Update on Phoenix stabilization planning, investments and employee support: Committee of the Whole—July 8, 2020
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Context
This note focuses on the efforts and progress to stabilize the pay system, support employees, as well as financial investments in Phoenix.
Notes
- Questions related to the next generation human resources (HR) and pay solution should be directed to the minister of Digital Government, responsible for Shared Services Canada
- Questions related to the mental health for public servants should be directed to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS)
Suggested response
- Supporting employees facing pay issues and making sure they are paid accurately and on time is a top priority
- As part of our ongoing efforts we have increased our compensation workforce 4-fold since 2016, to more than 2,300 employees
- We have ensured public servants facing pay problems have access to emergency payments
- We have also focused efforts on priority files such as parental leave, disability leave, student pay and collective agreements implementation
- We have introduced MyGCPay to all departments and agencies. MyGCPay is a new web application that provides employees with a centralized and simplified view of their pay and benefits
- We continue to build strong partnerships between departments, unions and all stakeholders so that pay transactions can be processed quickly and accurately
If pressed on specific measures for COVID-19:
- pay services are essential, and we have the resources in place to make sure they are operating without interruption
- the Client Contact Centre (CCC) remains available to assist any current or former public servant experiencing pay issues
- we recognize that the recovery of overpayments can be a source of stress for employees, even more so now given the current circumstances
- employees who have agreed on a repayment plan but now need to revisit it can contact the CCC to discuss available options
- the Pay Centre has also suspended all new recoveries of overpayments that are eligible for flexible repayment measures
- we have introduced interim administrative measures to simplify and speed up the approval process of a range of pay-related transactions
If pressed on support to employees:
- we have launched MyGCPay, a new web application that provides employees with a centralized and simplified view of their pay and benefits. Created by employees for employees, it helps them identify pay issues earlier and allows them to monitor their open cases with more detail
- we have improved services offered by the CCC to provide better support to employees, including the ability to resolve pay issues in a faster and more effective way at the first point of contact
- the CCC escalates cases of hardship so they can be addressed quickly, and agents are trained to respond to situations where employees may be in distress
- across government, progress has been made to increase mental health awareness. Work continues to better equip managers, practitioners and leaders on how to address pay-related mental health issues in the workplace and to inform employees of the services and support tools that are available, including flexible repayment options
If pressed on the 2020 to 2021 Supplementary Estimates (A):
- to continue progress on pay stabilization, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) sought additional funding to continue efforts to eliminate the backlog of pay issues for public servants, maintain measures to deliver pay and support employees, and stabilize pay for the Government of Canada
- the investment announced in the Supplementary Estimates (A) for 2020 to 2021 represents $203.5 million
- this new funding will help to eliminate the backlog and to stabilize the pay system, to do so, we will:
- sustain employee capacity
- increase our processing rate
- increase the automation of as many transactions as possible through system enhancements
Background
COVID-19 measures
Services related to pay are considered essential and measures are in place to ensure that operational requirements are met. Following the recommendation of the Public Health Agency of Canada, PSPC asked all its employees, including those at the Public Service Pay Centre and the CCC, to work from home if possible, while ensuring the delivery of essential services.
The Pay Centre continues to deliver all of its pay services which include regular pay, new hires, return from leave, maternity and parental leave, as well as disability insurance.
Supporting employees and eliminating the backlog remain our top priorities and we continue to see progress. From May 27 to June 24, 2020, the backlog of transactions with financial implications has decreased by 12,000, and now stands at 125,000. Overall, the backlog has been reduced by 67% since the January 2018 peak, when it stood at 384,000 transactions.
The CCC remains the first point of contact for current and former federal public servants looking for information or help with compensation and benefits, and for technical issues when using the compensation web applications or MyGCPay. Clients may, however, experience increased wait times when calling the CCC.
We are working closely with all our partners, including employees, unions, members of parliament offices, departments and their representatives from HR and pay, to provide support during this challenging time.
Total Investments to deliver pay and respond to pay issues is $1.177 billion:
- $50 million (2016) PSPC—build capacity, enhance technology, employee support
- $142 million (2017)—build capacity, enhance technology, employee support, this included $15 million for TBS and $127 million for PSPC
- $431.4 million (budget 2018) PSPC/TBS—build capacity, enhanced technology, and employee support
- $5.5 million (budget 2018) Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)—process income tax reassessments needed due to pay issues
- $16 million (budget 2018) TBSwork with experts, federal public sector unions and technology providers on a way forward for a new pay system
- $523.3 million (budget 2019) PSPC—ensure adequate resources to address pay issues; support system improvements
- $9.2 million (budget 2019) CRA—process income tax reassessments needed due to pay issues
2020 Supplementary Estimates: Public information
The investment for the pay system announced on June 2, 2020, in the Supplementary Estimates (A) 2020 to 2021 represents $203.5 million.
