WFA FAQ: Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)

Work force adjustment applies to indeterminate employees only. Term employees do not have protection under the WFA provisions of the collective agreement. To see specific entitlements under WFA, employees can review the WFA Appendix in the AFS collective agreement.

• Formal notification of any/all work force adjustment situations must be provided to the President of the Institute.
• An indeterminate employee must be informed in writing that their services may no longer be required beyond a specified date. When this formal notification occurs, the employee then becomes subject to the WFA provisions of the collective agreement and is considered an affected employee.

“Affected” status means that you are an indeterminate employee who has been informed in writing that his or her services may no longer be required because of a WFA situation.

When an employee is informed that they are “surplus” under WFA, there are two possible scenarios:

• Where the employer knows or can predict that employment will be available, the employee will receive a guarantee of a reasonable job offer. Employees who are offered a guarantee of a reasonable job offer will not have access to the options available to an opting employee.
• Where the employer determines that there is no likelihood of employment and cannot provide this guarantee, the employee will not receive a guarantee of a reasonable job offer. Instead, the employee will become an opting employee and will be given 3 options to choose from in order to help them make the transition to other employment. See the Options section below.

The notification is made to the national President of PIPSC, or their delegate. This is not the president of the OSFI-PEG Group or the President of Consultation but they may be put in cc to the official notification.

Yes. Language rights under the policy are respected as part of the information and counselling provided by the Employer. Further, normal job requirements, including official language requirements, are maintained in appointment, deployment, and alternation processes.

No, only affected employees will receive a letter when the Superintendent determines that their services are no longer required beyond a specified date due to lack of work or discontinuance of a function. This communication (or possibly a later one) will inform the employee whether they will be provided with a guarantee or a reasonable job offer and that the employee will be in surplus status from that date on or if they will be an opting employee and have access to the Options of VI of the policy.

An employee can still be notified of a WFA situation if they are on leave with or without pay. The written notice is provided to employees regarding their affected status and then, if applicable, their surplus status. While the policy states that employees will be notified in writing, the specifics of this are not identified. There is no provision in the policy that delays notification or providing options to opting employees who are on leave. Typically, letters will be sent to an employee’s home address.

The Employer is responsible for providing counselling to affected and surplus employees regarding the employee’s current situation including benefits. The benefits outlined in the Policy are in addition to those in the collective agreement, including leave with and without pay.

Only opting employees who are not in receipt of a guarantee of a reasonable job offer from the Superintendent will have access to the choice of 3 options and will have 120 days to consider them. The options are:

• Option A: 12 month surplus priority period to secure a reasonable job offer
• Option B: A Transition Support Measure (TSM)
• Option C: Education Allowance

Employees declared surplus have 12 months to secure a reasonable job offer. If no offer is made within that time, they will be laid off under the Public Service Employment Act. Employees can extend the 12-month surplus period by any unused portion of the 120-day opting period if they have chosen Option A in writing.

If a surplus employee under Option A offers to resign early, the Superintendent may approve a lump-sum payment equal to their regular pay for the remaining surplus period, up to a maximum of 6 months. This payout cannot exceed the amount they would have received under Option B (Transition Support Measure).

OSFI and the Public Service Commission will make every reasonable effort to help surplus employees find new positions within their preferred area during the surplus period.

If you have been given a guarantee of a reasonable job offer, you will continue to be paid until you are offered and accept a reasonable job offer. Note that if you refuse a reasonable job offer, you will be laid off, in which case you will be paid until you are laid off.

If you are an opting employee, you will continue to be paid until you are laid off or choose to resign.

Transition Support Measure (TSM) is a cash payment, based on the employee’s years of service in the public service (see Appendix B of the policy) made to an opting employee. Employees choosing this option must resign but will be considered to be laid-off for purposes of severance pay.

Education allowance is a Transitional Support Measure (see Option B above) plus an amount of not more than $8,000 for reimbursement of receipted expenses for tuition from a learning institution and costs of books and mandatory equipment. Employees choosing this option must resign from OSFI but be considered to be laid-off for severance pay purposes on the date of their departure.

If an employee chooses the TSM option, they must resign from OSFI and will be considered laid-off for the purposes of severance pay. The departure date will be established by management. Once the employment relationship ends at the departure date, regular benefits will cease as well.

