ECCC’s Update on Phoenix

1. ECCC’s Update on Phoenix October 2017

2. Purpose • Context regarding the pay situation • What actions ECCC has taken to address the issues • Pay Resources (Annex)

3. Context • Resolving pay issues remains a top priority across government. • During Public Service Week, our Prime Minister stated: “Public servants have experienced many hardships caused by the implementation of the Phoenix pay system,” “This problem is unacceptable and we are working tirelessly to make sure every employee gets the pay they are owed.” • The Privy Council Office, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) remain fully committed to bringing the Phoenix pay system to a steady state as quickly as possible.

4. Context (cont’d) • PSPC increased its pay capacity by opening satellite offices in: Gatineau, Winnipeg, Shawinigan and Montréal, with a total of 216 compensation advisors. This was implemented to supplement pay center processing activity within the main Miramichi Pay Center. • PSPC continues to recruit and train new employees. • PSPC has been working on system enhancements to technology and user training that will address existing issues, speed up timelines and increase automation.

5. Context (cont’d) • PSPC meets regularly with the chief financial officer and human resources communities to discuss issues and identify root causes and possible solutions in dealing with Phoenix. • There are regular interdepartmental meetings/briefings at the Minister, Deputy Minister, Assistant Deputy Minister and Director General levels focused on the issue. • ECCC Senior Leadership is fully engaged and are actively participating in forums to address the issue up to and including our Minister.

6. Context (cont’d) • There are six Executive-Level Phoenix Union-Management Consultation Committees that provide a forum for Unions and Treasury Board to identify problems and discuss solutions to the pay system issues: • Technical Sub-Committee on Phoenix Pay System Way Forward – Public Service Alliance Canada of Canada(PSAC ) Co-Chair • Communications Sub-Committee – PSAC Co-Chair • Damages Sub-Committee – Association of Justice Counsel (AJC) Co-Chair • Union Dues Sub-Committee – PSAC Co-Chair • Income Tax Implications Sub-Committee (on an as needed basis) • Claims Related to Grievances Sub-Committee (on an as needed basis)

7. Context (cont’d) • PSPC continues to process pay transactions while focusing on current pay, backlog pay as well as the implementation of collective agreement retroactive payments. • ECCC pay resources (67 compensation staff) and pay files were transferred to PSPC as part of pay transformation therefore ECCC no longer has the resources it had in the past to address all ECCC employee issues and must now rely on PSPC for that service.

8. ECCC progress • Since April 2016, ECCC has published 77 pay related articles within the News@ECCC for employees and managers in addition to updates to the HR Branch pay webpage. • As an example on October 13, 2016, ECCC employees were informed that if they incurred additional financial expenses as a result of missing pay they could submit a claim for the reimbursement of expenses. • ECCC is actively monitoring the situation and working with PSPC to address/escalate the many pay issues faced by our employees, especially those causing financial hardship.

9. ECCC progress(cont’d) • Due to the backlog of pay issues, our department has implemented a number of mitigating measures to support PSPC and to alleviate pay issues faced by our employees, especially in cases of financial hardship. • ECCC has increased its internal capacity by 45 employees and will continue to add to that capacity to address pay issues within its; Pay Liaison, Systems, Staffing and Simply HR teams. • There are currently 10 ECCC employees working at the Gatineau Satellite office who in collaboration with PSPC, have been responsible for the processing of ECCC pay transactions worth over $1 million dollars. • HR Branch has centralized the Trusted Source function to reduce high PAR error rates that lead to some pay issues/delays. (Sept. 25, 2017)

10. Pay priorities • In order to mitigate pay impact to employees and students, ECCC will continue to focus on priorities such as; 1- No pay/Financial hardship, 2- Maternity/paternity/disability leave/dental medical benefits, 3- Students and 4- Supporting collective agreement implementation activities.

11. Pay priorities • All other cases (e.g., increments, promotions, actings) are triaged by the ECCC pay liaison team for resolution where possible or escalation to the pay center as required. • ECCC’s pay team was able to resolve issues related to northern allowances (i.e. Isolated Post Allowance) for employees. • In the case of a no pay situation it is imperative that employees report these cases immediately to the attention of management who then escalates the case to the Pay Liaison Office; • ECCC employees in a no pay situation; will be contacted and offered a priority payment, while their case is escalated to the PSPC pay center for resolution. *Priority Payment process was put in place through a collaborative effort between HR and Finance Branch in June of 2016 to alleviate financial hardship of ECCC employees.

12. ECCC Union response • ECCC unions (UHEW, PIPSC,CAPE, ACFO and IBEW) have been: • vocal by raising their members’ concerns to senior leadership at the various Labour Management Committees, from the local up to the DM/ADM committee level, • very active in escalating many pay issues to HR Branch for resolution, especially those causing financial hardship and • have been very helpful/collaborative in making recommendations i.e. feedback on communication products, suggesting messaging for certain issues, seeking understanding of processes to share with their membership etc.

13. Takeaways • Any ECCC employee in a no pay situation or facing financial hardship should have their manager escalate the situation immediately to ECCC’s Pay Liaison Office: ec.payeliaison-payliaison.ec@canada.ca. • PSPC is the primary organization responsible for pay therefore it is imperative that all employees initiate communication with PSPC as soon as they are aware of a pay issue. • ECCC has been building internal capacity to support ECCC employees in need especially those facing financial hardship.

14. Takeaways • Priority areas will continue to receive special attention and priority payments provided where pay situation are causing financial hardship. • Although progress was being made with respect to the pay backlog, current activities related to the implementation of the collective agreements have added further capacity challenges to address the backlog. • ECCC will continue to closely monitor the situation and work with PSPC, other Government Departments and Unions in support of efforts to better support our employees and address the current pay challenges.

15. Annex A: Pay resources • PSPC is the primary organization responsible for pay therefore it is imperative that all employees initiate communication with PSPC as soon as they are aware of a pay issue. • Employees should report your pay issue online to the Pay Centre through the Phoenix Feedback form. • Research most recent information within the Phoenix GCPedia site. • Phone the PSPC call center so that agents can take their information, record and triage requests, and ensure they are dispatched to the appropriate office at 1‑855‑686‑4729.

16. Pay resources • ECCC plays a supporting role with respect to PSPC pay activities and has implemented internal measures to supplement PSPC resources such as: • ECCC pay information: ECCC Pay and Leave Guide • The ECCC Simply HR unit that has been set up to answer basic questions for ECCC employees on T4s, taxes and pay stubs, drawing upon the primary resources provided by PSPC and CRA.

17. Pay resources • When employees have incurred additional financial expenses as a result pay issues they can submit a claim for the reimbursement of the following expenses. • financial fees, penalties and interest charges resulting from missed or late payments on, for example, household utilities, credit cards, car loans, mortgages or other ongoing monthly financial commitments. • Information about the claims process, what is admissible and how to submit your claim is available on the Phoenix web page. • Once your claim is ready, please submit it to Alain Marcotte at alain.marcotte@canada.ca, our ECCC Finance Branch designated claims officer. 

18. Pay resources • For issues related to MyGCHR (e.g., leave issues/balances, access), contact ec.sgrh-hrms.ec@canada.ca. • ECCC Pay Liaison Office: ec.payeliaison-payliaison.ec@canada.ca Responsible for the escalation of pay issues (e.g., priority cases such as no pay, maternity/paternity/disability leave, students, benefits or any cases related to financial hardship). • Employees should be reminded that their managers are also there to support them or assist employees in seeking internal or external support. • ECCC Unions have also played a very critical and collaborative role in raising issues, concerns and employee hardship cases for escalation.