In order to reduce the pressure on the Phoenix pay system and allow compensation advisors to focus on fixing outstanding pay issues, PSAC and Treasury Board have agreed to suspend the automatic cash-out of vacation and compensatory leave for public service workers until March 31, 2022.

In most cases, compensatory leave that is earned in a fiscal year and remains outstanding on September 30 of the following fiscal year is subject to an automatic cash-out provision.

The extended moratorium will prevent the normally automatic transactions from causing additional pay issues for members. Members will still be able to request a cash-out of their leave. PSAC is aware that many members value time off over money and when consulted by Treasury Board, we agreed to the change in policy. We believe this is a prudent decision, allowing members to use compensatory time over a longer period of time while alleviating some of the pressure around Phoenix pay-related matters.

The overtime articles in PSAC’s five Treasury Board collective agreements (PA, TC, EB, SV and FB groups) provide employees with the option for overtime to be paid by compensatory leave rather than pay in a fiscal year.

Where automatic cash-out provisions currently exist in the collective agreement, Treasury Board will be directing departments to suspend the automatic cash-out for all hours earned during the 2021/2022 fiscal year, unless the cash-out is specifically requested by the employee.

The next cash-out date of excess hours will follow the provisions stipulated in the relevant collective agreement.