human resources advisors

Although the Preamble to the new PSEA suggests that appointment and appointment-related authorities should be sub-delegated to managers, there is nothing in the Act that prohibits sub-delegation to human resources advisors. This approach may be appropriate in small organizations with low levels of appointment activity.

Since the focus of modernizing human resources management in the public service is on integrating staffing with human resources planning and other business planning activities, the deputy head is encouraged to integrate human resources specialists who are sub-delegated appointment and appointment-related authorities into their management team.

Note:

If deputy heads decide to sub-delegate appointment and appointment-related authorities to both managers and human resources specialists, it is crucial that there is clarity about when they can exercise their sub-delegated authorities. For example, human resources specialists may only exercise their authorities in the absence of the sub-delegated manager, or pending full implementation of sub-delegation to managers under the new PSEA.

c) Others

Deputy heads have the option of sub-delegating appointment and appointment-related authorities to employees who may not be managers or human resources advisors, but who are responsible for specific resourcing initiatives such as a candidate pool or a recruitment campaign. Sub-delegation in these circumstances may be temporary or permanent.

As already mentioned, deputy heads may also sub-delegate authorities for appointments to non-executive group positions to an employee in another organization which has an ADAI with the PSC.

Under specific arrangements approved by the PSC, they may even obtain the authority to sub-delegate to a person outside the public service, such as a member of the Canadian Forces or a consultant.

Deputy heads remain accountable for the exercise of sub-delegated authorities by employees outside their organization and persons outside the public service. It is therefore important that they address a number of issues before sub-delegation takes place. For example:

• To what extent does the approach to sub-delegation differ between the organizations?
• How do departmental appointment policies and practices differ?
• Is the person being considered for sub-delegation competent?
• How will training and support be provided?
• How will the person being considered for sub-delegation be held accountable to the delegating deputy head?
• How will the deputy head monitor and investigate appointment decisions?
• How will he/she ensure that the PSC has access to information for audits?
• How will remedial measures, if any, be implemented?

Please note that this list is not exhaustive.

d) Acting appointments or absence of sub-delegated employees

Deputy heads will specify, in the instrument of sub-delegation, who is authorized to exercise appointment and appointment-related authorities in the absence of sub-delegated employees; those employees cannot themselves designate someone to exercise their authorities.

If no provision is made in the instrument of sub-delegation, then the supervisors of the sub-delegated employees would exercise these authorities in their absence, as long as they too have been sub-delegated these appointment and appointment-related authorities. A similar approach would be used for acting appointments when acting appointees are not immediately competent to exercise sub-delegated authorities.

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IV. Identifying employees in the instrument of sub-delegation

Deputy heads may identify employees in the instrument of sub-delegation in a number of ways, provided it is clear to whom the appointment and appointment-related authorities are sub-delegated. For example, deputy heads may identify sub-delegated employees by name, by job title or by management level.

• Identifying sub-delegated employees by name is considered to be administratively burdensome, because it is necessary to track sub-delegated employees and ensure that any staff changes are reflected in the instrument of sub-delegation. This approach may only be feasible if there are few sub-delegated employees.
• If job titles are being considered as the way to identify sub-delegated managers or human resources specialists, classification and organization specialists should be consulted to determine to what extent job nomenclature is consistent in the organization. If appointment and appointment-related authorities are being sub-delegated to human resources advisors, deputy heads will specify who will be sub-delegated, as not all human resources advisors are staffing and appointment specialists. Job titles may change over time and the instrument of sub-delegation should be amended accordingly, to ensure it continues to accurately reflect reality.
• Deputy heads may choose to identify sub-delegated employees based on management level. Management levels would normally be distinguished by their reporting relationship to the deputy head.

Identifying employees for sub-delegation by job title or management level enables deputy heads to automatically sub-delegate appointment and appointment-related authorities to incumbents of these positions. If exceptions are made, then deputy heads could write to the employee(s) concerned and ensure that other interested parties are informed of their decision. Such decisions must be documented.

When appointment and appointment-related authorities are sub-delegated to employees outside the organization, deputy heads can identify these employees specifically by name or based on the duties they perform (such as manager of ABC pool of candidates or project manager for XYZ recruitment campaign).

Note:

Organizations may find it useful to maintain a list of the persons occupying sub-delegated positions identified by job title or management level in the instrument of sub-delegation. Such lists can be used to communicate directly with sub-delegated persons, to provide information about training courses and confirm attendance, or to monitor the exercise of sub-delegated authorities.

