Severe impact claims

Severe impact claims are meant to compensate current and former employees for losses such as:

  • Leave taken because of Phoenix-related health issues; 
  • Mental anguish, such as developing a mental illness, having to see a doctor, seek counselling, go on medication, or otherwise having your mental health impacted by Phoenix; 
  • Losses related to going on disability, maternity or parental leave, in certain situations;  
  • Pain and suffering due to discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act (for example, if your disability or family status were a factor in you being adversely affected by Phoenix);  
  • Negative impacts to your career;  
  • Loss of security clearance, bankruptcy or significant credit rating impact;  
  • Forced resignation from the public service because of financial hardship.

TIPS

  1. Severe impact claims currently only cover losses for the period April 1, 2016 – March 31, 2020.
    • If you have severe impacts after March 31, 2020, please file a Phoenix pay grievance seeking damages for severe impacts. (You may need to file both a severe impact claim and a grievance if you have losses that span the period before and after March 31, 2020.)
  2. You can make a severe impact claim here. We strongly encourage members to make a claim. It’s the only way for you to receive the compensation you’re entitled to for the suffering you’ve endured because of Phoenix.
  3. There is no deadline to submit your claim. However, we encourage you to submit one as soon as possible so that you receive your compensation more quickly.
  4. There are many types of severe impact claims you can apply for. For example, you can apply to receive compensation for loss of credit rating, for impacts to your career, etc.
    • Please apply to all types of claims you think relate to your situation, and make sure to also apply under mental anguish (see section on mental anguish claims specifically).
  5. The application is not saveable at the moment, so please make sure to save your work as you go (for example, in a separate Word document or file).
    • You will not be able to access your application once it’s been submitted; you will just be able to check the status.You can “print” and save a PDF of your application once it’s complete before you submit it, so that you can keep a copy. Please also keep a copy of all attachments you submit.
  6. The initial assessment of claims is done by an independent office within TBS called the Claims Office, staffed by Claims Officers who are Federal Public Servants.
    • It will likely take a month or two for the TBS Claims Office to assess your claim.
    • The Claims Officer will contact you if they need more documentation or information about your case.
    • You can also request a video or phone call with the Claims Officer.
  7. Once your claim has been assessed, you will receive a “decision letter” which looks like a chart, outlining the monetary amount being offered to you for each type of claim you’ve applied for and the Claims Office’s reasoning for the assessment.
  8. Please know that the Claims Office’s decision on your claim is not final.
    • It’s likely that your claim will initially be undervalued or rejected by the Claims Office. The Claims Office’s statistics show that it rejects the vast majority of claims. Of those that are accepted, many are undervalued in PSAC’s view.
    • Please do not be discouraged.
    • PSAC believes it is unacceptable that most claims are initially undervalued or rejected and we are working to make changes to the criteria chart used by the Claims Office to assess claims.
  9. The Claims Office’s decision can be appealed to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) to seek more damages if the amounts being offered to you are inadequate. PSAC will help you assess whether the amount offered should be appealed.
    • If an appeal is filed, PSAC will represent you on the appeal.
  10. Before accepting the Claims Office’s decision and signing the release, contact PSAC so that they can provide advice on whether it should be accepted or appealed.
    • Our aim is to ensure that our members are fairly compensated for the severe losses they have endured as a result of Phoenix.

To contact PSAC, please email phoenix-phenix@psac-afpc.com. Someone on their team will be in touch with you, usually within a day or two.