RADAR - Issue 11, June 2021

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RADAR - Issue 11, June 2021

OUR DFO BACKLOG REDUCTION

After lengthy negotiations with the Pay Centre and targeted Phoenix training for our internal pay analysts, the DFO-Coast Guard Pay Support Team was given access to process certain cases from the DFO-CCG backlog. These include acting cases and associated overtime and entitlements, and high volume cases, such as certain cases of missing increments, basic salary unpaid, and improper deductions.

Our small team, while tackling the most complex of backlog cases, is making a considerable contribution to backlog reduction, closing more than 2,000 cases as of the end of April, 2021.

To see the contribution, you can consult the Monthly Executive Dashboard, which now tracks the number of cases closed at the Pay Centre and the number closed by our colleagues at DFO. Find the dashboard here.

SEAGOING EMPLOYEES PAID FOR THOUSANDS OF OUTSTANDING ACTINGS

For more than 4 years, limitations of Phoenix and PeopleSoft meant that it was not possible to pay seagoing employees for certain kinds of acting transactions:

  • Employees who acted in a higher level position but whose employment was terminated before the acting was entered into Phoenix.
  • Employees with overlapping acting periods, that is, employees who were acting in one position, but then were asked to accept a second acting position which continued after the scheduled end of the first acting.
  • Employees who acted in two different positions in one day, for example, who acted in one position in the morning, and in a different position in the afternoon.

Following significant efforts by our HR to Pay Systems and Employee Support Directorate, in collaboration with Public Service and Procurement Canada (PSPC), a solution for paying these actings and associated overtime and entitlements was developed. After months of effort, a backlog of more than 4,000 outstanding short-term acting transactions has been processed and efforts are ongoing to ensure that all associated overtime and entitlements are processed. With the new solution in place, short-term actings of these types can now be paid without delay.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW MYGCPAY PAY STUB?

Check it out!

PHOENIX 101 - How to select your s34 manager*
*only applies to employees who do not have an assigned timekeeper

Before your section 34 manager can approve any transactions, including overtime or entitlements or set your work schedule, you must create the employee-section 34 manager link in Phoenix self-service. If pay transactions are sent to the wrong s34 manager, or are submitted without without a s34 manager link created, it delays or disrupts pay!

You should claim your manager:

  • Anytime your s34 manager changes
  • Anytime your position changes (including actings), even if you have the same s34 manager in the new position

If you are without access to Phoenix, your manager must create the employee-manager link for you.

Find out how to select a section 34 manager in the Employee Reference Guide or by watching the video Selecting your section 34 manager.

THIS MONTH:
FOCUS ON FISHERY OFFICERS:

As fishery officers at DFO, you have unique pay entitlements which require attention from yourselves and your managers. Here are some tips to empower you in ensuring timely and accurate pay.

Pay tips for fishery officers:

  • Ensure that the link with your s34 manager is always up to date.
  • A correct work schedule is critical for accurate pay. Check yours, and if it is not right, let your manager know.
  • Non-automated allowances, like the fishery officer allowance or first aid allowance, need to be restarted every time you change position. So if you accept a short term acting, ask your manager to ensure a Pay Action Request (PAR) is sent via the Trusted Source to start the allowances. Similarly, when you return to your substantive position, a PAR must be submitted again.
  • When employees from the PM group became entitled to the fishery officer allowance, a list of eligible employees was sent to the Pay Centre to initiate these allowances. However, if you accept an acting after that point, you will have to initiate the allowance again, as above.
  • Pay information sessions for fishery officers and the managers and administrative staff who support them are available. Contact Let’s Talk Pay for more information.

USEFUL LINKS

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