Indeterminate Appointment
An indeterminate appointment is when an employee is appointed on a permanent basis, such as an appointment from a pool of qualified candidates or as a result of a non-advertised process, and generally results in a promotion or change in tenure.
* Priority Clearance is required for all new appointments.
Why consider this staffing action
- To fill a permanent vacancy and/or a planned departure;
- To work on a new initiative, program or project;
- To proceed with the appointment of a person with a priority entitlement or an employee subject to Workforce Adjustment;
- To create stability in the workforce;
- To attract and retain qualified employees.
What you need to know
Types of Indeterminate Appointment, Merit and Recourse
- Internal (advertised* and non-advertised**) - Subject to merit and recourse to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB):
- Merit: the employee must meet the Statement of Merit Criteria (SOMC).
- Recourse: a two-step notification process is required on the GC Jobs website, known as Notification of Consideration and Notification of Appointment or Proposal of Appointment.
- External (advertised* and non-advertised**) - Subject to merit but not recourse:
- Merit: the employee must meet the SOMC.
*Advertised – A process is advertised when candidates in the area of selection are invited, through an advertisement, to apply and demonstrate that they meet the merit criteria.
- Internal advertised appointment – occurs when the selection process is open only to federal public servants.
- External advertised appointment – occurs when the selection process is open to federal public servants and non-public servants.
**Non-Advertised– A process is non-advertised when the sub-delegated manager hires a candidate without an advertisement. Student Bridging and the appointment of a person with a priority entitlement are considered non-advertised processes.
- Internal non-advertised appointment – occurs when the appointment is for a public servant.
- External non-advertised appointment – occurs when the appointment is for a non-public servant.
Consult ESDC’s Guidance on Staffing for further details on the choice of appointment process.
- Internal (advertised* and non-advertised**) - Subject to merit and recourse to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB):
Area of Selection for Recourse Purposes (Internal processes only)
- Identifies who is eligible to file a complaint to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) following an appointment.
- Internal advertised appointment process: The area of recourse is limited to persons who were in the area of selection and participated in the appointment process.
- Internal non-advertised appointment process: The area of recourse is established by the sub-delegated manager in consultation with their HR Advisor. Section 6.6 of ESDC's Policy on Area of Selection, sets out the principles to follow when establishing an appropriate area of selection for recourse purposes.
Priority Clearance
- Priority clearance must be obtained prior to all indeterminate appointments (see PSC Staffing actions that do not require priority clearance for exceptions).
- A Request for PSC Priority Referrals can be submitted in the HRSC Portal separately.
- The request should be submitted with a finalized SOMC.
Important: A person who has a priority status is entitled, under the Public Service Employment Act or the Public Service Employment Regulations, for a limited period, to be appointed ahead of all others to vacant positions in the public service. To be appointed, the person must meet the essential qualifications of the position.
Language Requirements
- The language requirements of the position must be met.
- Unilingual positions - The candidate's ability in the language of the position must be assessed by the hiring manager/assessment board.
- Bilingual positions – Candidates must have valid Second Language Evaluation (SLE) results. The candidate's second official language is assessed using the Public Service Commission's SLE Tests. The candidate's first official language (FOL) is assessed by the hiring manager/assessment board.
- The appointed employee is eligible for the bilingualism bonus, in accordance with the Bilingualism Bonus Directive.
- The bonus is not payable to employees in the executive group (EX).
- The Manager's Guide to Non-Imperative Staffing identifies the situations and conditions in which non-imperative staffing could be considered.
Security
- Employees must have a valid security clearance that meets the security level required for the position being staffed.
- For new hires to ESDC or employees moving into a position requiring a security clearance at a higher level than the level they currently possess, submit security clearance requests to the appropriate Regional Security Office (RSO) as early as possible to avoid delays in the processing of your staffing request.
- Refer to the Validation of Security for Staffing Requests Chart to know the security confirmation process for your staffing action.
Vaccination Requirement
- The Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration requires all employees to be fully vaccinated or have a supported accommodation measure due to a certified medical contraindication, religion or other prohibited ground of discrimination as defined in the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA).
