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1
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PURPOSE
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1.1
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This directive is to advise clients of a change to the method by which Public
Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) produces payments on behalf of its
clients serviced by the Regional Pay System (RPS).
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2
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BACKGROUND
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2.1
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As the Receiver General for Canada, PWGSC issues payments on behalf of many
products administered by government departments. Historically, each one of
these products had their own payment system administered and maintained by
PWGSC.
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2.2
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In an effort to reduce costs and become more efficient, PWGSC developed a
Standard Payment System (SPS) from which all payments can be made. To date
Revenue Canada refunds, Goods and Services Tax rebates, Canada Pension Plan and
Old Age Security payments are all issued through the SPS.
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2.3
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From the perspective of the compensation community, conversion of the RPS
payment process to SPS results in a number of advantages. Once the first phase
of SPS is implemented successfully, PWGSC will look to utilize laser technology
to move towards the production of other output such as statements of
remuneration (T4s). In addition, more automated features would be made
available to clients, such as on-line payment enquiry history and on-site
urgent cheque issue. The timing of these enhancements is anticipated after Year
2000 activity.
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3
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POLICY
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3.1
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It is anticipated that during June 1998, all payroll payments, including Direct
Deposit payments, will be issued through the SPS. A Directive will be issued
highlighting the actual conversion date shortly before
implementation.
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3.2
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In conjunction with this new process a new payment numbering system will be
established. The new Payment Reference Number (PRN) will replace the old
Regional Pay Cheque Form Number (CFN). The structure of the number will remain
unchanged in terms of length; however, the breakdown of the fields will be as
follows:
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Position 1-2 will reflect the Pay Office Number,
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Position 3-4 will reflect the Product Code Number,
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Position 5-12 will reflect a sequential number.
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EXAMPLE: PRN 083100000001 breaks down as follows:
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08 - corresponds to Pay Office Halifax,
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31 - corresponds to the Pay Product (always 31),
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00000001 - corresponds to the first payment processed by pay
office.
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A single digit number will also appear after the sequence number which will
identify the payment attempt status. This number is for SPS purposes only and
does not form part of the PRN for Regional Pay purposes. The payment attempt
status is defined based on the different changes a payment may go through in
its life cycle. For example, if a Direct Deposit is changed to a paper cheque,
the attempt status will change from a "1" ( first attempt, Direct
Deposit) to a "2"( second attempt, cheque or to a "3" third
attempt, duplicate).
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3.3
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Upon implementation of the SPS all payments for a specific pay master file will
commence with the same four digits followed by a sequential number. Unique
cheque series numbers previously appearing on cheques, Direct Deposit payments,
zero balance payments and manual cheque issue will no longer be in effect. The
identifiers and sequential numbers for specific pay master files will be as
follows:
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0831 00000001 - Halifax (Atlantic)
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2531 00000001 - Montreal (Quebec)
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3631 00000001 - COD (National Capital Region)
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3431 00000001 - Toronto (Ontario)
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2231 00000001 - House of Commons (National Capital Region)
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6231 00000001 - Edmonton (Western)
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6631 00000001 - Vancouver (Pacific)
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4
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PROCEDURES
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4.1
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Regular Payment Process
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Currently, the department/paylist information appear together on the face of
the payment directly across from the name of the individual. However, the SPS
has pre-established locations for certain types of data. For cheques the
department, pay office and paylist identifier will continue to appear on the
cheque and remain visible in the window of the envelope. The location will now
float and appear to the right of the last line of the name tag or/to the right
of the last line of the address. For Direct Deposits and zero balance payments,
the department/pay office/paylist identifier will always appear at the bottom
right corner of the statement within the window of the envelope.
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The new payment instruments will now be laser printed which will ensure that
printing will be clearer. The statements themselves will have the same look as
today in terms of format. However, the stub information will appear at the top
of the form for cheques and the bottom of the form for Direct Deposit and zero
balance vouchers. The Regional Pay System will utilize the SPS's ability to
print on the back of statements. This will have the effect of reducing the
number of overflow stub situations which occur when all of the information
concerning a payment is too great to be incorporated on only one
stub.
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4.2
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Payment Cancellation (PAC19)
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The Regional Pay System will be changed to eliminate the facility to cancel
payments. The PAC 19 will no longer exist as a transaction vehicle available to
Compensation Specialists. As per current procedures today, departments will
return cheques directly to the Payroll Accounting Office of PWGSC, who in turn,
will cancel the payment on-line through SPS once the cheque is
received.
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Upon cancellation within SPS the Regional Pay System will issue an on-line
message via Free Form Text advising the department that the cancellation action
has been received from the SPS and that the payment will be cancelled
automatically in the next regular update (currently every second night). At
this point, should subsequent transactions be required, they can be
input.
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It is critical that Financial and Administrative Officers be advised that the
timeliness of the return of cheques to the Payroll Accounting Office will now
directly affect the Compensation Specialists' ability to process the
finalization of an account. If a PAC 13 or a PAC 02 is processed before the
cheque is cancelled through SPS, the Regional Pay System will generate an
overpayment and collect the outstanding funds from the next available
monies.
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Additionally, all returned payments (including "Zero Balance"
payments) which are forwarded to the Payroll Accounting Office must be batched
via Transmittal Note (GC44). The reason for the return must be clearly
noted on the form.
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4.3
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Intercepts/Recalls (Direct Deposit)
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Direct Deposit payments will be handled by the SPS. This conversion will be
transparent to the employee and Compensation Specialist. Current procedures
dictate that when an intercept or a recall is required the pay office is to be
contacted to take action on behalf of the department. This will not
change.
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Under the SPS, facilities to automatically action payments containing wrong
financial institution data exist. After implementation, if a financial
institution number is no longer valid, the SPS will automatically convert the
payment to a cheque in time for distribution on the next regular pay date. The
Regional Pay System will turn off the direct deposit indicator and cheques will
be issued until the Compensation Specialist re-enters the correct financial
institution data. A message will be sent through RPS to the departments
advising that this action has been taken allowing departments to advise
employees accordingly.
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With the SPS, the period of time to intercept a payment will now be extended to
five working days from the current two day window. If a payment cannot be
intercepted within the timeframe noted above, a recall request is made by the
pay office on the department's behalf. The timeline for resolution of recall
actions will remain the same and under the control of the financial institution
affected.
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4.4
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General Information
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Departments will continue to request duplicate payments as per current
procedures. Employees will be requested to complete the appropriate forms and
departments must send these forms to the applicable PWGSC pay office. The pay
office will initiate investigative action and arrange for the duplicate payment
to be produced.
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Departments and Agencies are reminded that current termination procedures must
be adhered to once implementation of the SPS takes place. PWGSC payroll and
downline systems are programmed to react according to the input received.
Clients are therefore instructed to ensure that if employees move between
employers (e.g. Treasury Board to Separate Employer and vice versa),
termination transactions and not transfer transactions are to be input. If not
processed correctly, PWGSC will not be in a position to action final payments
such as severance pay. In addition, PWGSC pay offices will no longer be in a
position to manually type cheques. Departments must request urgent payments
through the Accounts Payable System.
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If employees move between pay cycles (7C to 7B/7A), clients are reminded to
turn off the direct deposit indicator in the Regional Pay System prior to
processing the transfer.
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5
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INQUIRIES
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5.1
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Any request for information regarding the foregoing should be addressed to your
(PWGSC) Compensation Services Office.
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P. Charko
Director General
Compensation Sector
Government Operational Service
[Print Version]