PSPC sought this additional funding to continue efforts to eliminate the backlog of pay issues for public servants, maintain measures to deliver pay and support employees, and stabilize pay for the Government of Canada.
To do so, we will sustain employee capacity, increase our processing rate and increase the automation of as many transactions as possible through system enhancements.
Since the launch of Phoenix, PSPC implemented a series of measures focused on stabilizing the pay system.
These include increasing the compensation workforce, providing employees with greater support through our CCC, introducing the pay pods model, implementing a backlog reduction strategy through our Strategic Engagement Sector, and implementing technical fixes that have improved payroll processing, such as increased automation of transactions.
As a result, since its peak in January 2018, the Pay Centre's backlog of transactions with financial implications has been reduced by 67% (from 384,000 to 125,000) as of June 24, 2020.
PSPC has met service standards 65% to 75% of the time over the last year, compared to a 57% average over 2018 to 2019.
On average, in 2020 to date, parental and disability leaves have been processed within service standards 98% of the time (as of May, 2020).
In addition to efforts underway, we are working closely with all stakeholders, including experts, federal public sector unions and the private sector for innovative solutions to accelerate pay stabilization.
We continue to regularly share information on progress with employees and Canadians through various platforms and tools.
2020 approved 3 year forward plan funding:
[Redacted]
MyGCPay
MyGCPay is a web application developed by PSPC to help rebuild federal government employees’ confidence in the integrity of their pay. It provides employees with a centralized and simplified view of their pay and benefits. It helps employees identify pay issues earlier and allows them to monitor their open cases with more detail.
The application allows employees to:
- view the most current information about their pay and benefits
- print important documents such as, tax slips and proof of employment
- identify pay issues earlier and, if an employee’s current or former department was served by the Pay Centre, monitor any open enquiries and cases in detail
- access historical information, pay cheques, benefits plans, enquiries, and Pay Centre cases dating back to 2016
2019 public service employee survey results
Media coverage and union communications reported the public service employee survey (PSES) 2019 results negatively, especially regarding 74% of respondents indicating that they have been affected by pay issues since the launch of Phoenix in 2016. The 2019 survey highlighted engagement, leadership, workforce, workplace well-being, and compensation. Over 182,300 public servants responded to the survey in 86 federal departments and agencies. The results of the survey allow departments to make continuous, evidence-based improvements, shaped by the voices of public servants.
Compensation results highlight:
- 74% of respondents say that they have been affected by issues with the Phoenix pay system since its introduction in early 2016. Of those affected, 59% say they have had a new pay issue in the last 12 months:
- these figures indicate that 44% of all respondents (59% of 74%) reported having a new pay issue in the last 12 months
- this demonstrates improvement, considering that in 2017, approximately 18 months following the launch of Phoenix, 69% of PSES respondents reported having pay issues
- there are other improvements from the last 2 years in public servants’ views and perceptions in several areas:
- of those affected by Phoenix, 44% say that all of their issues have been resolved, this is an improvement of 9% compared to 2018 results (35%)
- the percentage of employees saying that pay issues caused them stress to a high or very high degree shows a decrease from 34% (2017) to 32% (2018) to 28% (2019), an improvement of 6% since 2017
- 25% of those affected by Phoenix say they are satisfied with support received from the Pay Centre, compared to 19% in 2018 and 16% in 2017, an improvement of 9% since 2017
- 39% are satisfied with the related support received from their organization to help them resolve their pay issues, up from 3% in 2018
- 20% of respondents report that pay issues have, to a large or very large extent, affected their decision to seek or accept another position within their organization or the public service, a decrease of 2% from 2018
Office of the Auditor General commentary on the 2018 to 2019 financial audits and House of Commons committee reports
The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) issued its Commentary on the 2018 to 2019 Financial Audits in December 2019, following the government’s tabling of Public Accounts. The commentary observations state that there has been limited improvement with respect to pay errors. Despite this, the OAG states that pay expenses were presented fairly in the Government of Canada’s 2018 to 2019 consolidated financial statements. The OAG also recognizes that pay is a complex and shared responsibility across government.
The report focusses on a few key elements, including:
- backlog
- pay errors in 2018 to 2019, due to overpayments and underpayments
- pay element complexity
- effectiveness of pay pods
- timeliness and accuracy of data
In addition to 2 dedicated performance audit reports on Phoenix in 2017 and 2018, the Office of the Auditor General analyzes progress and provides feedback and recommendations on multiple aspects of HR-to-pay on a yearly basis. Both performance audits came with recommendations, which the department and TBS have accepted and are implementing through management action plans.
The department is also implementing a series of measures related to pay transactions and processes, as well as information technology (IT) tools and infrastructure, in response to the observations made as part of the financial audits.
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