- The vaccination requirement took effect on October 6, 2021, and it is a condition of employment.
- Refer to the Validation of Vaccination Requirement for Staffing Requests web page to know the validation process for your staffing action.
Employment and Schedule
- The start date cannot be on a statutory holiday or on a weekend (unless the individual is actually required to work on that day).
- May be hired with a set or shift work schedule, full time or part time, and on a seasonal basis. For more information on work schedules, consult the Guidance Document on Work Schedules for Employment Offers.
Pay
- As per Part 2 of the Appendix of the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment, on appointment from outside the Public Service:
- The rate of pay is to be the minimum rate of the pay scale applicable to the position to which the person is appointed.
- The sub-delegated manager has the discretion to appoint a person above the minimum salary only when one of the following conditions applies:
- shortage of skilled labour in the field involved, as evidenced by local or regional labour market surveys from recognized institutions;
- unusual difficulties in filling the position with properly qualified candidates (for example, the minimum rate of pay is not competitive with the rates offered by local or regional employers for similar duties); or
- operational conditions require the presence of a highly skilled or experienced person who can assume the full duties of the position immediately upon taking employment (for example, there is no alternative but to pay above the minimum because training a novice person would impose an unacceptable burden on the employing organization).
- As per Part 2 of the Appendix of the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment, on appointment from outside the Public Service:
Relocation
- Reimbursement of relocation expenses may apply; managers must contact the National Relocation Office nc-relocation-reinst@servicecanada.gc.ca* before initiating a discussion with the employee/candidate and/or submitting a request to the HRSC Portal, whichever comes first, when:
- the work location of the position to be staffed differs from the one previously occupied by the employee.
*with the exception of the movement of an employee from a position in the National Capital Region (NCR) to another position in the NCR.
- Reimbursement of relocation expenses may apply; managers must contact the National Relocation Office nc-relocation-reinst@servicecanada.gc.ca* before initiating a discussion with the employee/candidate and/or submitting a request to the HRSC Portal, whichever comes first, when:
Required documents
Advertised Process - Appointment
- Security: Refer to the Validation of Security for Staffing Requests Chart to know the security confirmation process for your staffing action.
- COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: Consult the Validation of Vaccination Requirement for Staffing Requests web page to know the confirmation process for your staffing action.
- Articulation of Selection Decision: You may provide the information using the Articulation of Selection Decision template (DOCX, 33 KB), the HRSC Portal or any other format. It must be approved by the staffing sub-delegated manager. See Type of Approval Required.
- Proof of Education as identified on the job advertisement (if not already provided during the process).
- Consult the manager's tool on Proof of Education and Occupational Certification for more information.
Additional documents required - External Appointments
- Validation of Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident Status for all hired candidates. When hiring a temporary resident or temporary foreign worker, managers must ensure the employee has and maintains a valid work permit.
Non-Advertised Process - Appointment
- Security: Refer to the Validation of Security for Staffing Requests Chart to know the security confirmation process for your staffing action.
- COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: Consult the Validation of Vaccination Requirement for Staffing Requests web page to know the confirmation process for your staffing action.
- Articulation of Selection Decision: You may provide the information using the Articulation of Selection Decision template (DOCX, 33 KB), the HRSC Portal or any other format. It must be approved by the staffing sub-delegated manager. See Type of Approval Required.
- Statement of Merit Criteria (SOMC) (DOCX, 522 KB): Bilingual Word format.
- Candidate assessment: You may provide the information using the Assessment of Merit Criteria template (DOCX, 48 KB). The assessment may also include the following items:
- Candidate Resume: Only required if the assessment references the resume.
- Proof of Education that meets the qualification as identified on the SOMC:
- Consult the manager's tool on Proof of Education and Occupational Certification for more information.
Additional documents required - Internal Appointments
- Area of Selection for Recourse Purposes: This information is not required when submitting your request; however, if you have this information in approved or draft format, add it to your request so that it can be finalized in partnership with an HR Advisor.
