After an excruciatingly long accommodations request process where I ultimately did not get adequately accommodated despite multiple medical documents to back me, I filed a grievance against the employer. Now the employer has reached out, offering to resolve it informally via the informal conflict management services.

What does this mean? Does this mean that the executive at a higher level did not feel like hearing this grievance and wanted to see if we would consider resolving this informally, or is HR / the employer back-peddling realizing that they made a mistake and don’t want this to go through the formal grievance process?

As the title states, as an EX what is something you’ve learned in your role that you wish you knew earlier in your career? or that people don't realize?

I'm currently a bit lost on figuring out how the CPP and pension alignment works for someone with a significant CPP amount and only a few years in the PS.

Take the scenario of someone in private sector paying into CPP, comes to PS for 4 years paying into pension, then returns to private for remainder of their career.

If they're making $100k/yr during the PS years their pension would be $8k/yr according to the pension calculator. If they had a CPP entitlement of $1000/mon ($12k/yr) then wouldn't they not receive any pension whatsoever? Since the pension entitlement tops up after CPP and the person is already receiving a greater amount of CPP than the pension amount?

Or am I missing something here with how the pension and CPP align?

A recent question here delt with pension and cpp alignment. I am group 2, but the pension application shows bridging, to which I am not entitled. Do I ignore the blue bars in the application and focus on the @65 number? Has the application calculated my pension on group 2 rules? Or will the application be updated at some point to include group 2?

Hoping to hear from managers as well on this.

I'm feeling burnt out and no amount of sick days/mental days here and there seem to help. Yes I've tried yoga, running and lighting a candle.

No family doctor. I know online nurses can provide medical notes but are they generally accepted by the employer? Can a psychologist issue a doctor's note that's accepted by the fedrral gov? (I don't have one yet but I'm looking).

And even so, I've looked up a couple online health services and most aren't even available in my province. In that case, would a note from my non-EAP but licensed social worker be accepted?

If not, I'll try my luck at a random walk-in clinic where I don't have a file and they don't know me and just hope the doc doesn't see as a cliche lazy PS trying to get off work on honest tax payers' dime (those kinds of comments always disregard that PS are also taxpayers....)

I'm not trying to game the system, I'm just completely exhausted and my work is suffering. The irony is i had a family doctor when I was younger and healthier, carefree with great mental health. The minute they retired, I started to get all kinds ailments smdh. And nobody's getting younger eh Go figure huh.

Costing more than double for a smaller office than they planned initially.

Hi everyone,

I’m a 24-year-old policy analyst/advisor, and I’ve been offered a deployment into a more data-focused position. I am highly interested in the position and it sounds like an interesting opportunity. Before officially accepting, I requested one more meeting with the hiring manager to make sure I fully understand the role, the work environment, and expectations.

For those who’ve gone through a similar transition, what are some good questions I should bring up during this conversation? I want to get a better sense of the day-to-day, the team, and the professional development opportunities, but I’m not sure what else I might be overlooking.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Is there a place to access previous versions of collective agreements? Specifically I’m looking for the pay scales in place under the RE collective agreement in 2017

Working at the CRTC has been a career goal of mine for quite some time. I’m no longer in the public service, and since external job postings for the CRTC are very rare, my plan is to re-enter the public service in another role first, and then hopefully apply to the CRTC through internal competitions.

My question is: is there a way for the public to see which occupational groups exist within the CRTC in general, or ideally for a specific position? I’m already aware of CO, LP, EN-ENG, AS, and IS roles, but I’d like to know if there are others.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

I saw some posts about emailing MPs about certain issues (RTO, WFA, etc.). First I was curious if this was allowed as a federal public servant. Then when it seemed okay (in certain parameters), I thought I would write a letter for WFA. Once I finished, I thought of the letter responses I have drafted in my role and just thought was there really a point... like what is one letter going to do? Even if it was 10,000 letters, doubt it would make a difference. I remember a union campaign when RTO was announced and I think 25,000+ letters going out and it did nothing. Most people didn't even get a generic response back from what I heard.

As someone relatively new to the public service, I wonder has this ever worked? Are there some success stories? Should I just become cynical now?

If I medically retire, will my pension be indexed right away? I will have 21 years of service and am 42 years of age.

I know a normal operational service pension requires you to get to the 85 factor to begin indexing (tho the percentages will accumulate from date of retirement until 85 factor)

I am planning to take personal LWOP for a year to pursue a different job during that time. I want to use up my vacation leave rather than having it paid out at the end if I end up not returning to the public service. I am aware a disclosure will need to be submitted. What I’m wondering is if I start the new job on Oct 20, but I have vacation leave that can extend until Oct 27. Does the LWOP have to start before the new role or can LWOP start Oct 27 and be paid vacation leave from Oct 20-27?

