Manitoba Civil Service Commission
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2.1.5 Staffing Methods
Policy
Positions in the civil service are filled by competitive appointment or direct appointments. A competitive examination determines merit where there are two or more candidates. A direct appointment, on the other hand, may be appropriate under specific conditions.
Questions And Answers
- What is the difference between a competitive appointment and a direct appointment?
- Who is authorized to make appointments?
- What are the options for appointing employees to duties?
- Under what specific conditions can a direct appointment occur?
- What are the guidelines for acting status appointments?
- What are the guidelines for interchange agreements?
- What are the guidelines for secondments?
Questions And Answers
1. What is the difference between a competitive appointment and a direct appointment?
A competitive appointment is based on a competitive examination of two or more candidates and includes subsequent or alternate appointment(s) from a competition or eligibility list.
A direct appointment occurs when the person selected is the only person considered for appointment under the specific conditions outlined in Question 5 of this Policy.
The staffing principles of merit, equity and fairness apply to both competitive and direct appointments. A competitive appointment is by its nature more transparent, and therefore may be perceived by employees and the public to be more fair.
2. Who is authorized to make appointments?
An authorized commission officer makes appointments subject to The Civil Service Commission Act, regulations, policies, the staffing delegation agreement and Civil Service Commission review.
3. What are the options for appointing employees to duties?
There are many options for appointments, employee types and position categories. The following appointment options can occur through competitive appointment or direct appointment:
- transfer
- appointment from the Re-employment List
- job share or job split
- promotion on reclassification
- temporary appointments
- acting status
- interchange
- secondment
- student/coop placement
- temporary reclassification
- term appointment to a term position or to a regular position
The options for employee type are
- regular employee
- temporary employee
- casual employee
- departmental employee
- contract employee
- technical employee
- secretaries to Ministers (AYM Classification)
There are four employment categories distinguished by the frequency and duration of employment: regular employment, temporary employment, contract and casual employment. Employment may be full-time, part-time or seasonal.
4. Under what specific conditions can a direct appointment occur?
All direct appointments must be authorized by an authorized commission officer. A direct appointment can occur only when one or more of the following conditions are met in accordance with the Authority named. Although a direct appointment may be legitimate in any of the following conditions, an authorized commission officer may decide that it is appropriate to hold a competition.
| Condition | Authority |
| contract | CSA 3 |
| Conversion from Term | collective agreements. Treasury Board approval required |
| Minister's Secretaries | CSA 18(1) |
| Re-Employment | CSA 13(6) and 19(2), collective agreements |
| Reclassification | CSA 9(1), 9(3), 22 |
| Civil Service appointment requiring an Order-in-Council | CSA 15, 32 applies to SF3+ and equivalents, EX & DR classifications |
| Technical Officer | CSA 32 |
| Acting Status | CSA 14, collective agreements |
| Temporary/Casual | CSA 13(7), 35 |
| Veterans | CSA 14(2) |
| Reassignment | CSA 11(7) 29(1), 9(2) |
| *Acting Status to Regular | CSA 23 |
| *Employment Equity initiative | according to Employment Equity plan. Select Authority that applies. |
| *Career Development initiative | employee initiated, employer approved action that results in appointment to another position. Select Authority that applies. |
| *Interchange | CSA 37 |
| *Succession Plan | Employer initiated action to meet an organizational need resulting in an employee's appointment to another position. Select appointment Authority that applies. |
| *Lateral Transfer | CSA 15, 16 |
| *Difficult to Recruit to Position and/or Location | Select appointment Authority that applies. |
| *Only Available Candidate | Examples: where only one applicant applied to the competition, or there is only one candidate with the required qualifications. Select appointment Authority that applies. |
| *Former Employee Returning | Select appointment Authority that applies. |
| *Other Direct Appointments | Select appointment Authority that applies. |
*A written explanation is required for direct appointment in these conditions. It should indicate why the direct appointment is warranted outlining any impact on other employees.
5. What are the guidelines for acting status appointments?
Acting status is the temporary assignment of an employee to the duties of another position with a higher maximum rate of pay. When acting status is revoked, the employee returns to the employee's original position and rate of pay. An employee in acting status is informed of any extensions to the acting period. If two or more employees are rotated in the acting position, each acting period is for such time as to warrant acting pay.
Authorization: An employing Authority recommends and an authorized commission officer approves acting status appointments.
Conditions: To be eligible for acting status, the employee must satisfy these conditions:
- meet the essential criteria for the higher level position (Note: an underfill acting status appointment may occur where the employee does not meet the criteria)
- perform all the duties of the higher level position that the incumbent would have performed during the acting period
- act in the position for a minimum number of consecutive working days, subject to the collective agreement.
Acting status is not an available option under the following conditions:
- The higher level position is classified Classification Incumbent Specific.
- The employee's classification or assigned duties includes the responsibility to assume the duties of a higher level classification in the absence of the regular incumbent, for example, Assistant Director.
Pay & Benefits: The following considerations apply to acting status:
- If an employee receives 2 or more increments when acting status is granted, the employee's anniversary date changes according to Policy occur under specific conditions.
- Increments during the acting status period occur under specified conditions.
- When acting status is revoked, the employee reverts back to the pay rate of the employee's original position as if there had never been a temporary appointment.
- If a bargaining unit employee acts in an excluded position, union dues shall continue to be deducted during the acting period. If an excluded employee acts in a bargaining unit position, union dues should not be deducted during the acting period.
6. What are the guidelines for interchange agreements?
Interchange is the temporary assignment of regular employees within their staff year to work in another level of government. Interchanges are possible with the Government of Canada, another province, municipality or other public sector organization. An informal loan of an employee can also occur.