Additional documents required - External Appointments
- Validation of Canadian Citizenship for the hired candidate. When hiring a non-Canadian citizen, managers must ensure the employee has and maintains a valid work permit.
- If Student Bridging:
- Evidence of employment under a Student Employment Program (FSWEP (including ISEO and EOSD), RAP, Co-op) (i.e., letter of offer, PeopleSoft print screen etc.).
- Evidence studies completed prior to appointment (i.e., diploma, transcript or other confirmation from the educational institution).
If Applicable (Advertised and Non-advertised)
- Occupational Certification: Evidence that the candidate meets the TBS qualification standards (i.e., CPA).
- Evidence studies completed (For internal advertised appointments open to current students) by date identified on job advertisement and prior to appointment.
- Informal Discussions: (Internal appointments only) Summary and corrective measures taken.
- Non-Imperative Staffing:
- You may provide the approval using the Request for Non-Imperative Staffing of Bilingual Positions (Optional) - Form (DOCX, 35 KB) or any other format (ensure information from sections B, C, and D of the form are included with the approval). The request must be approved by the staffing sub-delegated manager. See Type of Approval Required.
- Plus, Statement of Agreement to Become Bilingual (PDF, 1.26 MB) or Request for Exclusions of Persons Eligible for Immediate Annuity - Form (DOCX, 32 KB).
- Dual Remuneration: Written certification from the delegated authority of the organization in which the person occupies their current substantive position that the performance of additional service in another organization does not impair the person's effectiveness in their substantive position.
- Rate of pay above the minimum: If a higher rate is offered, provide the salary or pay step offered one of the justifications from the Pay section above and a brief description of the context (can be an e-mail or a note in the comments section).
- Relocation Confirmation: Should the NRO determine that relocation applies; attach the confirmation email containing the relevant information.
- Confirmation of Employment Equity Self-declaration: Where the area of selection is limited to members of an EE group and/or is a merit criterion identified on the SOMC.
-
Completed Affirmation of Aboriginal Affiliation Form (AAAF): Where the appointment of an Aboriginal candidate is the result of:
- limiting the area of selection to Aboriginal peoples or employment equity groups that include Aboriginal persons;
- applying the organizational need to increase the representation of members of designated groups, including Aboriginal peoples; Or
- selecting from an Aboriginal inventory used to increase the representation of Aboriginal peoples, or of designated groups, including Aboriginal peoples.
Submitting a request
- Step 1: Obtain the following
- Consult the Terms of Reference of your branch/regional Workforce Management Committee (WMC) to determine if WMC approval is required.
- Employee PRI: If the employee is new to the Public Service, obtain a PRI.
- Position:
- An indeterminate appointment requires a vacant classified position. If you do not have an available position in your organizational structure, submit a request to Classification in the HRSC Portal.
- If the designated work location of the employee is different from the current position location in PeopleSoft, refer to the Guide on Location Changes of a Position or an Employee for more information.
- Conditions of employment: As applicable and identified on the SOMC, ensure that the employee meets the position's conditions of employment (i.e., requirement to travel, ability to lift a specified weight, valid driver's license, etc.). This includes the COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement.
- Step 2: Complete the request form
- To find information needed to complete your request, refer to the Reference Guide for Managers (DOCX, 514 KB) and the myEMS (PeopleSoft) Designates Tip Sheet.
- For financial coding, refer to the Financial Coding Manual, contact your Financial Management Advisor or email na-fin_coding-codage@hrdc-drhc.net.
- Add any other information/comment in the "Additional Comments" section.
- Attach the required documents.
- Step 3: Submit your request
- The staffing sub-delegated manager with financial signing authority, for the identified cost centre, under the Financial Administration Act (FAA) assumes full responsibility for the request.
- Step 4: Contract and signatures
- After HR review, a letter of offer will be issued through the HRSC Portal request for signature.
- Read the letter carefully and return it once signed by all parties as per the provided instructions.
- If any amendments are required, advise HR. Do not make handwritten amendments or use a PDF editor.
- Step 1: Obtain the following