To what extent do casuals become employed under the Public Service Employment Act?

October 2007

A statistical study by the Public Service Commission of Canada

Public Service Commission of Canada
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M7
Canada

Information: 613-992-9562
Facsimile: 613-992-9352

Cat. No. SC3-127/2007
ISBN 978-0-662-69999-6

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented
by the Public Service Commission of Canada, 2007

Table of Contents

• Highlights
• Introduction
  • The Public Service Commission’s role in staffing
  • Background
• Methodology
• Study findings
  • Forty-one percent of casual employment spells lead to employment under the PSEA
  • The Administrative and Foreign Service and the Scientific and Professional categories stand out
  • Higher prevalence in medium and small organizations
  • Higher incidence in the National Capital Region
  • Some difference by gender
  • Differences exist between official language groups
  • A relatively rapid transition
  • More than half of the transitions occur without a break in service
  • Majority of transitions do not involve a change of classification or department/agency
• Concluding remarks
• Study team

Appendices

• Appendix 1: Methodology and definitions
• Appendix 2: Glossary
• Appendix 3: Department/agency size
• Appendix 4: Casual appointment spells and subsequent transitions - 1995-1996 through 2004-2005 - Departments/agencies
• Appendix 5: Casual appointment spells and subsequent transitions – 1995-1996 through 2004-2005 - Groups
• Appendix 6: Categories and professional groups

List of figures

• Figure 1: Specified-period and casual appointments to the public service - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 2: Change in composition of employment categories of casual appointments - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 3: Casual recruitment - National Capital Region (NCR) and regions outside the NCR - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 4: Proportion of casual employment spells followed by subsequent appointment under the PSEA - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 5: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 6: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA - employment categories - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 7: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA by size of organization - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 8: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA - National Capital Region (NCR) and regions outside the NCR - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 9: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA by first official language (FOL) and region - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 10: Average cumulative job duration and average elapsed time prior to each transition - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 11: Average cumulative job duration and average elapsed time prior to each transition - National Capital Region and regions outside the NCR - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 12: Subsequent appointment under the PSEA involving a change in classification by type of transition - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Figure 13: Subsequent appointment under the PSEA involving a change in department/agency by type of transition - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

List of tables

• Table 1: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA - selected groups from the Administrative and Foreign Service category - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Table 2: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA - selected groups from the Scientific and Professional category - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005
• Table 3: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA - selected large and medium-sized organizations with proportions for subsequent appointment above the overall average of 41% - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Highlights

The federal public service has always relied on a temporary workforce to meet short-term needs and to respond to immediate departmental and agency requirements. Casual employment, introduced through an amendment to the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) in 1993, was intended to facilitate this type of short-term hiring. The amendment excluded casual employment from the provisions of the PSEA, including the application of merit. In addition, the PSEA does not afford casual workers access to internal appointment processes open only to term and indeterminate employees.

Although the nature of the work is temporary, the proportion of casual appointees who subsequently become employed under the PSEA is substantial. The study looked at all casuals hired from April 1, 1995 through March 31, 2005, and tracked these individuals through March 31, 2006 to determine what proportion of them subsequently became employed under the PSEA. The main findings of this study are as follows:

• Forty-one per cent of casual workers were subsequently employed (within a year) under the PSEA. Of these, 58% were appointed to an indeterminate position.
• The Administrative and Foreign Service and Scientific and Professional categories stand out. More than half of all casual employment in these two categories was followed by employment under the PSEA (56% and 54% respectively). Furthermore, casual hiring within these two categories is an increasing proportion of all casual hiring.
• While the proportion of casual hires subsequently employed under the PSEA was lower
  for the Administrative Support category (37%), casual hiring remained an important source of entry to the public service due to the sheer size of the category. Over the study period, this category made up over one third (13 762 out of 39 188) of the term and indeterminate hires with prior experience as a casual.
• Casual workers working in large organizations appeared less likely to make the transition to employment under the PSEA (39%) than those working in medium and small organizations (58% and 52% respectively). There was considerable variation across organizations.
• The tendency for a casual hire to become employed under the PSEA was greater for those employed in the National Capital Region (51%) than for those employed in the regions (35%).
• The transition between casual employment and employment under the PSEA was relatively rapid. On average, employment under the PSEA happened within one year of being employed as a casual. More than half of all transitions occurred without a break in service.
• Most of the subsequent appointments under the PSEA occurred within the same department or agency (92%) and did not involve a change in classification (75%).

