Human resources for PSPC employees during COVID-19

Learn where to get human resources support during COVID-19 and get information on leave and benefits.

On this page

• Information on leave: Effective November 9, 2020
• Changes to the Public Service Health Care Plan: Updated April 24, 2020
• Public Service Pension Plan
• Retrieving items from the office
• Remote learning
• Evolution of work playbook

Information on leave: Effective November 9, 2020

TBS has clarified the guidance around the use of “Other Leave With Pay (699)”, which will be effective November 9, 2020. These changes emphasize that this leave should be granted on a case-by-case basis, and only after remote or alternative work, or flexible work hours have been considered, and generally only after other relevant paid leave has first been used by the employee.

Once all available options have been considered, “Other Leave With Pay (699)” could be available in situations where an employee:

• has work or technology limitations
• cannot work remotely and has been diagnosed with COVID-19, is experiencing symptoms and/or is required to self-isolate
• has caregiving responsibilities as a result of such things as school or daycare closures, or COVID-19 illness or isolation requirements
• cannot work remotely and is at high risk or has someone in their care who is at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19

More detailed information can be found on Employee illness and leave on Canada.ca. Please contact your labour relations advisor if you have any questions.

If you do not currently have the equipment to telework, consult PSPC’s teleworking resources web page to find out how you can request additional equipment.

Entering other paid leave in MyGCHR

You must now enter your other paid leave in MyGCHR. For Other Paid Leave related to COVID-19, managers (level 4 HR delegation) can approve up to 5 days leave, while directors or regional managers must approve leave over 37.5 hours.

In all cases, submit your leave requests to your manager. Your manager will then determine if they need to be approved at a higher level. In this case, they will use the “recommend” function in MyGCHR to transfer the leave request to the appropriate level.

When entering a leave request in MyGCHR for COVID-19 reasons, first choose in the Filter by Type ‘Other Paid’ then Absence Name: Oth Pd – Other, then select the applicable leave Reason.

When entering the reason for your leave include in the comments section, 1 of the 5 reasons listed below (exactly as written, including the underscore):

• COVID_Illness
• COVID_HighRisk (as of December 14, 2020)
• COVID_FamilyCare
• COVID_Technology
• COVID_WorkLimitation
• COVID_Other (do not use)

• If you have multiple instances of leave to be entered in MyGCHR, enter 1 transaction for each of the 5 COVID-19 reasons above
  • for example, if you took 20 hours total for COVID family care between May 16 and July 8, you would enter 1 leave request for 20 hours.
  • if you took an additional 10 hours total for COVID technology during the same period, you would enter a second leave request for the 10 hours
  • Note: Be sure to select dates in the current fiscal year that correspond to the number of hours you are entering
• If you took leave in each of the 5 categories, you will need to submit 5 leave requests (you will need to submit your leave in the current fiscal year for each category)
• The system will reject any leave request that spans a period of more than 2 months, so for each 2 month period, 1 leave request must be entered
  • for example, if you took 40 hours total for COVID family care between April 6 and July 8, you must enter 2 leave requests, 1 for April 6 to June 5, and another for June 6 to July 8
• Do not use COVID_Other
• Do not enter the Other paid leave (COVID) for periods of time you took other leave, such as annual or sick leave

Please contact your labour relations advisor if you have any questions.

Vacation and other leave

Planning and scheduling time away from work is important for your well-being and mental health, and you are encouraged to do so.

Bear in mind that vacation leave credits should be used in the year that they are earned. Other paid leave should not be used in place of annual vacation leave. Similarly, illnesses other than COVID-19 need to be tracked using normal sick leave codes in MyGCHR.

Managers should continue to have regular discussions with their employees on scheduling vacation leave.

Please note that if you choose to travel to affected areas contrary to public health advice or government travel advisories while on vacation leave, you may not be entitled to other paid leave.

Changes to the Public Service Health Care Plan: Updated April 24, 2020

The Government of Canada has implemented temporary changes to the Public Service Health Care Plan. The new measures help plan members and their eligible dependents access benefits, while minimizing their social interaction with healthcare professionals and supporting the social distancing directive.

Public Service Pension Plan

New flexible provisions are available, including for pension options, contributions and service buyback, during COVID-19.

Retrieving items from the office

If you need to access your workspace to retrieve personal items from the office, please discuss available options with your manager.

Remote learning

Check the GCcampus online course catalogue, accessible through public networks. Note that all classroom courses, on-site events and other in-person School programs have been suspended until further notice, including all registration for these activities. However, our virtual events and our online courses, including self‑paced required training and language maintenance tools, remain available.

Check out the following job aids to help teams, managers and leaders to work virtually:

• Virtual teams
• COVID-19: Working remotely
• Mental health job aids for managers

Evolution of work playbook

Check out the Evolution of work playbook, your one-stop-shop guide with all the latest information and tools to help you navigate through the evolution of work era.