New Employees (New Hire, Rehire, Transfer to ESDC)

New persons appointed to positions with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) may be employees new to the federal public service or rehired after leaving the department. They may be appointed to indeterminate, term / casual, student or part-time positions. In addition, an indeterminate employee from another federal government department or agency may permanently accept a deployment to ESDC, also known as a transfer-in (TIN).

Whether new to the federal public service, rehired to a new period of employment after a break in service of at least one compensation day or transferring to ESDC from another department with no break in service, the Pay Centre requires submission of all mandatory documents to start / reinstate employee's pay or process a TIN. Failure to submit the paperwork in a timely manner will cause delays.

Important: The transfer-in (TIN) process is complex and it may take several months before an employee's case is finalized. Pay from your former position / department will continue during the process. If the TIN involves a rate increase / promotion, you will receive the new salary and a retroactive pay adjustment only once the Pay Centre completes the TIN. Employees must Contact the Pay Centre directly for all questions related to the status of an outstanding TIN case.

Employees must provide their former manager with a copy of the fully signed letter of offer from ESDC so that notification of the transfer-out (TOU) can be initiated, an important step in the process. The Compensation Directorate will complete the MyEMS (PeopleSoft) data entry and forward the Pay Action Request (PAR) form to the Pay Centre within five (5) business days upon confirmation that the former department has completed the corresponding TOU.

Refer to the Pay Processing Calendar and Payment in Arrears. Notify your manager immediately if you have not received your first pay within 20 business days of your start date or, in the case of a TIN, experience an interruption of pay. You may be entitled to an Emergency Salary Advance / Priority Payment.

Below you will find information, tools and resources needed to support you through your transition into the department.

  • Continuous Employment vs. Continuous / Discontinuous Service

    Eligible public service is defined by the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) as employment in departments / agencies and other portions of the federal public administration named in Schedules I, IV and V of the Financial Administration Act (FAA).  Calculation of service is based on the actual length of the period(s) regardless of the status, therefore, may include both full-time and part-time employment.

    Core public administration refers to the departments named in Schedule I and the other portions of the federal public administration named in Schedule IV of the Financial Administration Act.

    Continuous employment is one or more periods of public service, as defined in the Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA), with allowable breaks, as specified in the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment.

    Allowable breaks to determine continuous employment are periods:

    • up to three (3) months for indeterminate employees / term employees with three (3) or more months of service
    • up to five (5) working days for term employees and casual workers with less than three (3) months of service

    Employees should refer to their respective collective agreement to determine if provisions exist for continuous employment to influence eligibility to certain types of leave and provide for the accrual of vacation leave credits.

    If continuous employment is established between your current appointment and a previous position, you will be allowed to carry over the balance of unused sick leave credits from your previous job.

    If no provision exists or there is no record of the amount of sick leave credits earned, you will be deemed to have earned one third of the leave that you would have earned if the employment had been in the core public administration.

    Continuous service is unbroken period(s) of eligible public service used to determine the rate of pay on appointment and the appropriate pay increments. Continuous service is broken when employment ceases between two periods of public service employment for at least one (1) compensation day.  Continuous service allows an employee to carry-over unused leave credits from one position to another.

    Discontinuous service is two (2) or more periods of eligible public service, in which one (1) or more breaks of at least one (1) compensation day occurred.

    Most collective agreements allow you to count all public service with the federal government, whether continuous or discontinuous, when determining your annual vacation leave entitlement.  Employees should refer to their respective collective agreement to determine if severance pay received from prior service affects their entitlement.

  • Required Documents
  • Employee Responsibilities

    1. Prior to your first day with ESDC, you must accept and sign the letter of offer.  Complete all other required documents provided by your new manager and return as soon as possible.

      Note:  Do not complete the Oath/Solemn Affirmation.  If required, your manager will administer in your presence and include with your request. 

    2. You must create, reactivate or import your myKEY.  You will need to provide your full name, Personal Record Identifier (PRI), Government of Canada email address and date of birth.  MyKey allows access to Compensation Web Applications for Phoenix Self-Service, MyGCPay and the Performance Management application.

    3. As soon as you have your MyKey, you must establish your Section 34 Manager in Phoenix Self-Service.  Failure to do so will result in the inability to process certain pay transactions such as overtime / extra duty pay and leave without pay.

      Main Menu > Self Service > Time Reporting > Select Section 34 Manager

    4. Access myEMS (PeopleSoft) using your Windows user name / password.  It's important that your most current information is reported in Employee Self-Service.   Refer to Personal Information for this process.

      Note:   If you are transferring from another department, access to MyEMS (PeopleSoft) will be delayed; you will be required to manually submit leave requests via a GC178 until your TIN is complete.  Refer to Leave with Pay and Overtime for this process.

    5. All employees new to ESDC are required to complete a series of essential training for new employees within the first 90 days of their employment. You will be required to create an account with ILMS/Saba to manage your learning requests.  The essential training curriculum will automatically load into your Saba profile once your account is created.

    6. You should discuss with your manager any further training that may be required specific to your position. Some additional, suggested training related to compensation include:

  • Manager / Section 34 Manager Responsibilities
    1. Attach the fully signed letter of offer and all required documents as outlined in Manager's Guides to Staffing Actions to the existing request via the HRSC Portal, at least ten (10) business days in advance of the employee start date.

      Note: In all cases, if an amended letter of offer is required, managers must open a new Staffing request, noting the amended information and the HRSC request number of the initial staffing action.

    2. Refer to Work Schedules for instructions on how to add or modify the employee's work schedule in myEMS (PeopleSoft) only if it differs from the standard pre-defined schedule of the position (Mon to Fri: 7.5 or 8 hours/day / 37.50 or 40 hours/week). For instructions, access PSGuide - myEMS PeopleSoft.

      Manager Self Service > Manage Employee Schedules > Modify Personal Schedule

    How to Cancel a New Hire / Rehire / TIN request
    • If an accepted offer of employment is subsequently rescinded prior to the effective day but after the request has been submitted to the Pay Centre for processing, the manager must open a new request via the HRSC Portal:
      • Section: I am Manager….
      • Select "Pay-Related Action"
      • Complete the Employee Information section
      • Category: Select "Departure / Transfer Out – Retirement / Resignation"
      • Sub-Category: select the one most applicable to the initial staffing action
      • Effective Date: Is the same date as the initial staffing action
      • Attach the employee's written notification declining the offer
      • Submit your request

      Note: There is no need to complete a Pay Action Request (PAR) form. The Compensation Services Directorate will do this when the request is sent to the Pay Centre for processing.

    • Complete the Separation Clearance Process.  Please read the Off Boarding Employee – Departure Roadmap for all details related to this entire process.

      For more information on the Separation Clearance Process, refer to the tutorials and FAQs that are available on the Departure Road Map.

  • Useful Links