Job Description Grievance & Classification Grievance
When members have questions about whether or not they are being properly compensated for the work they are performing, these two separate, yet often interrelated grievance processes are potential routes to redress.
If a member feels that their job is not appropriately classified, they should first request a complete and accurate work description (statement of duties). The addition of missing duties of significance may then prompt a reclassification of their job.
Job Description Grievance (also called Statement of Duties)
If the member feels that the received work description does not accurately reflect the duties that they are performing, or that duties and responsibilities have been overlooked or omitted – and management does not agree to update the job description accordingly – the member should file a job description grievance. He/she should file under the Statement of Duty Article in his/her respective collective agreement. This Article ensures members are entitled to job descriptions that are both complete and current. Job description grievances can be referred to arbitration. In order for a job description grievance to be successful, the member must establish that there is clear evidence that the employer has left duties out of the job description.
Members can file a Job Description Grievance within 25 business days as per the Collective Agreement.
The recommended wording for a Statement of Duty / Job Content grievance is as follows:
I grieve the employer‘s failure to provide me with a complete and current statement of duties and responsibilities. This violates Article ____ (Statement of duties) of my collective agreement.
Corrective action requested:
That I be provided with a complete and current statement of the duties of my position, effective ________ date.
That I be made whole.
**Please note that any Acting Pay sought is now covered by the wording: “effective from ________ (date)” added to the corrective measures.
Classification Grievance
A member’s right to grieve the classification of their position is triggered when there has been a recent classification action affecting their position.
To challenge the classification level noted in the Notice of Classification, members are given the recourse to challenge the classification level within the Notice of Classification.
The Notice of Classification states:
The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act allows an employee to formally challenge the group and level of the position he or she occupies by submitting a classification grievance. A classification grievance must be presented by an employee no later than 35 calendar days after the day on which the employee receives a notification or, when the employee has not received notification, the day on which he or she first becomes aware of an action or circumstance affecting the classification of the position he or she occupies.
Members can file a classification grievance within 35 calendar days of receiving the Notice of Classification. Hearings for classification grievances are conducted by Classification Grievance Committees (CGC). The CGC is made up of three employer representatives. Their decision is final and binding and is not adjudicable. PSAC provides representation in cases where plausible, defensible arguments can be made for an upwards reclassification. In the absence of these, the PSAC declines to provide representation, but employees may continue with the case on their own.
The recommended wording for a Classification Grievance is as follows:
I grieve that my position is incorrectly classified.
Corrective action requested:
That my position be reclassified to a higher classification level, effective ________ date; and
That I will be made whole.
**Please note that any Acting Pay sought is now covered by the wording: “effective from ________ (date)” added to the corrective measures.
If you have any questions, please speak to your Regional Vice-President.