Tag Archives: leave

PSAC members denied 699 leave may apply for reconsideration by November 4

PSAC members who applied for and were denied 699 leave between November 2020 and March 2022 may be eligible to apply for reconsideration.

On March 7, 2022, the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) issued its decision concerning the proper application of 699 leave.

Following the release of this decision, the FPSLREB recommended a process to resolve issues involving individuals who unsuccessfully sought 699 leave in writing during this period but did not present an individual grievance. This process is now being made available to PSAC members.

What is the process to request 699 leave reconsideration?

PSAC must present a request to the employer for reconsideration on behalf of its members. This request must include all documents initially submitted to the employer between November 9, 2020, and April 1, 2022.

In the event the request is denied, an independent member of the FPSLREB will review the application and make a recommendation. The employer has agreed to be bound by the recommendation.

Do I qualify for 699 leave reconsideration?

To qualify for 699 leave reconsideration, you must meet all the following requirements:

You submitted a request in writing for 699 leave between November 9, 2020, and April 1, 2022.
Your request was denied, and you did not file a grievance.
You were financially disadvantaged by having to use sick or vacation (annual) leave.

What steps must I take?

Individual reconsideration requests must be submitted to PSAC by November 4, 2024, and include all relevant written documentation, such as letters, emails, or messages that support your request for reconsideration. Please complete the request form, which has been created to expedite processing times.

If you have questions or need additional support, please contact us by selecting “699 Leave” in the dropdown menu.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

PSAC celebrates 699 leave victory

In a major victory for federal public service workers hardest hit by the pandemic, an arbitration board ruled that Treasury Board cannot force employees to exhaust all their other leave before accessing 699 leave for COVID-19-related reasons.

This decision means that PSAC members who filed individual grievances related to 699 leave — where members were forced to use other available leave like sick leave, vacation leave or family leave before accessing 699 leave — can now request the leave be reimbursed to their leave banks.

Treasury Board’s heavy hand during the pandemic

The 699 leave provision is for “other leave with pay” and members can request it through their manager when they are unable to report to work for reasons beyond their control. This is different from sick leave and vacation time.

PSAC members relied on 699 leave to grapple with radical work-life changes during the pandemic. Parents were often left with no choice but to apply for 699 leave when schools and daycares were closed or went remote, but the government heavily restricted its use.

The restrictions disproportionately impact marginalized groups who have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, including women, Black, Indigenous and racialized employees, workers with disabilities, high-risk workers and workers with family obligations.

PSAC filed several policy grievances with Treasury Board, CFIA and other agencies for restricting the use of 699 leave. Two of these grievances were then brought before the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.

The Board found the 699 leave policy breached PSAC’s collective agreement by requiring employees to exhaust other leave before 699 leave could be granted. The Board ruled this posed an undue burden on employees and violated members’ collective agreements.

On parental leave specifically, the Board ruled that denial of 699 leave to parents who “chose” not to send their children to school or daycare is not discriminatory or a violation of the collective agreement. Although parents may have a right to choose to keep their children at home” this was a choice and not a right that is protected by human rights legislation, the Board ruled. PSAC is reviewing this aspect of the decision for potential grounds for judicial review given the evidence that parents had little to no choice regarding childcare during the pandemic as well as the state of human rights jurisprudence on the issue of sex and family status discrimination.

Requesting 699 leave

If you need leave related to COVID-19, you should continue to request 699 leave. If your request is denied or you are forced to take other types of leave, reach out immediately to your PSAC regional office or your component labour relations officer to discuss whether you should file an individual or group grievance, including a grievance citing discrimination on the grounds of sex, family status or disability.

Stay up to date about 699 leave and other important issues by updating your contact information and signing up for our latest updates.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

Treasury Board members: Moratorium lifted on automatic leave cash-out

PSAC and Treasury Board have reached an agreement to lift the moratorium on the automatic cash-out of vacation and compensatory leave for the PA, TC, EB, SV and FB groups.

In previous years, in order to address the shortcomings of the Phoenix pay system and allow compensation advisors to focus on fixing outstanding pay issues, PSAC and Treasury Board had agreed to suspend the automatic cash-out of vacation and compensatory leave permitted under PSAC’s collective agreement until March 31, 2022.

Under most of PSAC collective agreements, leave that is earned in a fiscal year and remains outstanding on September 30 of the following fiscal year is subject to an automatic cash-out provision.

Payment of outstanding vacation and compensatory leave credits will resume on March 31, 2022. However, in order to return to the carry-over levels allowed in the collective agreements, PSAC and Treasury Board have agreed on a transition process.

This means that each year, for a five-year period, 20 per cent of the vacation and compensatory leave balances above the annual carry-over limit will be cashed out.

Members with a balance above allowable limits remaining on March 31, 2026, will receive a cash-out for the portion in excess, in its entirety, with respect to the applicable collective agreement provisions.

PSAC acknowledges that many members prefer paid time off over a cash payment in lieu. Members will continue to be allowed to use their vacation and compensatory time or to request a cash-out of their vacation or compensatory leave balances during the year, in the amounts and manner described in their collective agreement.

If a member is having ongoing issues with their leave balance, for example in situations regarding a dispute about the balance due to the Phoenix pay system or a pending transfer situation, in consultation with the employee, the mandatory leave cash-out can be paused by the employer.

For more information on the automatic leave cash-out, members can consult the Memorandum of Understanding.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

COVID-19 Update — Follow-up to question on use of 699 leave

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

We are following up on the question which was raised during our COVID-19 Update call on Tuesday. With regards to requests from employees to take the child/person for whom they have a duty of care to get the COVID vaccine, our guidance to Departments is the following:

The employee should first try to schedule the vaccination appointment outside of work hours or work flexible hours to make up the time taken.
The employee can schedule family related leave to bring a child / person for whom they have a duty of care to the vaccination appointment.
If that is not possible and all Family related leave has been used, the employer could grant 699 leave for a reasonable time period to get the vaccine as this is related to COVID.

Paid 698 leave available for federal employees getting vaccinated

As the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination begins to gain momentum, PSAC would like to remind all federal employees that they can request paid 698 leave to attend their vaccination appointment.

With the 698 leave, employees have access to up to a half-day of paid leave to attend a medical or dental appointment. This includes an appointment for vaccination, and time to travel to and from the vaccination site.

The paid leave is possible under a Treasury Board policy covering medical and dental appointments, but PSAC has been in discussions with Treasury Board to ensure that employees who are getting a vaccine that require a booster are also entitled to paid leave for the second vaccination.

However, since 698 leave is only available to employees of the federal government, we ask that provincial and territorial governments follow the federal Treasury Board example and not penalize employees by docking their pay when they protect themselves and their community by getting the COVID-19 vaccine. All workers, regardless of their jurisdiction, should be able to get vaccinated without worrying about their paycheques.

If you have any questions about your rights on the 698 leave, reach out to your local shop steward, your Component, or the PSAC regional office for help and support.

You can also consult our FAQ about your rights as an employee around COVID-19 screening and vaccination.

This article has also been posted on the PSAC website.