Recent federal budgets have focused on cutting costs and taken aim at workers who deliver critical public services across the country. When indeterminate jobs are cut in the federal public service, this process is referred to as workforce adjustment (WFA) for Treasury Board employees and Employment Transition for CFIA employees, and there are collective agreement provisions to limit to harm to these workers.  We recognize that job cuts affect all of our members, and term employees to a greater degree given their job precarity. Term employees are the first to lose their jobs when job cuts occur. 

1. What are the rights and entitlements of term employees? 

• Term and casual employees are not covered by the Workforce Adjustment (Treasury Board) or Employment Transition Policy appendix “B” (CFIA) found in your collective agreement. 
• Term employees are represented by the union and have access to paid vacation, sick leave, and the Public Service Health Care Plan (after 6 months of work). However, their rights are limited by legislation and policies. 
• Term employees whose term isn’t renewed or ends early are entitled to a) a minimum of two weeks’ notice for employees with one year or less of service; b) a minimum of four weeks’ notice for employees with more than one year of service; or c) at management’s discretion, pay in lieu of notice (in full or some combination of pay/notice) may be granted to meet minimum notice periods.1  
• The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) states that, at the end of their term, term employees cease to be considered employees of the public service. This means that the end of a term is not considered a layoff or termination. 
• Managers have control and discretion regarding the length of term contracts, the renewal or non-renewal of a term, and the end date of their term, subject to these and any other legislative requirements. 
• Section 58(1) of the PSEA states that an employee ceases to be an employee and is not entitled to priority status for placement within the federal public service when their term contract expires.  

2. Nonrenewal or early termination of term employment: Formal recourse available? 

• The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board does not have jurisdiction to hear grievances based on the expiration or non-renewal of a term contract. There are also no rights to file complaints under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA). 
• In cases where there is concrete evidence demonstrating that discrimination was a motive for the non-renewal of a term contract, an employee may contact their local union representative to discuss the possibility of filing a grievance and/or human rights complaint. The union will assess these grievances on a case-by-case basis and can only support those that show a clear connection between the identified protected characteristic and the employer’s decision to end the contract. 

3. Terms employee benefits when employment ends 

The table outlines the status of benefits, including the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP), Public Service Dental Care Plan (PSDCP), Pension, Disability Insurance (DI), Employee Assistance Plan (EAP), and severance pay, when a term contract ends. 

4. Term employment conversion to indeterminate 

CFIA’s Directive on Staffing Section 6.8.2 – Review of Active Term Employment Situations specifies that Branch heads shall undertake an annual review of term employment situations under their area of responsibility to determine: a. if indeterminate staffing of positions would be appropriate. b. whether to extend term appointments beyond the term end date. 

Approval is required for term appointments that are to be extended beyond three (3) years of continuous service, in accordance with the HR Delegations of Authority.  

Locals may wish to confirm with management that the annual reviews described in section 6.8 .2 are being completed, as these reviews help identify positions suitable for conversion to indeterminate status. 

The annual review may be suspended during periods when other mechanisms to review or restrict staffing or term employment are in place. 

Section 6.8.4 - Change in Tenure states that a change in employment tenure, for example from term to indeterminate (either in the same position or to a different position) is considered an appointment and must be made through an advertised or non-advertised staffing process ⁶ 

7.  The Union: Advocacy, bargaining and local support  

The Union and its components are advocating for the rights of members, both term and indeterminate. At all levels, the union advocates that departments respect and adhere to their obligations in collective agreements, policies, and legislation. This includes working to ensure that members who are term employees are treated in a fair and transparent manner.  

We continue to:  

• Pressure the government to reduce its reliance on term employment so as to eliminate the precarity these workers face;  
• Urge departments to consider fairness and equity when making decisions about any changes that affect employees’ job security; 
• Advocate for the resumption of service accumulation towards term conversion as soon as possible; 
• Advocate for term employees with three years of service to be made indeterminate before externally staffing for equivalent positions; 
• Bargain collective agreement language demanding transparency around how the term service accumulation suspension is operationalized; 
• Ensure the employer follows its directives and policies;  
• Monitor impacts on employment equity, including the potential disproportionate effects of term employment on equity-seeking groups. 
• Make treatment of term employees a standing agenda item at all Union Management Committee meetings and Joint Employment Transition Committee meetings.

8.  What can I do at the local level? 

• Ensure the employer is abiding by its policies including required dates to extend contracts and to give notice of contract nonrenewal; 
• Inform your union representatives immediately if you hear the employer is hiring indeterminate employees into positions occupied by term employees; 
• Speak to your union representative if you become aware of any back-to-back, short-term renewals (for example, one-month contract extensions); 
• Include discussion about workload, hiring, retention and budget spending at your local union-management meetings; 
• Keep your union representatives apprised of issues in your local so they can bring them forward to the employer. 

If you have further questions, please contact your local union representative.