The Employment Transition Policy (ETP) is a section within PSAC’s collective agreement with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that outlines the rights, obligations, and processes for managing situations where employees' services are no longer required due to organizational changes, including government downsizing or cutbacks. 

This glossary defines important terms and obligations found in Appendix B - Employment Transition Policy. Some of these terms are found in your collective agreement; some are found elsewhere.  

For more information about your rights at work during a employment transition situation, visit the CFIA ETP landing page.

Accelerated layoff: Occurs when a surplus employee makes a request to the President, in writing, to be laid off at an earlier date than that originally scheduled, and the President concurs. Lay-off entitlements begin on the actual date of lay-off. 

Affected employee: Is an indeterminate employee who has been informed in writing that his or her services may no longer be required because of an employment transition situation. 

Agency: means the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as defined in Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act and the several positions in or under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for which the Agency has the sole authority to appoint. 

Alternation:  Occurs when an opting employee or a surplus employee who is surplus as a result of having chosen option 6.4.1(a) who wishes to remain in the Agency exchanges positions with a non-affected employee (the alternate) willing to leave the Agency with a Transition Support Measure or with an Education Allowance. 

Education allowance: Is one of the options provided to an indeterminate employee affected by an employment transition situation for whom the President cannot guarantee a reasonable job offer. The Education Allowance is a payment, equivalent to the Transitional Support Measure (see Annex A), plus a reimbursement of tuition from a recognized learning institution, book and relevant equipment costs, up to a maximum of seventeen thousand dollars ($17,000.00). 

Employment Transition: Is a situation that occurs when the President decides that the services of one or more indeterminate employees will no longer be required beyond a specified date because of a lack of work or the discontinuance of a function within the Agency. Such situations may arise for reasons including but not limited to expenditure constraints, new legislation, program changes, reorganization, technological change, productivity improvement, elimination or reduction of programs or operations in one or more locations, relocation, or decentralization. 

Essential Qualifications: qualifications that are necessary for the work to be performed and that must be met for a person to be appointed. Essential qualifications are still determined by the Employer but are differentiated from Asset qualifications which are qualifications, other than official language requirements, that are not essential to perform the work, but that would benefit the organization or enhance the work to be performed. 

Guarantee of a reasonable job offer (GRJO): Is a guarantee of an offer of indeterminate employment within the Agency provided by the President to an indeterminate employee who is affected by an employment transition situation. The President will be expected to provide a guarantee of a reasonable job offer to those affected employees for whom they know or can predict employment availability within the Agency. Surplus employees in receipt of this guarantee will not have access to the Options available in Part VI of this Appendix. 

Joint union-management Employment Transition Policy Committees: The Agency shall establish joint Union/Management employment transition committees, where appropriate, to advise and consult on employment transition situations within the Agency. Terms of reference of such committees shall include a process for addressing alternation requests. 

Laid off person: Is a person who has been laid off pursuant to section 13 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act and who still retains a re-appointment priority in accordance with staffing and other related policies of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Further detail is found in subsection 6.2.2: Lay-off Priority of the CFIA Priority for Appointment Policy (available on the employee-facing intranet). 

Lay-off notice: Is a written notice of lay-off to be given to a surplus employee at least one month before the scheduled lay-off date. This notice period is included in the surplus period. 

Lay-off priority: A person who has been laid off is entitled to a priority for appointment to a position in the Agency for which, in the opinion of the President, he or she is qualified. Further detail is found in subsection 6.2.2: Lay-off Priority of the CFIA Priority for Appointment Policy (available on the employee-facing intranet). An appointment of an employee with this priority is excluded from the Agency Staffing Complaint Policy. This priority is accorded for one (1) year following the lay-off date. 

An individual with lay-off priority status is entitled to apply on CFIA staffing processes as if they are still an employee of the CFIA. Their previous substantive position will be used as the basis for determining if the individual is within the prescribed area of selection. The CFIA is not responsible for informing individuals with lay-off priority status of staffing processes that are initiated. 

Priority status ends on the earliest of: 

• the date the person is appointed indeterminately, where the appointment satisfies the requirements of the Employment Transition Appendix of the governing collective agreement to end the employee’s lay off status; or 

• the date the priority period expires without an indeterminate appointment. 

Opting employee: Is an indeterminate employee whose services will no longer be required as a result of an employment transition situation and who has not received a guarantee of a reasonable job offer from the President and who has one hundred and twenty (120) days to consider the Options contained in part 6.4 of this Appendix. 

