Can the FPSLREB help me? (325KB)

1. Am I in the right place?

a. Am I employed in the federal public service or Parliament?

You are in the right place (the FPSLREB) if you are employed in the federal public service or Parliament.

You are employed in the federal public service if your employer is listed in the Financial Administration Act.

Look under its Schedule I, Schedule IV, or Schedule V. If the organization that employs you, either a department, other portion of the federal public administration, or a separate agency, is listed in one of those three schedules, then you are a federal public service employee.

You are employed by Parliament if the organization that employs you is one of these:

• the Senate,
• the House of Commons,
• the Library of Parliament,
• the Office of the Senate Ethics Officer,
• the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner,
• the Parliamentary Protective Service, or
• the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

You are not in the right place if you are not employed by any of those organizations. If so, you may consider contacting the Canada Industrial Relations Board or a provincial labour board.

For more information, see Other resources.

b. Can the FPSLREB deal with my complaint or grievance?

The FPSLREB is responsible for

• operating the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication systems in the federal public service and Parliament (see the Labour Relations Procedural Guide); and
• resolving staffing complaints about internal appointments, revocations, and layoffs in the federal public service (see the Procedural Guide for Staffing Complaints).

If your complaint or grievance does not fall under the FPSLREB’s responsibilities, you may wish to contact one of these organizations:

• your organization’s informal conflict management services office ,
• the Canadian Human Rights Commission,
• the Public Service Commission of Canada,
• the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada, or
• other federal ombuds and similar organizations, such as the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

2. I’m in the right place. Can I refer my grievance to adjudication under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA)?

You are covered by the FPSLRA if you are employed in the federal public service. If you are unsure whether you are  employed  in the federal public service, go back to part (a) of the first section of this document to find out.

There are some exceptions :

Some employees cannot file a grievance (see the definition of “employee” at section 206 of the FPSLRA) or refer one to the FPSLREB (see sections 209 and 209.1 of the FPSLRA).

Other employees may have only a limited right to file one (see sections 238.24 and 238.25 of the FPSLRA).

Note: You can refer your grievance to the FPSLREB for adjudication (under the FPSLRA) only after you have presented it up to and including the final level of your employer’s grievance process (see sections 209(1) and 225 of the FPSLRA).

3. What types of grievances can I refer to adjudication

You may refer your grievance only if it is about any of these subjects:

• interpreting or applying a provision of a collective agreement or an arbitral award that affects you, and only with your bargaining agent’s support;
• you were terminated, demoted, or suspended or received a financial penalty through disciplinary action;
• regulations under the Accessible Canada Act were violated (excluding employees who occupy a managerial or confidential position or who are not represented by a bargaining agent);
• you work for the core public administration (see the definition) and
  • you were demoted or terminated for unsatisfactory performance or for any other reason that did not involve a breach of discipline or misconduct, or
  • you were deployed without your consent under the Public Service Employment Act, and your consent was required; or
• you work for a designated separate agency (see the definition), and you were demoted or terminated for any reason that did not involve a breach of discipline or misconduct.

The core public administration means the departments named in Schedule I and the other portions of the federal public administration named in Schedule IV to the Financial Administration Act.

Each designated separated agency is named in Schedule 1 to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act Separate Agency Designation Order.

For more information, please see the Labour Relations Procedural Guide, Part C – Referring Individual Grievances to Adjudication, along with sections 209 and 209.1 of the FPSLRA.

If your grievance cannot be referred to adjudication, you may wish to contact the Federal Court of Canada.

For more information, see Other resources.

4. I am a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) member. Can I refer a grievance to adjudication?

For an employee who is an RCMP member, the FPSLRA provides for a limited right to grieve and to refer a grievance to adjudication.

You can refer a grievance to the FPSLREB for adjudication only if it is about interpreting or applying a provision of a collective agreement or an arbitral award that affects you, and only with your bargaining agent’s support.

