The following message was sent by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Chief Human Resources Officer.

As the public service continues to implement exceptional measures to curb COVID-19 and its impact on Canadians, we are all working to ensure the health and safety of our employees. Thank you for your sustained attention to these matters.

As the pandemic situation continues to evolve and physical distancing measures are expected to continue for several more weeks, I am providing updated guidance today regarding remote work and leave provisions after April 10, 2020. I am also sharing some additional information and resources about positive diagnoses of COVID-19 in the workplace and equipment for working remotely.

Remote work and leave provisions

We have updated our guidance regarding remote work and leave provisions, including the use of ‘Other Leave with Pay (699)’ and it is now available on the Employee illness and leave page on Canada.ca. Employees who are able to work are generally fulfilling their duties remotely, or on-site when critical work cannot be carried out remotely. Managers can authorize ‘Other Leave with Pay (699)’ for employees who attest that they cannot work for the following reasons: (a) they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are experiencing related symptoms; (b) are at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and cannot work remotely; or (c) are living with a dependant that is at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and cannot work remotely.

As indicated in a previous bulletin, managers must communicate regularly with their employees to provide clear expectations and show flexibility as may be called for. This update has been informed by the persistent situation, the need to continue to support physical distancing and self-isolation, best practices and fairness to our workforce.

Disclosure and Management of COVID-19 cases

As part of our efforts to ensure that we are addressing cases of COVID-19 across the public service in a consistent manner that safeguards the health and safety of our employees, we have posted more information regarding employer and employee responsibilities to communicate any suspected or confirmed positive diagnoses among our workforce. This information builds on the guidelines that were recently shared with your Labour Relations and Communications communities.

Equipment for working remotely

While most employees have the standard equipment needed to work remotely, the duration of this crisis has led to questions about providing employees with additional equipment. Providing additional equipment to employees depends on the unique context in each department and the situation of the individual employee. Working with the Office of the Comptroller General, we have enclosed a framework to assist in making these decisions, clarifying who should receive what equipment, and how such equipment should be provided.

As always, in making such decisions, we must ensure the need is sufficiently pressing. We must, as well, respect value for money and remain prudent stewards of resources.

Validity period of TBS guidance

This updated guidance, and all other measures announced to assist our workforce throughout the exceptional circumstances caused by the fight against COVID-19, will remain in effect until non-critical business is authorized to resume or as indicated otherwise by the Employer. This may occur at different times across the country, as instructions from public health authorities are issued. We will continue to consult with your teams and bargaining agents as we adjust any guidance as necessary based on how the situation, and the governments’ response to the pandemic, are evolving.

I am grateful for your cooperation during this difficult time. Remember to look after yourselves and your family. Please also remind employees to refer to the helpful content on our COVID-19 site that includes information on safeguarding mental health and working remotely.

Due to COVID-19, PSAC has agreed with the employer to make some temporary amendments to the Public Service Health Care Plan, which will assist members in accessing the services that they need.

These changes include:

• Extension of the Emergency Benefit while travelling to 60 days from 40

The following changes will be made up until April 24, 2020:

• Any member can see a social worker and it will be covered under your psychological benefit (up to the regular annual maximum)
• You do not need a doctor’s prescription to access physiotherapy or psychological services
• Dispensing limit for maintenance medication will allow members to get their medication sooner, if required, and potentially get a supply for more than the 100 days’ limit which currently exists.

The full set of changes and further details can be seen here.

We will continue to work on this situation and will meet with the Employer to potentially make further amendments to Plan during the pandemic.

We are also planning a full set of negotiations for the Plan in the very near future.  We will update members as those negotiations get going.

The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.

Many people are struggling with their mental health during this difficult time. If you are overwhelmed, under significant stress, or having any mental health difficulties, PSAC has published a list of resources to assist you.

The following is from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

In the context of COVID-19, gatherings have been discouraged in order to limit the spread of the virus and guidelines have been developed for event organizers and planners to make decisions.  Numbers of people constituting a gathering in this context has been reduced from 250 to 50 by the Public Health Agency of Canada, and even 5 in certain provinces.

As long as employees or visitors to the workplace are not required to be in close contact with each other, such as in a meeting room, a waiting area or a boardroom, the situation is not considered a gathering. Both the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Health Canada’s Public Service Occupational Health Program (PSOHP) have provided specific advice which applies to the workplace. General advice includes:

• increasing awareness about COVID-19;
• evaluating the workplace for areas where people have frequent contact with each other and shared objects;
• increasing the distance between desks and workstations or spreading employees in office areas;
• adding signage for visitors and restricting access to people with symptoms; and
• ensuring frequent cleaning, providing access to handwashing areas and placing hand sanitizing dispensers in prominent locations.