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V. Ensuring competence and training

According to the ADAI, deputy heads are responsible for ensuring that sub-delegated employees are and remain competent to exercise appointment and appointment-related authorities, have a clear description of their roles and responsibilities in relation to the sub-delegated appointment authorities, and have access to necessary training and the ADAI.

Deputy heads will determine what "competence" means in their organization, and how it will be acquired, before employees are sub-delegated appointment and appointment-related authorities. If competence cannot be acquired without training, then employees who are sub-delegated these authorities must be trained; deputy heads will determine if exceptions to this requirement will be considered and under what circumstances. Deputy heads may also ensure that they have the opportunity to approve any exceptions, given that the new legislation is significantly different from the previous Act.

The Canada School of Public Service offers courses on the Public Service Modernization Act that can be incorporated into organizational training plans. The organization's training and development specialist can also provide assistance in developing a training strategy to ensure the competence of sub-delegated employees.

Under the ADAI, deputy heads must ensure that sub-delegated employees have access to a human resources specialist whose expertise in the new Appointment Framework has been validated by the PSC. Departments and agencies will be responsible for recommending to the PSC the person(s) who will write the validation test. These recommendations are based on a list of considerations prepared by the PSC.

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VI. Signature and commitment

Just as deputy heads make a personal commitment to the proper exercise of delegated authorities by signing the instrument of delegation with the Commission, some deputy heads may decide to use a similar approach to sub-delegate appointment and appointment-related authorities in their organization.

If deputy heads require that each sub-delegated employee sign the instrument of sub-delegation, there will be a need to prepare and track correspondence, follow up on responses, and ensure that employees who are subsequently appointed to these positions also sign the instrument of sub-delegation. This approach may only be manageable on a smaller scale.

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VII. Consequences of non-compliance

a) Public Service Commission

When the Commission concludes that there has been a contravention or abuse of delegated or sub-delegated appointment authorities, it will take remedial measures. These could include imposing additional conditions or limitations on delegated authorities, or partially or completely withdrawing delegated authorities.

b) Deputy heads

Deputy heads may also choose to take remedial measures when they conclude that there has been a contravention or abuse of the authorities that they have sub-delegated.

The options available to deputy heads to correct deficiencies are similar to those that can be taken by the Commission. Deputy heads could withdraw some or all sub-delegated authorities, or impose additional conditions and limitations on the exercise of these authorities on some or all sub-delegated employees.

They may impose other remedial measures such as mandatory training, consultation and reporting. They may also decide to address deficiencies through performance pay or disciplinary action. The organization's labour relations and compensation specialists can provide direction on how to proceed, if these measures are being considered.

Remedial measures may be temporary or permanent and may affect one or more sub-delegated employees, or one or more parts of the organization. When remedial measures are imposed on a large scale, it is usually as a result of widespread improprieties that have come to light as a result of a monitoring or audit exercise. Deputy heads may ask human resources or internal audit to monitor the implementation of remedial measures and report to them on the progress made in addressing identified deficiencies.

In the case of temporary remedial measures, deputy heads will determine under what circumstances sub-delegated authorities will be reinstated or when additional limitations and conditions will be rescinded. Deputy heads will write to the person(s) concerned about their decision, and a record of this correspondence will be maintained for future reference. In the case of permanent measures, the deputy head has the responsibility for amending the instrument of sub-delegation and communicating these changes to sub-delegated employees.

If sub-delegated authorities are restricted or withdrawn, deputy heads will evaluate whether these employees should continue to be involved in the appointment process. If deputy heads decide that these employees would benefit from doing so, then deputy heads will determine to what extent these employees should be involved and under what circumstances.

All decisions related to the sub-delegation of appointment and appointment- related authorities must be fully documented and accessible for a period of five years or until an audit has been completed, whichever is the shortest.

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VIII. Communication

The organization's intranet site can be used to post information on the ADAI, the instrument of sub-delegation, and the description of roles and responsibilities.

It can also be used to maintain the competence of sub-delegated employees. For example, the site can provide access to human resources contacts, course information and Web-based training, as well as central agency and organizational appointment policies and practices.

It is necessary that the information on the intranet site be accessible to all sub-delegated employees, including sub-delegated employees outside the organization. If access is restricted to employees within the organization, alternative means of communication may be used.

If deputy heads choose to post information on an organizational intranet site, employees to whom authorities are sub-delegated should be reminded of its existence periodically, as new employees are hired or promoted to positions where they would normally exercise sub-delegated authorities. They should also be kept informed of any changes made on the site, especially changes to the sub-delegation instrument.

Notes:

1. The Manager's Project Final Report (May 2004) prepared by The Leadership Network (TLN) (back)