Why the Pay Centre rejected your pay action request (and what to do about it)

The Public Service Pay Centre receives many pay action requests every day. If you take care to provide accurate information and ensure that all required documentation is attached when completing the pay action request form, the Pay Centre will direct your request to the appropriate unit for prompt processing.

If, however, the information you provide is inaccurate or incomplete, the Pay Centre will reject your request. Learn about the most common reasons for rejection and find out how to avoid rejection next time you submit a pay action request.

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Reasons for rejecting pay action request forms

The Public Service Pay Centre may reject your pay action request (PAR) form due to:

Mandatory pay action request form fields

If you correctly populate, or complete, all fields in your PAR form, particularly ensuring that all mandatory fields are completed, the Public Service Pay Centre is better able to efficiently process your request.

When completing the form by hand, you must also take care to print legibly. Unreadable forms will be rejected. Please ensure you populate the following mandatory fields:

More information

Checklist: Completing a pay action request form

Before submitting your pay action request (PAR) form to the Pay Centre, make sure it is complete, free of errors and that it respects the Pay Centre’s requirements.

Confirm that you need to submit a pay action request form

Only submit a PAR form for an employee served by the Pay Centre.

Departments and agencies served by the Pay Centre

A pay action request form is required if

  • You need to initiate a transaction/case in the pay system (for example you are completing and forwarding pay-related forms) or if you are sending in a cheque (to pay back an overpayment/debt to the Crown or to pay other monies owed [such as post-dated payments due to a leave without pay.] )
  • You have been requested to forward specific or additional documentation to the Pay Centre relating to an existing case and this requires a trusted source, such as an amended leave form or authorization for an allowance or payment.
  • You have received communications from insurance providers, unions, law offices, professional services, etc. that need to be shared with the Pay Centre.
Note 5

Send in one PAR form 446-5 for each pay request. Typically only HR officials are regularly using 446-6 “bulk” PAR forms.

A pay action request form is not required if

  • You wish to submit a general enquiry or have a pay or benefits question
  • You have an issue or wish to discuss a concern about any compensation action (including deductions for pension, union dues or benefits)
  • You need copies of your pay stubs or tax slips
  • You want to know the status of an existing case, perhaps an outstanding payment you are expecting or an overpayment amount
  • You need to request an Emergency Salary Advance
  • You have not yet received your Record of Employment or amended tax slip

Instead, for all of the above, use the My Pay Enquiry form or call the Client Contact Centre directly (1‑855‑686‑4729).

Note the following

  • For pension related enquires (including enrolment in a pension plan, having reached 35 years of service, buy back of service, or requests for annual benefit statements), you must contact the Pension Centre at 1‑800‑561‑7930.
  • If you are missing funds, you may be eligible for either an Emergency Salary Advance (ESA), or your department may offer you a priority payment. For an ESA, contact the Client Contact Centre. Since priority payments are distinct from the Pay Centre, speak with your manager or Finance Branch in regards to the forms or process to follow in your department.
  • Insurance companies, unions, law offices, professional services or financial institutions wishing to communicate and transmit documents directly to the Pay Centre may do so by sending them without a PAR and without the need for a trusted source, to tiersrequetecentredepaye.paycentrethirdpartyrequest@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.
  • Where an employee currently served by the Pay Centre is transferring to a non-Pay Centre organization, the new organization may email the Pay Centre to coordinate the transfer at: pwgsc.mirtransfer-transfertmir.tpsgc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca. No PAR is needed to initiate this coordination.
  • You can submit any garnishment orders from the Department of Justice or mandatory set-offs from Canada Revenue Agency/Ministère du Revenu du Québec to the Pay Centre without a PAR by emailing : soutiencentredepaye.paycentresupport@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

Use the correct version of the form

As the PAR is subject to change without notice, we recommend that you always access it online instead of downloading and reusing a copy saved to your desktop. Using an older version of the form will result in your PAR form being rejected.

Pay action request form

Complete the form fully and attach all required documentation

Ensure all mandatory form fields are completed.

Attach all required documentation. If unsure visit Pay Centre Documentation Requirements Reference guide

Select the appropriate work type and sub-type

Certain combinations of work type and sub-type require specific supporting documents.

Visit Pay Centre documentation requirements reference guide to learn more about supporting documentation required for a specific type of request.

Visit Understanding work-types and sub-types for a listing of all available selections.

Complete the comments section

The comments section should be completed with a short explanation of what you are requesting. Rejection will occur if the comments section of the PAR contains personal information about multiple employees, such as PRI, Date of Birth, or salary (this also applies to Bulk PAR requests). This is necessary to preserve the privacy and confidentiality of all clients.

Have a section 34 authority and your departmental trusted source sign/validate attached documents and authorize the pay action request form, if required

All requests affecting financial results or a manager’s budget require the signature of a manager who has delegated section 34 (Financial Administration Act) responsibility, also known as an “authorized signature.” A trusted source is the person designated by a department to validate the section 34 signature.

To ensure compliance with Pay Centre's Control Framework and Segregation of Duties, and in line with the Financial Administration Act (FAA), Trusted Sources cannot validate or submit pay actions that are for themselves directly.