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Introduction

The Public Service Commission’s role in staffing

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent agency reporting to Parliament, mandated to safeguard the integrity of the public service staffing system and the political neutrality of the public service. In addition, the PSC recruits qualified Canadians from across the country. The PSC develops policies to ensure that appointments are made according to the principle of merit and respect the staffing values. The PSC conducts audits, studies and investigations to confirm the effectiveness of, and to make improvements to, the staffing system.

Values of the Public Service Employment Act

The Public Service Commission protects the core values of merit and non-partisanship, as well as the guiding values of fairness, transparency, access and representativeness.

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Background

The federal public service has always relied on a temporary workforce to meet short-term needs and to respond to immediate departmental and agency requirements. Prior to 1993, the Public Service Commission (PSC) responded to this need through the use of Exclusion Approval Orders (EAOs) that set aside the merit provisions of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), allowing certain departments and agencies to hire term employees for a period of less than six months under specific circumstances.

Casual employment, introduced through an amendment to the Act in 1993, replaces these EAOs and provides managers who have immediate operational needs with a quick and efficient way to cover short-term absences or specific short-term projects.¹ Casual employment is excluded from the provisions of the PSEA and, more specifically, from the application of merit.² As a result, casual workers are not required to meet the selection and assessment standards used for specified-period (term) and indeterminate (permanent) hires.

The PSEA does not afford casual workers access to internal appointment processes open only to term and indeterminate employees. As the potential for on-the-job training and networking during casual employment exists, the extent to which casual hires go on to employment under the PSEA is important in the context of fair access to public service jobs.

Casual employment exceeds term employment

Over the study period, casual employment has increased. In 1995-1996, there were 8 973 casual hires. By 2001-2002, this number had increased to 17 304 when, for the first time, the number of casual hires exceeded the number of specified-period appointments. As shown in Figure 1, this trend continues; for fiscal years 2002-2003 through 2004-2005 the number of casuals hired exceeded the number of specified-period appointments by 16.4%, 53.1% and 58.6% respectively. Although the total number of term and casual appointments declined from 2001-2002 to the end of the study period, the reduction in the number of casual appointments was less pronounced. Throughout the period the median duration of casual and term appointments remained relatively stable.

Figure 1: Specified-period and casual appointments to the public service - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 1 long description

Source: Job-based Analytical Information System (JAIS)

Occupational composition of casual hires is changing

The composition of casual hires has changed since 1995-1996. At that time, 56% of all casual hires were in the Operational category. By the end of the study period, 2004-2005, the Operational category accounted for only 26% of all casual hires. In contrast, as Figure 2 illustrates, the proportion of casuals hired into the Administrative Support category remained relatively stable. At the end of the study period, fiscal year 2004-2005, Administrative Support represented 37% of casual hires.

Figure 2 indicates, as well, that the hiring of casuals in the Administrative and Foreign Service and Scientific and Professional categories became relatively more frequent. The Administrative and Foreign Service category accounted for 19% of the 2004-2005 cohort, up from less than 5% at the start of the study period.

Figure 2: Change in composition of employment categories of casual appointments - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 2 long description

Source: JAIS

National Capital Region’ s increasing share of casual employment

Figure 3 below illustrates the National Capital Region’s (NCR) increasing share of casual appointments. In 1995-1996, only 15% of all casuals were hired in the NCR. By 2004-2005, the NCR proportion of casual hires had increased to 34%, a proportion similar to the proportion of the public service population residing in the NCR.

Figure 3: Casual recruitment - National Capital Region (NCR) and regions outside the NCR - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 3 long description

Source: JAIS

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Methodology

The study examines casual employment only, excluding other types of temporary employment such as term employees, students and contract workers. The analysis is based on all new casuals hired from April 1, 1995 to March 31, 2005. Subsequent employment for these individuals was observed up to March 31, 2006. Appointments were considered “subsequent” when occurring within one year from the end of the last appointment.

