Key reference chart for managers

Veterans Hiring Act

The Veterans Hiring Act (VHA) amended the public service staffing system to provide employment opportunities for current and former Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and provide hiring managers with better access to this group of skilled candidates.

The following three changes became effective on July 1, 2015, when the VHA came into force:

Changes

1. A new priority entitlement for medically released veterans

This priority entitlement is valid for a period of five years.

Type of process

Applies to all external and internal appointments for which priority clearance is required.

What this means

• Qualified veterans who were medically released for reasons attributable to service will be the first to be hired in any appointment process (before an organization's own surplus employees) provided they meet the essential qualifications of the position.
• Other merit criteria (asset qualifications, organizational needs and operational requirements) cannot be used to eliminate persons with a priority entitlement.
• Persons holding this priority entitlement are referred by the Public Service Commission (PSC) or may directly contact managers who are in the process of running an appointment process (same as all other priority entitlement types).
• The following order of precedence in priority entitlements must be respected:
  1. CAF members (veterans) released for medical reasons attributable to service.
  2. An organization's own surplus employees.
  3. Employees returning from a leave of absence whose positions have been staffed indeterminately.
  4. Persons who have been laid off.
  5. Other regulatory priorities in no particular order (including CAF members (veterans) released for medical reasons not attributable to service).

2. Veterans have a preference for appointment to a job open to the public

External advertised appointment processes (job opportunities open to the public).

• Veterans have a preference for appointment in advertised external appointment processes for up to five years following their release.
• If there are no qualified persons with a priority entitlement (item #1 above), a qualified veteran must be appointed to a job that was advertised to the public, before any other Canadian citizen.
• The preference requirement is applied at the time of appointment. It is applicable to any appointments from external advertised processes made on or after July 1, 2015:
  • The applicant’s eligibility to the preference can be validated through the jobs.gc.ca system and is provided to the hiring manager as part of the job application. In some cases, a veteran may not have entered their information in jobs.gc.ca, but is still eligible for preference. If an applicant identifies themselves as a veteran, but is not identified through the system, the onus of providing proof remains with the applicant, however hiring departments should not eliminate a veteran member from consideration until all reasonable efforts have been made to validate eligibility.
  • For pools that were established prior to July 1, 2015, it should be confirmed if veterans are in the pools before proceeding with an appointment.
• A veteran who is eligible for preference must be in the area of selection, and submit a complete application before the closing date.
• To be eligible for preference a veteran must meet the essential qualifications for the appointment. A veteran can be eliminated if they do not meet the essential qualifications; however they cannot be eliminated for failing to meet an asset, operational requirement or organizational need. These factors can only be used to choose among qualified veterans.
• The following order of appointment must be respected:
  1. Veterans first – An eligible veteran who meets the essential qualifications must be appointed ahead of other qualified candidates. When more than one veteran meets the essential qualifications, other merit criteria can be used to select among them;
  2. Canadian citizens second – When all veterans who meet the essential qualifications have been appointed, or declined an offer, a qualified Canadian citizen must be appointed ahead of other qualified candidates. When more than one Canadian meets the essential qualifications, the other merit criteria can be used to select among them;
  3. Then other candidates – When all Canadian citizens who meet the essential qualifications have been appointed, or declined an offer, other qualified candidates can be appointed.

3. CAF members and veterans are treated as employees in advertised internal appointments (mobility provision)

Internal advertised appointment processes (job opportunities open to public service employees).

• Veterans and serving CAF members are eligible to participate in any advertised internal appointment process including term, indeterminate and acting appointments for up to five years after their release.
• Veterans and eligible CAF members do not need to meet the area of selection requirements in an internal appointment process that is advertised, except for any employment equity criteria that may be established.
• To ensure that eligible veterans and CAF members have access to federal public service job opportunities, all advertised internal term, indeterminate and acting appointments (regardless of the length of the acting) must be posted on jobs.gc.ca, in bilingual format.
• The eligible veteran or CAF member must apply on the advertised process in the time period allowed, provide a complete application and participate fully in the assessment.
• Right fit selection at the time of appointment may be based on any merit criteria, including asset qualifications and organizational needs from amongst all qualified candidates.
• The applicant’s eligibility to the mobility provision can be validated through the jobs.gc.ca system and is provided to the hiring manager as part of the job application. In some cases, a veteran or CAF member may not have entered their information in jobs.gc.ca, but is still be eligible for the mobility provision. If an applicant identifies themselves as a veteran or a CAF Member, but is not identified through the system, the onus of providing proof remains with the applicant, however hiring departments should not eliminate a veteran member or a CAF Member from consideration until all reasonable efforts have been made to validate eligibility.