When your departmental trusted source is not required

An employee can submit certain types of pay requests on their own to the Pay Centre. The following pay action sub-types do not require a section 34 signature or trusted source:

  • Benefits
    • all voluntary changes (deductions/coverage) to benefits, except those that can be done directly in Phoenix
    • entitlements (non-automated) e.g. maternity/parental leave, proof of Employment Insurance (EI)/Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) payments (Note that related leave request requires a trusted source)
  • Change in Employment
    • Increment correction
  • Cheque
    • cash payments
    • declaration of lost or stolen deductions
  • Deductions
    • income-tax (to modify amounts being withheld or to update federal [TD1] or provincial tax forms)
    • charitable donations
    • fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec
    • one time tax exemption to withhold tax on a payment (preapproval of Canada Revenue Agency [CRA]/Ministère du Revenu du Québec [MRQ] required)
    • union dues (to report an error/issue)
    • voluntary self-service deductions exception (specifically for when employee is unable to self-serve via Phoenix)
  • Direct deposit exception (specifically for when employee is unable to self-serve via Phoenix but needs to make changes to their direct deposit)
  • Leave
    • disability insurance claim form (with only the employee portion filled out)
  • Tax slips (T4) and Records of Employment
    • ROE (being requested or received but needs to be corrected)
    • T4, Relevé 1 and Relevé 2 amendments
  • Termination
    • Severance pay

All other types of pay requests require a trusted source. Visit the trusted source and pay action requests and contact your departmental change agent to confirm the process in your department for obtaining a trusted source.

Verify that your documentation is complete and free of errors

If you are an employee submitting a PAR on your own:

  • Verify that the form is readable and file format is not corrupted.
  • Check again that you have completed all mandatory form fields.
  • Check that the required supporting documents have all been included, and are signed, where necessary. If your manager is required to sign any of the attachments, your PAR form necessitates a trusted source.
  • Confirm that the work type and sub-type match the supporting documentation. Remember that there are numerous work type and sub-type combinations, each requiring particular supporting documents to be included. Please make sure you have checked which documentation must accompany the work type and sub-type being requested.
  • Do not insert work-types or sub-types that are not included in the available drop-down menus.
  • Check that the total PAR submission does not exceed 5 MB.
  • Check that the attachments do not exceed 35 pages (counting both front and back).
  • Check that the PAR correctly indicates the total number of pages of the submission. Rejection will occur if a request is received with a discrepancy between pages indicated on the PAR and the total number actually received.

If you are a trusted source:

  • Confirm that the appropriate data has been entered into HRMS PeopleSoft or Phoenix. For example, if a term is ending earlier than stated, the accurate date must be entered into HRMS PeopleSoft and updated in Phoenix.
  • Verify that the form is readable.
  • Check that you have completed all mandatory form fields.
  • Check that the supporting documents correctly match the employee for whom you are submitting the PAR.
  • Check that the employee has signed all supporting documents, and that any other authorized signatures are included, if applicable (example: leave forms, extra duty pay, timesheets, direct deposit). Whenever a manager has signed any of the supporting documents, a trusted source validation will be required.
  • Check that the PAR has been submitted via an authorized trusted source email, whenever a trusted source validation was required.
  • Confirm that the work type and sub-type match the supporting documentation. Remember that there are numerous work type and sub-type combinations, each requiring particular supporting documents to be included. Please make sure you have checked what documentation must accompany the work type and sub-type being requested.
  • Do not insert work-types or sub-types that are not included in the available drop-down menus.
  • Check that the total PAR submission does not exceed 5 MB.
  • Check that the attachments do not exceed 35 pages (counting front and back), and that a bulk PAR form does not include more than 15 employees.
  • Complete one PAR form per employee, unless using the bulk PAR. Ensure that the PAR form itself does not contain personal information about multiple employees. Similarly, each of the attachments must only reference a single individual. If using a bulk PAR form, ensure that there is no discrepancy between the number of employees indicated on the form and the number referenced in attachments.
  • Check that the PAR correctly indicates the total number of pages of the submission. Rejection will occur if a request is received with a discrepancy between pages indicated on the PAR and the total number actually received.
  • Multiple PAR requests should not be sent in a single email. You risk having the entire email rejected, and not being able to isolate the specific request that was causing the problem. It’s always preferable to have one PAR per email to avoid any loss or mismatch of information.

Submit only valid and incorrupt file types by email

It is best to send only 1 (one) PAR per email to avoid losing or confusing information.

The Pay Centre accepts doc, docx, and PDF files.

Note 6

WAV, Excel, Spreadsheets, JPEG, or PDF files saved with Adobe LiveCycle and linking to RDIMs systems will not be processed.

Avoid an encryption issue

The Pay Centre prefers Entrust Encryption. If you use another encryption application, the Pay Centre may not be able to open your submission.

Encrypt the email itself only and not the attachments.

Contact your departmental Information Technology team if you have questions about encryption.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact the Client Contact Centre.

What happens if the Pay Centre rejects your pay action request

If the Pay Centre cannot process your request, within 24 to 48 hours of an electronic submission, you, or the person who submitted the pay action request on your behalf, will get an email informing you that your request was rejected. This email comes from an un-monitored electronic mailbox at the Pay Centre. So please do not respond.

Note 7

The mail facility does not retain your original submission, if rejected. Nor does it return original paper documents. If you send a pay action request form by mail, please include only certified copies of personal documents such as birth certificates, never the original.

If you submitted the request by mail or fax, you will receive a notification of rejection via mail or fax.

Resubmitting a pay action request

If your first request is rejected:

  • complete the checklist
  • resubmit all of the documents as a complete package, including the PAR as the mail facility is unable to match up any documents from your original rejected submission.

For urgent requests, missing pay and emergency salary advances. Contact the Client Contact Centre at 1‑855‑686‑4729.

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