We reiterate that managers are to consider on-site work only if the work meets the definition of critical service and working remotely to support it is not feasible.

The above interpretation is in line with instructions from national and local health agencies as of March 22, 2020. Evaluations of each workplace, in collaboration with the departmental OHS policy committee, the departmental workplace committee or the health and safety representative, can assist in ensuring that the guidance provided by PHAC and PSOHP (Health Canada) is applied and can support managers in determining how to continue delivering critical services as required.

The following is from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

The Government of Canada has asked that employees, at all work sites, work from home whenever and wherever possible, and that managers identify an approach that is flexible while ensuring continued critical government operations and services to Canadians. I know that departments and agencies are actively exercising this flexibility to limit the number of employees working on-site, thereby contributing to the efforts to contain the outbreak and prevent further spread. As you are aware, a number of departments have also activated their business continuity plans (BCPs) in response to the evolving situation with COVID-19.

Whether or not you have activated your BCP, request that employees working remotely who are not supporting critical operations, service and program delivery, limit their use of the network according to departmental guidance.

In cases where a manager determines that working remotely is not at all possible, non-critical employees will be eligible for “other leave with pay” (code 699). Students, casuals and terms less than three months who are not providing critical services are also eligible for this leave subject to the conditions indicated in my March 18, 2020 message here.

This guidance remains in force until April 10, 2020, and will be reassessed closer to the date based on how the situation is evolving.

Network usage for critical and non-critical services

BCP guidance and directives to departments do not stipulate how network resources should be used to support employees performing critical and non-critical services.

Appropriate network usage to maximize availability for priority users is a decision at the discretion of each Deputy Head. Any decision should be taken in consultation with the departmental Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Security Officer, who are supported with the latest network capacity updates from Shared Services Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Office of the Chief Information Officer.

In all cases, please refer to network usage best practices that were shared in my message from March 13 here or consult with your CIO.

On-site critical services

Managers are to consider on-site work only if the work meets the definition of critical service and working remotely to support it is not feasible.

A critical service is one that, if disrupted, would result in a high or very high degree of injury to the health, safety, security or economic well-being of Canadians, or to the effective functioning of the Government of Canada. All departments are required to identify their respective critical services and related supporting resources. For more information, please refer to the Policy on Government Security.

Given the nature of the crisis, your existing list of critical services may not be up to date. If you have not done so already, I invite you to revise it accordingly and to identify redundancy for the highest demand jobs, to account for possible absences or to prevent burnout of staff should the situation persist.

By contrast, an essential service is used to determine which positions must continue to provide service during strike activity. Essential service agreements are agreed to with the bargaining agents. No current essential service agreements exist for the vast majority of public service organizations.

As before, please continue to refer to the Information for Government of Canada Employees (with advisories and messages for employees) and Canada.ca/Coronavirus websites.

I am reaching out to all of you to express my deep gratitude to our members who are on the frontlines of this pandemic and to all who continue to sustain critical government services.

The situation has been evolving swiftly and dramatically and our union has been working tirelessly to protect members and their families. We are doing everything we can to keep safe those who are required to go into the workplace, and those who are teleworking. We are insisting that supports be put in place for those who are most at risk. We are also working to protect those who are physically vulnerable at this time. We know that precarious workers are facing hardship and have joined with others to press for income assistance. Northern and Indigenous communities are also at great risk because of difficult living conditions and limited access to health care.

We are in daily communication with employers across the country and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure your safety, and that of the public.

This is a time of exceptional solidarity—a time when our members are engaged in an all-out effort to fight the pandemic and ensure that Canada and Canadians are as safe and supported as possible. Thanks to all of you—border officers, Service Canada personnel, correctional services workers, university personnel and healthcare providers, and so many others—our country will get through this crisis.

Given the constantly changing situation, please continue to listen to the advice of public health authorities and follow their guidance and directives. Let’s all continue to support those who need help.

PSAC has developed some resources to help you and we will be developing more as needed. Please make sure to follow our social media accounts for regular updates.

If you require the assistance of your union, you can contact us online.

The leadership and staff of the PSAC, alongside your local, Component and regional leaders, are committed to doing all we can to support members and communities during this challenging time.

In solidarity,

Chris Aylward
PSAC National President

The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.