If that grievance is related to a violation of the regulations made under the Accessible Canada Act, you may refer it to adjudication only if you have suffered physical or psychological harm, property damage, or economic loss as a result of — or have otherwise been adversely affected by — the violation.

You can refer a grievance to the FPSLREB for adjudication (under the FPSLRA) only after you have presented it up to and including the final level of your employer’s grievance process.

For more information, see the Labour Relations Procedural Guide, Part C – Referring Individual Grievances to Adjudication, along with sections 209(1), 238.01(2), 238.02(2), 238.24, and 238.25 of the FPSLRA.

5. I am a Parliamentary employee. Can I refer a grievance to adjudication under The Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act (PESRA)

You are covered by the PESRA if you work for one of the organizations of Parliament. Go to part (a) of the first section of this document to find out if you are one.

However, some employees cannot file or refer grievances to the FPSLREB (see the definition of “employee” at section 3 of the PESRA).

You can refer your grievance to the FPSLREB for adjudication (under the PESRA) only after you have presented it up to and including the final level of your employer’s grievance process (see sections 63(1) and 67 of the PESRA).

You may refer your grievance only if it is about any of these subjects:

• interpreting or applying a provision of a collective agreement or an arbitral award that affects you, and only with your bargaining agent’s support;
• you were suspended or received a financial penalty through disciplinary action;
• you were terminated from your employment, and it was not a rejection on probation from an initial appointment;
• you were demoted;
• the employer’s evaluation of your skill, fitness, and ability related to your qualification for an appointment;
• how the employer classified you; or
• regulations under the Accessible Canada Act were violated.

For more information, go to section 63 of the PESRA.

If your grievance cannot be referred to adjudication, you may wish to contact the Federal Court of Canada.

For more information, see Other resources.

6. It seems like I’m not at the right place. Where can I go from here?

a. Your department or agency’s informal conflict management services (ICMS) office

As a federal public service employee, you have access to a free, confidential, and voluntary ICMS office that may help prevent, manage, and resolve workplace issues.

b. The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC)

The CHRC is Canada's human-rights watchdog.

It does these things, among others:

• receives complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act;
• audits employers under federal jurisdiction to ensure that they comply with employment equity rules;
• helps federally regulated employers and services identify, remove, and prevent accessibility barriers; and
• promotes women’s equality by ensuring that federal public- and private-sector organizations value the work that women do the same way they value the work that men do.

c. The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB)

The CIRB deals with federal private sector employees under the Canada Labour Code, including those working in these industries:

• broadcasting;
• banking;
• postal services;
• airport and air transportation;
• shipping and navigation;
• interprovincial or international transportation by road, railway, ferry, or pipeline;
• telecommunications;
• grain handling;
• uranium mining and processing;
• most public- and private-sector activities in the Yukon, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories;
• some First Nations undertakings; and
• federal Crown corporations.

d. Provincial and territorial labour boards

If you are not a federal public service or Parliament employee (see part (a) of section 1), or your work does not fall within the CIRB’s mandate, a provincial or territorial labour board may be able to help.

e. The Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC)

The PSC oversees the integrity of the federal public service staffing system and its political impartiality. It can investigate concerns about appointment processes and about improper political activities by organizations that the Public Service Employment Act covers.

f. The Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada (OPSIC)

The OPSIC investigates disclosures of wrongdoing in, or relating to, the federal public sector from public sector employees and from the general public. It handles reprisal complaints that current and former public sector employees make to find resolution, including by conciliation and by referring cases to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal.

g. Other federal ombuds and similar organizations

If you believe that you were treated unfairly, a federal ombuds office, such as the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, may be able to help you. They can help resolve complaints with a federal government organization.

h. The Federal Court of Canada (FC)

The FC may have the authority to judicially review certain grievance decisions that cannot be referred to adjudication under the FPSLRA or the PESRA. Please refer to its website and its associated legislation.

Note that judicial review applications must be made according to the Federal Courts Act and the Federal Courts Rules.