Public Service Employment Act (PSEA)

The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) is a Canadian federal statute that governs appointments to, and staffing within, the federal public service. It sets out the roles and responsibilities of the Public Service Commission and of deputy heads, and it requires appointments to be based on merit and made free from political influence. The Public Service Commission describes the Act in its overview of the federal public service staffing system.

The PSEA is a human resources statute, not a procurement statute. It still matters to suppliers because federal buyers must keep contracts for individual services from turning into employment. The French title is Loi sur l'emploi dans la fonction publique, as given in the Public Service Commission lexicon.

Origin and Date of Coming Into Force

The PSEA was enacted as part of the Public Service Modernization Act. It came into force on December 31, 2005. The Public Service Commission lists the Act among its governing legislation on its legislation page.

Merit and Non-Partisanship as Core Values

The Public Service Commission identifies merit and non-partisanship as the core values of the Act. Fairness, transparency, access and representativeness are the guiding values that support them. The Commission explains these values on its page about the values of the Public Service Employment Act.

The Act defines merit. An appointment is made on merit when the person appointed meets the essential qualifications of the position. This definition is summarized in the Commission's material on legislation and regulations in the appointment framework.

The Public Service Commission and the Regulations

The Public Service Commission of Canada administers and oversees the federal staffing system under the Act. Its work includes safeguarding merit-based appointments and non-partisanship, and it conducts investigations and audits under the PSEA.

The Public Service Employment Regulations give effect to the Act and are administered by the Commission. The Commission answers common questions about them in its frequently asked questions on the Public Service Employment Regulations.

The PSEA in Federal Procurement

The Act appears in procurement where the government obtains services from individuals, including temporary-help services. CanadaBuys tells federal contracting authorities to assess whether an arrangement could create an employer-employee relationship. This assessment is necessary to comply with the PSEA and with common-law principles. The guidance is set out in the CanadaBuys page on the employer-employee relationship.

The guidance names the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement as requiring both the buyer and the business owner to ensure that an individual-services contract does not create an employment relationship. Considerations include:

• avoiding employment-type language, such as fixed working hours or control over how the work is performed;
• setting clear start and completion dates;
• allowing the contractor to set working hours;
• having the technical authority supervise results rather than the manner of performance; and
• avoiding arrangements in which the contractor works on government premises.

What It Means for Suppliers

If you offer the services of individuals to federal departments, structure and perform the engagement as a genuine contract for services, not disguised employment. Expect the contracting authority to apply the factors above, and plan your staffing, scheduling and supervision to match them.

The CanadaBuys guidance is directed at the buyer and business owner. It does not add a PSEA certification or clause to every federal procurement, so read each solicitation for its own requirements.