The Regulations Amending the Public Service Employment Regulations (SOR/2024-295) represent significant updates to the Public Service Employment Regulations (PSER) under the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA). These amendments address the evolving needs of departments and agencies within the public service and aim to ensure relevance, fairness, and inclusivity in staffing processes. The updates target several areas, including priority entitlements, acting appointments, lay-off provisions, and disclosure of information, while retaining much of the original intent and structure of the existing regulations.

A major revision involves the definition of “acting appointment,” which is clarified to reflect promotions as defined under the Definition of Promotion Regulations. This ensures a consistent method for calculating promotions within acting roles. Provisions related to disclosure of information obtained during investigations now encompass non-competency-based tests, broadening the scope of regulated information.

Priority entitlements see numerous adjustments aimed at better harmonization and support for public service employees. New parameters define the conclusion of priority entitlements, including situations where an indeterminate placement is accepted or declined without valid reason. The amendments align surplus entitlements under the PSER with those of the PSEA, ensuring these benefits cease upon indeterminate placement or the effective date of a lay-off. The terminology for employees with disabilities is modernized, replacing “employee who becomes disabled” with “employee unable to carry out their duties,” while extending the priority entitlement period for such employees from two to five years. This extension is retroactively applied to certain employees whose entitlements ended between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, offering an additional three years of priority entitlement to eligible individuals. Similar extensions are granted to Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) members discharged for medical reasons and to surviving spouses or common-law partners, expanding their entitlement periods from two to five years.

The amendments also refine the reinstatement priority entitlement by clarifying its application to employees appointed to lower-level positions and ensuring consistency in the interpretation of job levels under the Definition of Promotion Regulations. Notably, Canadian Forces members released for medical reasons are excluded from this entitlement due to challenges in equating their positions with public service roles. Furthermore, obsolete transitional provisions related to historical entitlements for Canadian Forces members and certain spouses or common-law partners are repealed.

New provisions allow employees to volunteer for lay-offs, enabling organizational flexibility. Additionally, the amendments align lay-off processes for all occupational groups, removing special considerations for the Ship Repair group at the Department of National Defence and harmonizing practices across the public service.

Canada (SOR/2024-295) January 15, 2025