Central to the analysis in this study is the definition of an employment spell. Casual employment spells start with an initial casual appointment and include all successive employment until there is a break in service of more than 365 days or an appointment is made to a term or indeterminate position. Employment spells are categorized as follows: “No subsequent appointment”, “Casual to term only”, “Casual to indeterminate only” and “Casual to term to indeterminate”. In other words, appointments are deemed related unless there is a break in service of greater than 365 days. In total, 96 698 casual employment spells were identified within the study period.

Employees from the Canada Revenue Agency and Parks Canada were removed from the PSEA population to control for department and agency reorganizations during the period of the study. Employment equity data are not collected in a consistent or comprehensive manner for casual employment. Therefore, analysis by designated group is not possible. Proportions shown in the figures may not add to 100, due to rounding.

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Study findings

Forty-one percent of casual employment spells lead to employment under the PSEA

Over the period under study there was an increase in the proportion of casual employment spells followed by an appointment under the PSEA. The proportion of casual-to-term transitions remained relatively stable while the casual-to-indeterminate and casual-to-term-to-indeterminate transitions increased in number and proportion. The trends level off towards the end of the period, likely affected by the staffing freeze announced in 2003 and subsequent restructuring initiatives.

Figure 4: Proportion of casual employment spells followed by subsequent appointment under the PSEA - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 4 long description

Source: JAIS

Overall, 41% of all casual hires were subsequently appointed to either a term or an indeterminate position. As shown in Figure 5 below, 17% of casual spells led to a term position, 6% were appointed directly to an indeterminate position and 18% to a term position and subsequently to an indeterminate position.

Figure 5: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 5 long description

Source: JAIS

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The Administrative and Foreign Service and the Scientific and Professional categories stand out

Subsequent appointment of casual hires to a position under the PSEA was relatively more frequent in the Administrative and Foreign Service and the Scientific and Professional categories than in other categories. As illustrated in Figure 6, between 56% and 54% of casual employment spells in these two employment categories were followed by an appointment to a position under the PSEA, whereas the proportion for the other groups varied between 30% and 40%.

Figure 6: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA - employment categories - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 6 long description

Note: Due to unassigned groups, numbers shown here (n) are less than the number (96 698) of casual employment spells.

Source: JAIS

The following sections discuss selected groups within these employment categories. All groups shown had 100 or more employment spells over the study period. Appendix 5 lists all the occupational groups within the categories.

Selected groups - Administrative and Foreign Service category

As shown in Table 1, the groups within the Administrative and Foreign Service category most likely to see casual employment followed by an appointment under the PSEA were Financial Administration (FI), Purchasing and Supply (PG) and Personnel Administration (PE). These three groups are discussed below.

In the FI group, 76% of the employment spells were followed by appointment under the PSEA 339 appointments). As shown in Table 1, 64% of these casual employment spells were followed by an indeterminate appointment. Total recruitment (indeterminate and term) for this group over the study period was 1 893.

In the PG group, 69% of the casual employment spells were followed by employment under the PSEA (161 appointments). Indeterminate status followed 55% of the employment spells. Total recruitment to the PG group (indeterminate and term) was 735 for the period.

The proportion of casual employment spells leading to employment under the PSEA was 66% for the PE group (374 appointments). Indeterminate status occurred following 40% of the employment spells. Total recruitment (indeterminate and term) for the group over the study period was 1 811.

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Selected groups - Scientific and Professional category

In contrast to the 41% rate overall, for the following five groups within the Scientific and Professional category, more than 60% of the casual employment spells were followed by appointment under the PSEA: Law (LA); Scientific Regulation (SG); Economics, Sociology and Statistics (ES); Psychology (PS); and Scientific Research (SE). As illustrated in Table 2 below, a substantial proportion of employment spells were followed by an indeterminate appointment.

The LA group had a relatively high proportion (84%) of casual employment with subsequent transition to status under the PSEA (221 appointments). A high proportion of spells (59%) were followed by an indeterminate appointment (casual to indeterminate and casual to term to indeterminate). Total LA recruitment (indeterminate and term) was 1 957 during the period of the study. Justice Canada was the most frequent employer of this group over the period.