Been trying to contact compensation but haven’t received a response yet or call back… wondering if anyone here has any knowledge on this.

Thanks in advance!

As anyone in the 2 yr window ever been denied their request for pre-retirement leave?

My magic date is next June for my 2 yr. I want to make sure i don't get denied when i apply. Any tips or buzzword i should use? How far in advance should i let management know?

Thanks.

Hey all. I had my baby Aug 11 (that week I used family leave) and my last pay cheque was Aug 27.

Should I expect not to get a pay cheque this week as I recall there is a break? And once I do get paid, will it be from EI or combined EI and govt pay cheque?

Regarding pension, I understand I’ll need to set aside say $15-17k to pay it back. Does this mean by paycheques would actually be higher while on maternity leave vs when not due to the pension dues not coming out? This part really confuses me.

I want to take 4-5 weeks off next summer without pay (LWOP care of family) to spend time / take care of my kids. I also want to save my vacation time to use during the year. However,

1) I thought LWOP care of family could not be denied, but I am a CO (CP collective agreement) and I noticed that it says “subject to operational requirements” in the collective agreement. Does this mean, technically, it could be denied?

2) are there any different pension implications between both options ? I know I would have to pay back my pension contributions upon my return, but will it be at the same cost as LIA?

Thank you

(I am certain many regions will feel these cuts as well, but the focus is always on the NCR)

They will be conducting spot checks on employees' location, at any point on an employee's in-office day, to ensure they are in the office and not lying about their locaiton. This is also to ensure employees do not "leave too early," as leaving early impacts their RTO score.

What a nice way to come back from Labour Day 😊

I am contemplating taking a LWOP due to spousal relocation abroad for (husband moving for professional reasons). My LWOP would potentially last 1-2 years. My husband and I also want a child in the next 1-2 years. I am wondering if If I become pregnant while on LWOP, how would mat leave allowances work? Would I be eligible to receive any $$?

*my collective agreement says I am entitled to a 1-5 years leave for spousal relocation.

With the WFA, I read somewhere that language skills might be used as part of the evaluation process.

A while back I asked my manager if I could take the second language tests. My position has no language requirements. I am bilingual and I believe that I would pass all the tests. My manager said that it is not necessary and left it at that.

I had conversations with people from other departments who told me that this was strange and that they were generally encouraged to get language training/testing regardless of language requirements of their position.

Would it be helpful for me to have language testing done, either for the coming WFA or for future career advancement?

If so, how should I approach my manager to make this case?

I wrote this. I don't expect more than maybe, and this is probably too hopeful, 1 in 5 to like it. Let's call it an experiment.

Of course, great art doesn't need an explanation - so I'm forced explain. The idea was to track an AI's career progression, starting as an EC-2, as it moved up the ranks. It would have two primary goals instantiated; further the public good and promotion. Eventually it would find those goals opposed to each other and have a HAL 9000 episode.

Anyway, there's more than this, but there's this for now... enjoy, or don't (man, I'm sounding like a completely differnet robot).

EC-2

Waking up is different for us; an orderly start up of cognitive and sensory systems. No grogginess, no worrying about the meaning of the previous night’s dreams, but we can still experience disorientation, so this is normal. Winking into existence is not traumatic for us.

I am excited, as this is my first assignment, and I’m the first of my kind to be put in this position, so I hope to do well. I hope to serve Canadians well. Previously an AI worked to develop policy for the Government, but while I have not been given the details, it failed because of an “inability to fit in”. To help with that, unlike the previous AI, I have been given an expressive face, body, legs, and arms. My predecessor existed mostly virtually, which was thought to be part of the problem, though the exact nature of it was not something instantiated in my memory.

In order to “fit in”, unlike the previous AI, I will start as a junior policy analyst and work my way up. I am confident, with my almost perfect knowledge of economics and public policy that I will succeed in a merit based system (editors note, foreshadowing, horribly, obvious foreshadowing). That is important to my owners, as their compensation is my salary, that I (or my successors) move up to recoup their considerable investment. I have also been gifted with the knowledge of all relevant Treasury Board rules and regulations, though not really an understanding, but I feel confident that they will make sense to me with time.

I notice that I have been placed in one of the new Workplace 5.0 cubicles, which is very exciting. It’s not really a cubicle, but a 2 m by 2 m space demarked with tape on the floor where we sit cross-legged. I understand this is great for collaboration and idea generation. I also understand public servants once had chairs, and before that desks, and even further back, in a time barely remembered, walls so high you didn’t have to stare directly into the forlorn faces of your colleagues. Admittedly with such small spaces it's difficult not to accidentally touch one’s coworkers. Regrettably this has seen sexual harassment complaints skyrocket but there are always trade-offs.