Pay: Has the same meaning as "rate of pay" in the employee's collective agreement. 

President: Has the same meaning as in the definition of "President" set out in section 6 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act and also means his or her official designate. 

Priority administration system: Is a system designed by the Agency to facilitate appointments of individuals entitled to priority status as a result of this Appendix or other staffing and related policies of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The centralized priority administration system is managed by the Human Resources Branch. The HR Branch may establish procedures and requirements for the registration and referral of individuals with priority status. 

Public Service: any department, agency or employer specified in Schedules I, IV, or V of the Financial Administration Act (FAA). 

Reasonable Job Offer (RJO): Is an offer of indeterminate employment within the Agency, normally at an equivalent level but could include lower levels. Surplus employees must be both trainable and mobile. Where practicable, a reasonable job offer shall be within the employee's headquarters as defined in the National Joint Council Travel Directive.  

A reasonable job offer is also an offer from a Public Service employer, providing that: 

The appointment is at a rate of pay and an attainable salary maximum not less than the employee's current salary and attainable maximum that would be in effect on the date of offer. It is a seamless transfer of all employee benefits including a recognition of years of service for the definition of continuous employment and accrual of benefits, including the transfer of sick leave credits, severance pay and accumulated vacation leave credits. 

Re-instatement priority: Is an appointment priority accorded to certain individuals’ salary-protected under this Appendix for the purpose of assisting such persons to re-attain an appointment level equivalent to that from which they were declared surplus. Further detail is found in subsection 6.2.3: Reinstatement Priority of the CFIA Priority for Appointment Policy (available on the employee-facing intranet). An appointment of an employee with this priority is excluded from the Agency Staffing Complaint Policy. 

Priority status ends on the earliest of: 

• the date the employee is appointed indeterminately to a CFIA position that is equivalent to or higher than the level of their salary protection; 

• the effective date of the employee’s loss of salary protection for other reasons, as allowed by governing policies or agreements; or 

• the effective date of the employee’s retirement, resignation or termination from employment at the CFIA. 

Relocation: Is the authorized geographic move of a surplus employee or laid-off person from one place of duty to another place of duty, beyond what is a normal commuting distance according to local custom, which is generally considered to be 40kms. 

Relocation of work unit: Is the authorized move of a work unit of any size to a place of duty beyond what, according to local custom, is normal commuting distance (generally considered to be 40kms) from the former work location and from the employee's current residence. 

Retraining: Is on-the-job training or other training intended to enable affected employees, surplus employees and laid-off persons to qualify for known or anticipated vacancies within the Agency. 

SERLO (Selection of Employees for Retention and Lay-off): Is the process the federal government uses to determine layoffs for employees in the core public service. The Canada Food Inspection Agency Act gives the President the authority to determine the process for laying people off. Management determines the criteria for deciding which employees will be retained and which employees will be made opting.  

PSAC has long advocated for “equitable seniority” as an alternative to the Agency’s selection process, which lacks transparency, objectivity and equity.  

Surplus employee: Is an indeterminate employee who has been provided a formal written notice by the President declaring him or her surplus. 

Surplus priority: Is a priority for an appointment accorded to surplus employees to permit them to be appointed to other positions in the Agency.  Further detail is found in subsection 6.2.1: Surplus Priority of the CFIA Priority for Appointment Policy (available on the employee-facing intranet). An appointment of an employee with this priority is excluded from the Agency Staffing Complaint Policy. 

Surplus status: An indeterminate employee is in surplus status from the date he or she is declared surplus until the date of lay-off, until he or she is indeterminately appointed to another position, until his or her surplus status is rescinded, or until the employee resigns. 

Transition Support Measure: Is one of three options provided to an opting employee for whom the President cannot guarantee a reasonable job offer. The Transition Support Measure is a payment based on the opting employee's years of service in the Agency, as per Annex "A". Years of service is the combined years of service in the Public Service immediately prior to appointment to the Agency plus years of service with the Agency. 

Twelve-month surplus priority period in which to secure a reasonable job offer: Is one of three options provided to an opting employee for whom the President cannot guarantee a reasonable job offer. 

Workforce adjustment: Is the term used in the core public service and some other agencies (Canada Revenue Agency and Parks Canada) to describe what is referred to at CFIA as Employment Transition. It is a situation that occurs when the employer decides that the services of one or more indeterminate employees will no longer be required beyond a specified date because of a lack of work, the discontinuance of a function, a relocation in which the employee does not wish to participate or an alternative delivery initiative.