The proportion of casual employment with subsequent transition to status under the PSEA for the two science-based groups, SG and SE, was relatively high at 77% and 62% respectively (138 and 87 appointments respectively). The SG group stands out with 71% of spells leading to an indeterminate appointment. Total recruitment for each of these groups over the period of the study (indeterminate and term) was 604 (SG) and 753 (SE). Health Canada and Industry Canada were the most frequent employers for the SG group; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Natural Resources Canada accounted for most of the SE recruitment.

In the ES group, 65% of employment spells were followed by subsequent appointment under the PSEA (1 112 appointments). Fifty-three percent of these casual spells led to indeterminate employment. There were 4 066 indeterminate and term ES recruits over the period.

For the PS group, the proportion of spells with subsequent appointment was 63% (67 appointments). Indeterminate employment was the result in 44% of the observations. Total PS recruitment (indeterminate and term) for the period was 390. The Correctional Service of Canada was the main employer for this group.

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Selected groups - other categories

The Administrative Support category represents the largest proportion (38%) of the employment spells identified for the study. As illustrated in Figure 6, fewer than half (37%) of the spells for this category led to employment under the PSEA. Nevertheless, over the study period, 13 762 casual spells in the Administrative Support category were followed by an appointment under the PSEA representing 35% of all such appointments.

For two groups, Correction (CX) and Ship Repair (SR), 60% or more of the casual spells were followed by employment under the PSEA. Both belong to the Operational category:

• Correction: Just under 86% of casual employment spells were followed by appointment under the PSEA (511 appointments). The transitions are distributed as follows: casual to term, 8%; casual to indeterminate, 15%; and casual to term to indeterminate, 63%.
• Ship Repair: 60% of casual spells were followed by appointment under the PSEA (483 appointments). The transitions are distributed as follows: casual to term, 40%; casual to indeterminate, less than one per cent; and casual to term to indeterminate 20%.

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Higher prevalence in medium and small organizations

Of the 96 698 employment spells in the study, 93% occurred in large organizations³. For the medium-sized and small organizations in the study, the tendency to appoint under the PSEA following casual tenure was relatively more prevalent than for large organizations. As depicted in Figure 7, 39% of casual hires in large organizations made the transition to the PSEA while the proportion was 58% and 52% for medium-sized and small organizations respectively.

Figure 7: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA by size of organization - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 7 long description

Source: JAIS

Subsequent appointment - large and medium-sized organizations

The organizations in Table 3 below exceed the overall average of 41% for the proportion of casual spells followed by employment under the PSEA. All groups shown had 100 or more employment spells over the study period. A complete listing by department is provided in Appendix 4. In general, spells followed by employment under the PSEA occurred most frequently in the Administrative and Foreign Service category and the Administrative Support category. Some exceptions were:

• Library and Archives Canada: Forty-seven percent of the 226 casual spells were followed by employment under the PSEA. The Technical category and Administrative Support category represent 26% and 50%, respectively, of the 108 spells followed by employment under the PSEA. Some groups within these categories and their proportions of the 108 observations are CR (46%) and SI (21%).
• Public Service Commission of Canada: Forty-four percent of the 379 casual spells were followed by employment under the PSEA. The Scientific and Professional category and Administrative Support category represent 46% and 33%, respectively, of the 166 spells followed by employment under the PSEA. Some groups within these categories and their proportions of the 166 observations are CR (33%), ED (35%) and ES (7%).
• Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat: Fifty-four percent of the 396 casual spells were followed by employment under the PSEA. The Scientific and Professional category and Administrative and Foreign Service category represent 21% and 60%, respectively, of the 215 spells followed by employment under the PSEA. Some groups within these categories and their proportions of the 215 observations are AS (34%), CR (14%), ES (20%) and IS (12%).

Four organizations, the Canada Border Services Agency, Public Safety Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canada School of Public Service, listed in Appendix 4, have proportions for subsequent appointment under the PSEA greater than average but are excluded from Table 3 below because they were established towards the end of the study period. The shaded rows in Table 3 below identify large organizations.

