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1 |
PURPOSE |
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1.1 |
The purpose of this directive is to provide departments with information regarding the implementation of Treasury Board Secretariat's (TBS) policy on how to proceed to make an employee whole following the decisions issued by the Public Service Staff Relations Board (PSSRB) concerning union dues for the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC). The TBS Information Bulletins regarding this policy are available at the following TBS Web site addresses:
http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hr-rh/cpa-rap/
info_notice-avis_info/inudd-avcs-040804_e.asp
and
http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hr-rh/cpa-rap/
info_notice-avis_info/inudip-avcspi_e.asp |
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1.2 |
In this text, use of the masculine is generic and applies to both men and women.
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2 |
BACKGROUND |
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2.1 |
On December 11, 2003, and April 26, 2004, the PSSRB rendered decisions in relation to the complaints made by PIPSC regarding the check-off provisions in the six PIPSC collective agreements. These decisions resolved the issue of which date is to be used to establish the change in union dues for subsequent appointments and provided for the payment of dues owing to PIPSC for the period from May 2001 to July 2004. The TBS has paid the amounts owing to PIPSC as a result of these PSSRB decisions. |
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The payment of the amounts owing to PIPSC did not, however, satisfy the issue of overdeduction or underdeduction of union dues taken from employees' regular pay cheques. Employees' accounts must be adjusted correctly by either refunding any overdeduction of dues or by recovering any underdeduction of union dues. |
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The PSSRB decision of April 26, 2004 also required that when there is a change of bargaining unit due to a subsequent appointment, and dues for the new bargaining agent are not processed at the proper time, the bargaining agent for the new position must receive payment in full for all outstanding arrears owing within thirty (30) days of discovering that arrears are owed to the bargaining agent.
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3 |
POLICY |
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3.1 |
The TBS requires that employees must not be overdeducted dues, nor must employees be underdeducted dues. Employees are to be made whole by either refunding any overdeduction of dues or by recovering any underdeduction of union dues. |
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When arrears owing have been paid by the TBS or through the departmental financial system on behalf of an employee, the employee must be made whole. |
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In situations where the employee's union dues have been deducted and remitted to the wrong bargaining agent and this bargaining agent did not authorize a refund of all or part of the dues paid in error, the employee must be made whole for this period.
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4 |
PROCEDURES/INSTRUCTIONS |
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4.1 |
For a period during which the union dues were collected for the wrong bargaining agent, the compensation advisor will determine the amount of dues that the employee actually paid in that period and the amount that was paid to the bargaining agent by the TBS or the department. The compensation advisor will then calculate the amount of dues to be refunded or recovered. |
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4.2 |
Refund the dues to the employee |
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4.2.1 |
If the amount of dues paid by the employee is greater than the amount owing, then the department is to reimburse the difference between the amount paid and the amount owing via the departmental financial system. The Regional Pay System (RPS) cannot be used to issue a refund of the overdeducted union dues in these cases. |
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4.2.2 |
As soon as the refund has been issued to the employee, the compensation advisor must send a letter to the pay office requesting an adjustment to the employee's T4/Relevé 1 for the affected taxation year(s). The letter should provide the refund details including the employee's name, department, paylist, Personal Recorder Identifier (PRI), the total amount refunded, and a breakdown of the refund for each taxation year to which the refund applies. A copy of the T4/Relevé 1 for the affected previous year(s) should also be provided to the pay office. The pay office will take the necessary action to ensure that the employee's T4/Relevé 1 will reflect the decrease in union dues deducted. |
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4.2.3 |
Example 1 |
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As a result of the PSSRB decisions, the department must refund $3 for May 2004 directly to an employee from departmental funds, through the departmental finance section. This makes the employee whole. |
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When the refund is made, the department must send a letter to the pay office requesting that the employee's 2004 T4/Relevé 1 be amended to reflect the reduction of the union dues in the amount of $3. Refer to section 4.2.2 herein. |
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4.2.4 |
Example 2 |
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In order to make the employee whole the department refunds $38 per month for the period from December 2003 to February 2004, from departmental funds. The total refund is $114 ($38 for December 2003 and $38 X 2 for January and February 2004). The refund is issued through the departmental finance section. |
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When the refund is made, the department must send a letter to the pay office requesting that the employee's 2003 T4/Relevé 1 be amended to reflect the reduction of union dues in the amount of $38 for the 2003 taxation year, and that the employee's 2004 T4/Relevé 1 be amended to reflect the reduction of union dues in the amount of $76 ($38 X 2) for the 2004 taxation year. Refer to section 4.2.2 herein. |
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4.3 |
Recover the dues from the employee |
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4.3.1 |
If the amount of union dues paid by the employee is less than the amount paid to the bargaining agent by the TBS or the department, the department will have to recover the difference. This amount is owed to the department since the bargaining agent has already been paid by the TBS or the department. The normal recovery method for union dues deductions via the RPS cannot be used in these cases, as this would result in the bargaining agent receiving monies twice for the same period. The compensation advisor will recover the amount owing using deduction code 540 "Other debts". |
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4.3.2 |
At the department's discretion, the recovery may be collected as a lump sum or spread over a number of pay periods. When the recovery is to be collected over a number of pay periods, the compensation advisor will use a rate base "7", with a rate amount arrived at by dividing the total amount owing by the number of pay periods over which the union dues owing will be collected. |
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4.3.3 |
Once the recovery has been completed or at the end of a taxation year, which ever is first, compensation advisors must send a letter to the pay office, requesting that the pay office increase the Master Employee Record (MER), Element 717 (Union Dues), in the amount of the dues that were recovered utilizing deduction code 540 in the taxation year. The letter should provide the recovery details including the employee's name, department, paylist, PRI, and the amount of union dues recovered in the specific taxation year. The pay office will increase the MER, Element 717 (Union Dues) in the amount indicated for the particular taxation year. This action will ensure that the employee's T4/Relevé 1 will reflect the union dues deducted using deduction code 540. |
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4.3.4 |
Example 3 |
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After making the required calculations it is determined that the employee owes $12 to the department for May 2004. The $12 will be recovered from the employee's salary as a debt to the Crown (code 540). |
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When the recovery is completed, the department must send a letter to the pay office requesting that the MER be updated to reflect the recovery of union dues in the amount of $12 related to the 2004 taxation year. Refer to section 4.3.3 herein. |
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4.3.5 |
Example 4 |
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After making the required calculations it is determined that the employee's account must be made whole for the eight month period from November 1, 2001, to June 30, 2002. The amount owing is $17 per month. The department must advise the employee of the amount owing ($17 X 8 = $136), and then recover the $136 difference from the employee as a debt to the Crown. |
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The recovery will be made over a period of eight months. The total amount must be converted to a pay period amount, since deduction code 540 is a biweekly deduction (including the pay period plus [PP+]). Therefore the recovery will be made over 16 pay periods at $8.50 per pay period, using deduction code 540. |
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The recovery was started for the second pay in August 2004. After the last deduction is taken for December 2004, the department must send a letter to the pay office requesting them to amend the MER to reflect the recovery of union dues in the amount of $85 ($8.50 X 10 pay periods = $85 for the 5 months of recovery) related to the current taxation year (2004). |
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The department must send another letter to the pay office in March 2005 when the recovery of the remaining $51 ($8.50 X 6 pay periods = $51) is completed, requesting the pay office to update the MER to reflect the recovery of union dues of $51 related to 2005 taxation year.
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5 |
INQUIRIES |
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5.1 |
Any inquiries on the information contained in this document should be addressed to your Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) Compensation Services Office.
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