The policy describes an accelerated lay off to occur when a surplus employee makes a request to the Superintendent to be laid off at an earlier date than originally scheduled and that request is approved. Employees whose requests are granted for accelerated lay-off receive lay-off entitlements, including severance pay as prescribed in the collective agreement.

The TSM is a cash payment based on the employee’s years of service in the public service. While the TSM is not pensionable, it is eligible for transfer into an RRSP subject to an employee’s available contribution room.

An unaffected indeterminate employee wishing to leave OSFI may express an interest in alternating with an opting employee. That employee moving into the opting position would be entitled to Option B (TSM) or Option C (Education Allowance).

If an opting employee (not in receipt of a guarantee of a reasonable job offer) wishes to leave OSFI, they may choose Option B (TSM and severance). If they choose Option A and then choose to leave within the 12-month priority period, they would be entitled to severance pay, but not the TSM.

An employee who is in receipt of a guarantee of a reasonable job offer does not have access to the Options, which includes the TSM.

If an opting employee chooses Option A, a 12-month surplus priority period to secure a reasonable job offer, and then resigns after 6-months, the Superintendent may authorize a lump-sum payment equal to the surplus employee’s regular pay for the balance of the surplus period, up to a maximum of 6 months. This lump-sum payment can’t be greater than the maximum amount the employee would have received had they chosen the TSM, which is based on their years of service in the Public Service.

It is part of OFSI’s responsibility to inform and counsel affected and surplus employees throughout the process, including the preparation of resumes, preparation for interviews with prospective employees, and assistance in employment alternatives that might be available. Similarly, it is the employee’s responsibility to actively seek alternative employment in co-operation with OFSI and the Public Service Commission, assist in appointment activities, and attend appointments related to referrals. While the policy does not explicitly provide that work time will be provided, it is expected that these activities may occur during work hours.

The policy does not define “meaningful work” for employees who choose Option A and become surplus employees. However, in addition to their normal assigned tasks of their position and classification level, surplus employees may engage in a retraining plan during the 12-month surplus period if it is recommended to help facilitate an appointment.

During the surplus priority period, employees remain indeterminate. During this time, the employee is entitled to be paid in accordance with their current appointment. Benefits flowing from other clauses in the collective agreement are separate from, and in addition to, those in the policy. For eligibility of vacation and performance bonuses, please see the appropriate collective agreement article. Similarly, pension contributions would continue as normal.

Surplus employees and laid-off persons appointed to a lower-level position within OSFI following a WFA situation will have their salary protected for the duration of their appointment to that position. When appointed to a lower-level outside OSFI but within the public service following a WFA situation, salary protection remains in effect for a maximum of 5 years following the appointment to the position. The same does not apply if an employee chooses to alternate to a lower classification.

A reasonable job offer is defined as an offer of indeterminate employment within OSFI or the public service, normally at an equivalent level but could include lower levels. A reasonable job offer shall be at the employee’s normal place or work or within a normal commuting distance. A reasonable job offer includes offers from Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA) employers , providing that the appointment is at a rate of pay and an attainable maximum salary not less than the employee’s current salary and it is a seamless transfer of all employee benefits.

OFSI can meet its WFA obligations by offering a different job, with retraining if necessary, as long as it satisfies the elements of a reasonable job offer.

It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to provide a guarantee of a reasonable job offer to those employees subject to a WFA whose employment availability can be predicted. Employment availability may be within OSFI or the Public Service.

The policy refers to employees in terms of their indeterminate position, not their acting position. In cases of an employee acting during a WFA, the employee’s status resulting from a WFA is based on their substantive position.

The policy provides for salary protection and transfer of employee benefits when a surplus employee is offered a reasonable job offer of a lower-level position within the Public Service. It does not specify which organization covers the cost. The same protection does not apply if an employee chooses to alternate to a lower classification.

Alternation occurs when an opting employee who wishes to remain at OSFI exchanges positions with a non-affected employee who is willing to leave OSFI with a Transition Support Measure (TSM) or Education allowance.

The person leaving OSFI through alternation is eligible for the TSM. The TSM is a cash payment based on the employee’s years of service in the public service. The TSM is not pensionable.