Authorization: An interchange is formalized by a written agreement. The loaned employee is a party to the agreement. The formal interchange agreement will guarantee the employee's return to the previous position or to a comparable position, and that the borrowing employer will not offer the employee continuing employment upon completion of the assignment. Interchange agreements are approved by the Deputy Minister or employing Authority of the borrowing organization and the lending organization and reviewed by the Civil Service Commission.
Conditions: An interchange may be an appropriate option in the following situations:
- When the successful candidate in a competition is from another public sector agency.
- A department wishes to make a direct appointment of an employee from another public sector agency who meets the requirements for a position.
- Another government requests the services of a Manitoba civil service employee.
- It advances Employment Equity goals and objectives.
Pay & Benefits: The following considerations apply to interchanges:
- The employee remains within his/her staff year for the duration of the interchange.
- The employee's salary plus a percentage for benefits costs are normally paid by the lending employer and costs are recovered from the borrowing employer.
- The borrowing employer pays relocation expenses to the new duties and the lending employer pays return relocation expenses on the return of the employee.
7. What are the guidelines for secondments?
Secondment is the temporary assignment of employees within their staff years to another branch, department or agency of the Manitoba Government or a crown corporation.
Authorization: Managers of the borrowing organization and the lending organization approve a secondment agreement.
Conditions: A secondment is an appropriate staffing option in the following situations:
- Special program needs are best met by using existing government employees.
- The temporary work assignment requires expertise found within the civil service.
- It advances Employment Equity goals and objectives.
- It provides a development opportunity for a civil service employee.
Pay & Benefits: The following considerations apply to secondments:
- Employees are usually seconded within their classification. An interim re-classification may be appropriate in some situations.
- The borrowing department provides information on attendance and benefits usage to the lending organization.
Comment Boxes
| Authorized Commission Officer | An authorized commission officer is a person in a department who has been delegated staffing Authority by the Civil Service Commission. Generally, the authorized commission officer is the Director of Human Resources and such other person as the Director delegates with staffing Authority. |
| Casual employee | Civil Service Regulations 1(1) "casual employment". |
| Classification Incumbent Specific | The Classification Incumbent Specific Policy (D-III - 2) is located in the Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual, Civil Service Commission. |
| Competitive appointment | A competitive appointment is based on a competitive examination of two or more candidates and includes subsequent or alternate appointment(s) from a competition or eligibility list. |
| Competition | A competition is an examination of two or more candidates for a position. The posting of an employment notice is not a prerequisite for there to be a competition. |
| Contract | Contract refers to the employment of a person on
a special contract basis upon the specific approval of Treasury
Board and under the terms and conditions prescribed in the contract
as approved by the Civil Service Commission. Contract employment
is used ONLY when:
|
| Departmental employee | Departmental employee means a person employed by Manitoba Transportation & Government Services or Manitoba Conservation whose appointment is made to a departmental employee classification contained within the Trades and Physical Sciences components of the GEMA. |
| Direct appointment | A direct appointment occurs when only one person is considered for a position. The candidate's qualifications are assessed against the selection criteria established for the position. |
| Eligibility List | An eligibility list is a ranked listing of qualified candidates for a particular type of employment or job classification. An eligibility list is identified through a competition. See also Competition Policy, 2.2.1 |
| Employing Authority | Civil Service Act 1(1) employing Authority |
| Equity, Fairness, Merit | Merit refers to the closest possible
match between the needs of the organization and the knowledge,
skills, abilities, experience and personal attributes of a candidate.
Fairness refers to a staffing process that is unbiased, impartial, just and honest and that treats all candidates consistently. Equity refers to the collective results of our staffing actions: a workforce that is representative of the Manitoba's labour force and the population we serve. The concept of equity has evolved from "treating everyone the same" to "accommodating differences". See also Staffing Principles 2.0 |
| Executive Government Organization Act 16 | Provides for "Agreements with other Authorities"
as follows: The Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize a minister, for and on behalf of the government, of an agency of the government to enter into an agreement with
For the benefit or purpose of the residents of Manitoba or any part thereof. |
| Increments during the acting status period | An employee in acting status is eligible for increments
under the following conditions:
1. If the employee's anniversary date falls within the acting status period, the employee receives an increment in the employee's original position under certain conditions:
2. The employee is eligible for an increment within the acting position range on the employee's anniversary date if:
|
| Regular employee | A regular employee is an employee who carries out and occupies a continuing function in a departmental program and who has all the rights and privileges of employees of permanent status. |
| Regular employment | Appointment to a civil service position with regular employee status |
| Technical employee | Technical employee refers to Deputy Ministers, the Clerk of the Executive Council, The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, and other officers appointed at the pleasure of the lieutenant governor. |
| Temporary employee | A temporary employee is employed for an assignment on a temporary basis as defined in the Civil Service Act Regulations. Also called "term employee". |
| Temporary employment | Temporary employment refers to a term appointment.
The expiry date of the term appointment is clearly communicated
to the term employee. Temporary employment is an appropriate staffing
option when the work may not be on-going or to anticipate future
downsizing. Options include:
|
| Underfill | Underfill means a person is appointed to a position in spite of not fully meeting all selection criteria, and therefore is appointed at a rate of pay lower than the classification of the position. |
Authority
- Civil Service Act 3, 9, 11(7), 13-16, 18(1), 19(2), 22, 23, 29(1),32, 35, 37, 39
- Civil Service Regulations 14
- Executive Government Organization Act 16
- GEMA 5:04, 66, 11
- CSC Minute #14-96/97-15
- CSC Minute #12-98/99-8 (amended)
- CSC Minute #10-99/00-9 (amended)
Effective date November 21, 1998
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