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* indicates large departments

Subsequent appointment - small organizations

The three small organizations with a minimum of 100 observations, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the Canadian Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the National Parole Board (NPB) had proportions for casual employment spells with subsequent appointment under the PSEA of 43%, 46% and 50% respectively.

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Higher incidence in the National Capital Region

As shown in Figure 8 below, casual hires in the National Capital Region (NCR) were more likely to be subsequently appointed to a specified-period or indeterminate position than those in the regions outside the NCR. In fact, 51% of the casual intake in the NCR ended up being appointed to a specified-period or indeterminate position, compared to only 35% in the regions. However, twice as many casual spells were identified in the regions as in the NCR over the period of the study (64 305 versus 32 393).

Figure 8: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA - National Capital Region (NCR) and regions outside the NCR - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 8 long description

Source: JAIS

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Some difference by gender

Women represent 56% of the observations in the study. The proportion of employment spells leading to employment under the PSEA is slightly higher for women (43%) than for men (37%).

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Differences exist between official language groups

Appointments of persons whose first official language is French represent 26% of the observations in the study. In this group 46% of casual spells were followed by appointment under the PSEA, slightly higher than the 40% of all casual spells where English is the first official language. For observations where French is the first official language, the proportions break down as follows: casual to term 19%; casual to indeterminate 5%; and casual to term to indeterminate 22%. The corresponding proportions where English is the first official language are: casual to term 17%; casual to indeterminate 6%; casual to term to indeterminate 17%.

As shown in Figure 9, within the National Capital Region (NCR) there is approximately a nine percentage point difference in the proportion with no subsequent appointment between official language groups. Outside the NCR there is almost no difference between language groups.

Figure 9: Casual employment spells and subsequent appointment under the PSEA by first official language (FOL) and region - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 9 long description

Source: JAIS

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A relatively rapid transition

Casual hires subsequently appointed to a specified-period position or directly into an indeterminate position worked an average of 188 calendar days as casual prior to the transition and had an average of 1.4 casual jobs. On average, less than one year, 284 calendar days, had passed between the time of their initial casual employment and the appointment under the PSEA to a term or indeterminate position (see Figure 10).

Casual hires who were appointed to an indeterminate position via a term position worked an extra 696 days before the occurrence of the second transition.

Figure 10: Average cumulative job duration and average elapsed time prior to each transition - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 10 long description

Source: JAIS

Elapsed time since initial intake or previous transition from a regional perspective is shown in Figure 11 below.

• Overall, the elapsed time in days between the initial intake and the subsequent appointment under the PSEA was somewhat shorter in the NCR (258 days) than in the regions (287 days).
• The pace at which casual hires moved successively from a term to an indeterminate position was faster in the NCR (628 days) than in the regions (780 days).

Figure 11: Average cumulative job duration and average elapsed time prior to each transition - National Capital Region and regions outside the NCR - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 11 long description

Source: JAIS

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More than half of the transitions occur without a break in service

Employment spells involving casual to term or casual to indeterminate appointments were preceded by a mean break in service of 48 calendar days, with a corresponding median of zero days, that is, no break in service. In other words, more than half of all casuals moving to term or indeterminate jobs did so with no break in service. For indeterminate appointments from term the mean break in service immediately prior to the indeterminate appointment was two days, with a median of zero days.

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Majority of transitions do not involve a change of classification or department/agency

The majority of subsequent appointments (75%) did not involve a change in classification at the time of the transition. Nearly 80% of transitions from casual to term did not entail a change in classification (see Figure 12). The tendency for a change in classification appears slightly greater for transitions from casual to indeterminate.

Figure 12: Subsequent appointment under the PSEA involving a change in classification by type of transition - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 12 long description

Source: JAIS

For the third transition type (casual to term to indeterminate) a change in classification occurred in 50% of the cases, almost evenly split between the move from casual employment to term employment and from term employment to indeterminate employment. As shown in Figure 12, 27% of the moves from term to indeterminate involved a change in classification.

Most of the subsequent appointments under the PSEA occurred within the same department or agency (92%). Only 6% of employees changed department or agency when going from term employment to indeterminate employment. The largest change was for casual workers who first become term and then indeterminate: 18% of these employees changed department or agency albeit for the most part during the first transition from casual to term.