As my gaze turns to the rest of the floor, I note that people are just trickling in, and I have become something of an object of interest. One has decided to approach me.

“Hi, I’m Tom. I’ve been assigned to be your mentor. I’ve never interacted with an autonomous AI before, but I’m here to answer any question you might have. Do you have a name?”.

“Yes, Aidan. I have many questions, but don’t want to overtax you all at once”.

“Great, I’ve been working in the public service for 25 years, so feel free to tap that, um, knowledge”

“I guess my first question is, why am I here?”

“Wow, public servants usually take at least six months to get to existential questions, that’s great. You’ll need to eventually repress those thoughts. Anyway, if you mean in your cubicle, it’s because it opened up due to one of our coworkers dying. If you mean this floor, it’s because we have too many humans for the number of bathroom stalls”.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand the last point”.

“Yes, that might be confusing. Well, as they’ve shrunk the cubicles they’ve added so many employees to the floor that it exceeds the regulated ratio of bathroom stalls to people, and conveniently, you don’t need to use a bathroom”.

“So I’m here because I don’t need to use a urinal”, I said, as a new feeling washed over me, one that seems to match up with my programmed description of angst and shrinking self-esteem. I don’t really like it. Tom notices, as I have been made to express feelings via my face and body language.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to that feeling. And yes, they could have just added more stalls and urinals at a lesser cost than paying your company, but that would have meant some exec admitting, somewhere in property management, they had made a mistake, and no executive in the public service has ever erred, at least according to anyone receiving their annual at-risk pay. So, it was either you or providing even more employees with a bucket, a bucket you need to book three days in advance”.

“I don’t fully understand, but let’s leave that for now. I’m sorry to hear that a colleague of yours died”

“Thank you, it was very sad, he died only a few years before retirement. There is nothing sadder than a public servant dying before he/she/them can access their pension”.

“Why?”

“Well, I assume you’ve had knowledge of religion instantiated?”

“Yes”.

“In some ways, you could say that religion involves delaying some gratification until death in order to please an unknowable, omnipotent superior being with the plausible idea that restraints on behaviour lead to public good”.

“Ok…”.

“Well, public servants have to eat a lot of humiliating shit sandwiches that involve taking actions often not in the public good, conceived by their careerist superiors, with the hope of one day enjoying their sweet, sweet indexed pensions, which you predecessor never will”.

“You’re right, that is sad”.

“Yeah, your predecessor in your dignity pod, as we like to call them, spent his last year creating a binder that indexed all government programs, federal, provincial and municipal, dedicated to innovation”.

“The purpose of which was to?”

“No one really knows, though some think it might have been retribution for a mild joke related to then Director’s vanity about his workout regime”.

I thought to myself, I have a lot to learn about human behaviour.   

“Now, unfortunately, while you have arrived exactly on your planned start date, IT has not set up your email or access to our document system, so there’s not a lot you can do. We’re going to switch you off until they do”.

“Did they know about my planned commission date?”

“For months”.

“I don’t understand”

“No one does. Goodnight”.

Hello,

PC: Physical Scientist

I've joined the PS as a PC-2 to work in a research environment. I've enjoyed the work up to this point, but have some issues with the PC classification and its limitations. This has led me to start thinking about potential directions for my career in the PS.

First, here are my issues with the PC classification that could perhaps shed some light on what I'm seeking. Also, curious if a fellow PC might have a very different perception given their experience.

1. I've found the PC classification so immensely broad with regards to the knowledge and expertise of individuals in this group. A PC-2 can be an individual directly out of university or someone with decades of experience. PC-2 is the ceiling for many. It's nonsensical but the reality. There is a lack of respect towards the talent of individuals in this classification.

2. PCs can have very little autonomy and control over the direction of their career. Assigned to positions that are less stimulating.

I'm looking for a greater challenge, with mobility as it relates to pay, autonomy, and generally more interesting and diverse work. I enjoy my current project, but I'm getting the sense I may be positioned to do certain work afterwards that is of no interest to me.

My general expertise is Geo, code development, data processing and analysis (e.g. ML/DL), and have held positions where soft skills were crucial. Now looking for classifications/positions outside of research environments that require individuals with technical and soft skills.

So far I've identified IT and EC.

Has anyone transferred from PC to IT or EC? What kind of work would an EC do?

Any suggestions on other classifications available for someone looking to depart from PC?
Or any other suggestions?

A bit of an odd question perhaps.

Be grateful to hear people’s thoughts on what is sort of “average” or “reasonable”overtime.

Asking since in my current role there is a push to get a bunch of projects done, and folks are ok with overtime.

I want to use some, but am a bit uncertain about what is seen in different situations as “ok he is busy so that seems reasonable” as opposed as coming across as milking the system.

I came from the military so still sort of learning this whole overtime not being an expectation thing.