Phoenix: Standing Committee on Health—April 15, 2020
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Current status in light of COVID-19
In this section
Context
Due to the ongoing and evolving COVID-19 outbreak, Public Services and Procurement Canada’s services may be delayed. This may result in concerns regarding the continuity of pay services for public servants.
Key messages: Phoenix current status
- Pay services are currently provided without interruption and supporting employees is a top priority
- Services related to pay are considered essential and measures are in place to ensure that operational requirements are met
- Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) monitors the situation daily and is ready to respond should any issues arise
- We are working closely with all our partners, including employees, unions, members of parliament offices, departments and their representatives from human resources and pay, to provide support during this challenging time
Background
Following the recommendation of the Public Health Agency of Canada, PSPC asked all its employees, including those at the Public Service Pay Centre and the Client Contact Centre (CCC), to work from home if possible, while ensuring the delivery of essential services.
The Pay Centre continues to focus on processing essential pay services, which include regular pay, return from leave, maternity and parental leave, disability insurance and departmental emergency salary advances.
The CCC remains the first point of contact for current and former federal public servants looking for information or help with compensation and benefits. Clients may, however, experience increased wait times when calling the CCC.
Supporting employees and resolving pay issues are top priorities and we continue to see progress.
From February 19 to April 1, 2020, the backlog of transactions with financial implication has decreased by 17,000. Over the past 2 years, since January 2018, the backlog has decreased by 57%, from 384,000 to 166,000 transactions.
Specific measures in place
General
- We have introduced interim administrative measures to support pay service delivery. For example, PSPC implemented secure measures to simplify and speed up the approval process of a range of pay related transactions
- Employees with pay issues have access to emergency salary advance or a priority payment when necessary
- Employees who cannot access the government network can request to have their pay stubs through mail or epost, by contacting the Client Contact Center
Deferred overpayment recoveries
- In an effort to prioritize pay transactions during the pandemic, the Pay Centre has suspended all new recoveries of overpayments on accounts that, as of March 23, 2020, met the criteria for repayment under the policy flexibilities outlined in the Directive on the Terms and Conditions of Employment
- In the meantime, the Pay Centre will continue to issue letters informing employees of overpayment situations, but no recovery will begin for overpayments that fall under the flexibilities
- Should an employee choose to proceed with a lump sum repayment, they will be entitled to do so
- Existing recovery plans will remain. However, employees facing financial hardship can request to have their recovery plans modified, by contacting the Client Contact Centre