Figure 13: Subsequent appointment under the PSEA involving a change in department/agency by type of transition - fiscal years 1995-1996 through 2004-2005

Figure 13 long description

Source: JAIS

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Concluding remarks

Since the introduction of casual employment in 1993, the demand for casuals has continued to be strong, exceeding the number of term appointments every year since 2001-2002. Most striking is the growth observed within the National Capital Region and within the Administrative and Foreign Service and the Scientific and Professional categories. It is also within this same region and these same categories that the tendency to become employed under the PSEA is found to be the highest. Generally, this trend was on the rise over the study period.

The extent to which casual hires become employed under the PSEA is important in the context of fair access to public service jobs. The study looked at all casuals hired from April 1, 1995 through March 31, 2005 and tracked these individuals through March 31, 2006 to determine what proportion of them subsequently became employed under the PSEA. Over this period, 41% of casual employment spells were followed by an appointment under the PSEA. The conditions on casual employment change under the new Public Service Employment Act (as of December 31, 2005). The maximum number of days of employment changes from 125 working days within any one year period under the old Act, to 90 working days within the timeframe of a calendar year. This may have an impact on future trends.

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Study team

Vice-President, Audit, Evaluation and Studies Branch:
Mary Clennett

Manager, Analysis Division:
Kent Sproul

Authors:
M. Gravel
L. O’Driscoll

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Appendices

Appendix 1 - Methodology and definitions

Data source

The data for the study were taken from the Public Service Commission’s Job-based Analytical Information System (JAIS). All information held in JAIS is based on data extracted from the Incumbent file which is a snapshot of the broader public service pay system managed by Public Works and Government Services Canada. The core of the JAIS data is made up of information on the substantive jobs held between April 1990 and the present and provides a description of the characteristics of these jobs.

Scope

The objective of the study was to describe the extent and the prevalence of casual hiring and subsequent transitions to specified-period or indeterminate employment.

The study examined casual employment only, excluding other types of temporary employment: term employees, students and contract workers. The analysis was based on all new casuals hired from April 1, 1995 to March 31, 2005. Subsequent employment for these individuals was observed up to March 31, 2006. Appointments were considered “subsequent” when occurring within one year from the end of the last appointment. Employees from the Canada Revenue Agency and Parks Canada were removed from the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) population to control for department and agency reorganizations during the period of the study. In total 96 698 casual employment spells were identified for the study.

Definitions

Appointments subject to the PSEA include all employees under the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA) 1.1, minus the Canadian Dairy Commission and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police temporary civilians, plus five separate agencies under PSSRA 1.2. (Indian Oil and Gas, the National Energy Board, the Office of the Correctional Investigator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Public Service Staff Relations Board).

The approach taken to the analysis of the data for this study defines an employment spell for each casual hire as all successive employment without a break of service of more than one year. Therefore, an employment spell for each individual is deemed to be terminated once no subsequent appointment is reported within the 365 days that follow the end of the last appointment. Consequently, an employee may have more than one spell of casual employment.

The focus of this study is on “forward” movement from casual to term to indeterminate within an employment spell. More specifically, three types of transitions were observed: casual to indeterminate; casual to term; and casual to term to indeterminate.

Backward movements, such as indeterminate to specified-period (term) or to casual, account for a small proportion of the sample of appointments under study and were ignored. As such, an employee was considered to have remained at his previous tenure for the purpose of calculating time spent at tenure prior to each transition.

The one-year period was considered long enough to capture the re-employment of casuals while at the same time excluding appointments that are so far apart that they would not normally be considered to be related.

Casual hires included the following employees:

• 1 - All employees with no previous tenure under the PSEA or with a previous tenure as student hired as casual;
• 2 - All employees with a previous tenure under the PSEA hired as a casual but showing a break of service greater than a year since the end of their last employment.

Notes

1. Over the period of this study there were a number of administrative changes to the way appointments were reported. These adjustments do not affect the JAIS-based data reported in this study, but are considerations when reviewing Annual Report figures for total casual appointments prior to 1999.