The policy does not identify a cap on the number of alternations that can occur, rather it sets out conditions for the alternation process. For example, only an opting employee may alternate into an indeterminate position, the alternation must permanently eliminate a function or a position, and the alternate moving into the position must meet the requirements of the position.

Alternation is not one of the three options offered to opting employees, but it allows opting employees to stay at OSFI while their alternate chooses between Option B or Option C. Since alternation is only available to opting employees, the alternation needs to occur during the 120 days of opting status. If no alternation is in place within the 120 days and the employee fails to select an option, the employee will be deemed to have selected Option A. Employee alternation must occur on a given date in which two employees switch positions on the same day.

An indeterminate employee who wishes to leave OSFI may express their interest in alternating with an opting employee, but management ultimately decides whether a proposed alternation will result in the necessary skills of the position and the organization. Management is not obliged to accept any proposed alternation.

The policy does not describe a specific method for an employee to formally declare their interest in alternation. Alternation requires management approval and same-day exchange, but it does not state that expressing interest in alternation binds an employee to the alternation. OSFI is responsible for informing and counseling affected and surplus employees on alternation as well as the employee’s current situation.

OSFI is responsible for providing employees with information and assistance on alternation. This includes establishing an alternation process in which all sectors must participate. Alternation at OSFI can only be done within the department and not externally.

Management decides whether a proposed alternation will result in retraining the skills required to meet the ongoing needs of the position as OFSI. Therefore, management is not obliged to accept any proposed alternation.

A pension waiver is a program that allows for someone who resigns or is laid off because of WFA prior to their normal age or retirement to receive an unadjusted pension benefit. The Pension Reduction Waiver is not an entitlement within the WFA provision of the collective agreement and eligibility is determined by certain criteria, including:

• A surplus employee who has not received a guarantee of a reasonable job offer under the WFA and who is laid-off or resigns in exchange for a payment representing payment in lieu of a surplus period.
• An employee whose services will no longer be required because of a WFA situation, who has not received a guarantee of a reasonable job offer and who is granted a Transition Support Measure in accordance with the WFA and who resigns from the public service.
• The employee cannot be in receipt of an educational allowance.

Questions about the waiver or the eligibility criteria should be directed to your Compensation Advisor, your manager, or the PSPC. More information on pension waiver can also be found on the PIPSC website.

Retirement is a voluntary departure from employment. Once your retirement/resignation has been accepted by the Employer, it is binding unless the withdrawal is agreed upon by the Employer. If the retirement is processed as planned, the employee will not be eligible for WFA benefits.

The policy does not identify buyout options for employees who are close to retirement. It is the responsibility of the Employer to provide explanations and assistance concerning alternatives that might be available to employees, including retirement and the possibility of a waiver of penalty if entitled to an annual allowance.

The policy defines Alternative Delivery Initiative as the transfer of work, undertaking or business in OSFI to any body or corporation that is a separate employer, or that is outside the public service. If Alternative Delivery Initiatives arise during the life of the collective agreement, affected employees can still face work force adjustments, but the provisions of the National Joint Council WFA Directive shall apply. See Part VII Alternative Delivery Initiatives.

It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to determine whether the services of an employee are no longer required beyond a specific date due to lack of work or discontinuance of a function. Therefore, management’s discretion is used to assess the functions and positions which are affected.

Neither the policy or the collective agreement address performance pay eligibility in a lay-off situation.

Surplus employees maintain their indeterminate status unless they are appointed to another indeterminate position, are laid-off, resign, or have their surplus status rescinded. Given the indeterminate status, employees are still entitled to the provisions of the collective agreement that govern performance reviews and applicable bonuses.

Surplus priority entitles surplus employees (choosing Option A) to be appointed to other positions in the public service and OSFI without competition for 12 months provided they meet the essential qualifications as per the Public Service Employment Regulations.

The policy forms the collective agreement between OSFI and PIPSC, therefore the Employer (OSFI) follows its specific WFA Policy. In cases of outsourcing, the Employer must follow the NJC WFA Directive.

Currently, the OSFI WFA Policy does not explicitly mention VDP. The Institute is proposing in consultation for the department to participate in such a program, however, does not have a yes or no answer yet. Once PIPSC does, this page will be updated.