1. As of fiscal year 1998-1999, all departments and agencies were delegated the authority to hire casual workers.
2. Prior to 1998-1999 under the old reporting structure, each extension of casual employment was counted as a new hire, whereas in the revised process an additional period of casual employment is considered an extension of the previous appointment unless there is a break in service.
3. The PSC stopped collecting data on individual appointments via the Report on Staffing Transaction effective March 31, 1999.

2. Department/organization grouping: Observations were combined for several organizations for the purpose of the study. Some examples include:

• The National Archives (ARC) and the National Library of Canada (NLI) were merged under Library and Archives Canada (BAL);
• The Tax Court of Canada (TCC) and the Federal Court of Canada (FCT) were merged under the Courts Administration Service (CAJ);
• Social Development Canada (CSD) was merged with Human Resources Development Canada (REH); under Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC);
• Praire Farm Rehabilitation Administration was merged with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

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Appendix 2 - Glossary

Casual employment - PSEA prior to December 31, 2005
A short-term employment option to hire persons to the public service for a period not exceeding 90 calendar days at one time, nor for more than 125 working days within any 12-month period in any one department or agency. None of the provisions of the PSEA, other than those authorizing the making of such appointments, applies to these hires.

Casual employment - PSEA as of December 31, 2005
A short-term employment option to hire someone. Under the PSEA, a casual worker cannot work more then 90 days in one calendar year in a given department. None of the provisions of the PSEA, such as the merit requirement, apply to casual workers.

Closed Competition
A competition open only to persons employed in the public service.

Indeterminate (permanent) employment
Part-time or full-time, including seasonal, employment of no fixed duration.

Mean
The most common measure of central tendency; the arithmetic average of a set of numbers.

Median
The value found in the middle of a group of values that have been ranked from lowest to highest.

Open Competition
A competition open to the public, including persons employed in the public service.

Specified-period (term) employment
Part-time or full-time employment of a fixed duration.

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Appendix 3 - Department/agency size

Large departments/agencies (more than 2 000 employees)

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (6 706)
• Canada Border Services Agency (9 507)
• Canadian Heritage (2 108)
• Citizenship and Immigration Canada (5 461)
• Correctional Service Canada (14 465)
• Department of Justice Canada (4 627)
• Environment Canada (6 173)
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (10 092)
• Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (3 983)
• Health Canada (10 200)
• Human Resources and Social Development Canada (24 420)
• Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (3 921)
• Industry Canada (5 806)
• National Defence Canada (public service employees) (20 974)
• Natural Resources Canada (4 727)
• Public Works and Government Services Canada (12 887)
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (public service employees) (4 422)
• Statistics Canada (5 468)
• Transport Canada (4 788)
• Veterans Affairs Canada (3 648)

Medium departments/agencies (351 - 2 000 employees)

• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (656)
• Canada Public Service Agency (480)
• Canada School of Public Service (582)
• Canadian Grain Commission (643)
• Canadian International Development Agency (1 625)
• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (394)
• Canadian Space Agency (606)
• Communication Canada (427)
• Courts Administration Service (562)
• Department of Finance Canada (997)
• Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (437)
• Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (979)
• Library and Archives Canada (1 152)
• Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (425)
• Passport Canada (1 742)
• Privy Council Office (846)
• Public Health Agency of Canada (1 815)
• Public Safety Canada (675)
• Public Service Commission of Canada (1 007)
• Solicitor General Canada (710)
• Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (783)
• Western Economic Diversification Canada (378)

Small departments/agencies (350 or fewer employees)

• Canada Centre for Management Development (206)
• Canada Firearms Centre (309)
• Canada Industrial Relations Board (93)
• Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal (11)
• Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (127)
• Canadian Forces Grievance Board (42)
• Canadian Human Rights Commission (207)
• Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (20)
• Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (24)
• Canadian International Trade Tribunal (83)
• Canadian Transportation Agency (259)
• Civil Aviation Tribunal (7)
• Commission for Public Complaints Against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (38)
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (37)
• Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission Canada (30)
• Indian Oil and Gas Canada (71)
• Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada (169)
• Infrastructure Canada (141)
• International Joint Commission (Canadian Section) (36)
• International Trade Canada (see Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada)
• Law Commission of Canada (12)
• Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada (14)
• Millennium Bureau of Canada (29)
• NAFTA Secretariat - Canadian Section (7)
• National Energy Board (300)
• National Farm Products Council (14)
• National Parole Board (307)
• Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (339)
• Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (64)
• Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (153)
• Office of the Governor General's Secretary (154)
• Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada (124)
• Patented Medicine Prices Review Board Canada (43)
• Public Service Labour Relations Board (78)
• Public Service Staff Relations Board (60)
• Registry of the Competition Tribunal (9)
• Status of Women Canada (123)
• Supreme Court of Canada (Office of the Registrar) (187)
• The Correctional Investigator Canada (19)
• Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (4)
• Transportation Safety Board of Canada (236)

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Source: JAIS

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Source: JAIS

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Appendix 6 - Categories and professional groups

The following categories and groups are represented in the data.

Executive

• Executive (EX, GX)

Scientific and Professional

• Agriculture (AG)
• Architecture and Town Planning (AR)
• Auditing (AU)
• Biological Sciences (BI)
• Chemistry (CH)
• Dentistry (DE)
• Defence Scientific Service (DS)
• Economics, Sociology and Statistics (ES)
• Education (ED)
• Engineering and Land Surveying (EN)
• Forestry (FO)
• Historical Research (HR)
• Home Economics (HE)
• Law (LA)
• Library Science (LS)
• Mathematics (MA)
• Medicine (MD)
• Meteorology (MT)
• Nursing (NU)
• Occupational and Physical Therapy (OP)
• Pharmacy (PH)
• Physical Sciences (PC)
• Psychology (PS)
• Scientific Regulation (SG)
• Scientific Research (SE)
• Social Work (SW)
• University Teaching (UT)
• Veterinary Medicine (VM)

Administrative and Foreign Service

• Administrative Services (AS)
• Commerce (CO)
• Computer Systems Administration (CS)
• Financial Administration (FI)
• Foreign Service (FS)
• Information Services (IS)
• Management Trainee Program (MM)
• Organization and Methods (OM)
• Personnel Administration (PE)
• Program Administration (PM)
• Purchasing and Supply (PG)
• Translation (TR)
• Welfare Programs (WP)

Technical

• Air Traffic Control (AI)
• Aircraft Operations (AO)
• Drafting and Illustration (DD)
• Educational Support (EU)
• Electronics (EL)
• Engineering and Scientific Support (EG)
• General Technical (GT)
• Photography (PY)
• Primary Products Inspection (PI)
• Radio Operations (RO)
• Ships’ Officers (SO)
• Social Science Support (SI)
• Technical Inspection (TI)

Administrative Support

• Clerical and Regulatory (CR)
• Communications (CM)
• Data Processing (DA)
• Office Equipment Operation (OE)
• Secretarial, Stenographic, Typing (ST)

Operational

• Correction (CX)
• Firefighters (FR)
• General Labour and Trades (GL)
• General Services (GS)
• Heat, Power and Stationary Plant Ops. (HP)
• Hospital Services (HS)
• Lightkeepers (LI)
• Printing Operations (PR)
• Ships’ Crews (SC)
• Ship Repair (SR)

Unassigned

• Indian Oil and Gas (AB)
• Leadership Programs (PL)
• National Energy Board (NB)
• Nutrition and Dietetics (ND)
• Regulatory Enforcement (RE)
  

Foot Note

1. A short-term employment option to hire persons to the public service for a period not exceeding 90 calendar days at one time, nor for more than 125 working days within any 12-month period in any one department or agency. None of the provisions of the old PSEA, other than those authorizing the making of such appointments, applies to these hires. [Return]
2. Casual workers, as defined by the PSEA in effect prior to December 31st, 2005, were subject to Section 21.2 of the PSEA only. Section 21.2 details the conditions under which casual appointments may be made and states that casual workers are ineligible to compete in closed competitions or to be appointed, deployed, promoted or to receive an acting appointment as a result of an internal process. [Return]
3. A large organization employs more than 2 000 employees, a medium organization between 351 and 2 000, and a small organization 350 or fewer employees. See Appendix 3 for a complete listing. [Return]
4. Departments/agencies with fewer than 25 observations. [Return]
5. Occupational groups with fewer than 25 observations. [Return]