In an effort to ensure the continued health and well-being of employees and their families during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency shares the following update on key changes to flexible work arrangements and leave requirements:
Leave
The Prime Minister advised Canadians to avoid international travel. In light of this, employees are asked to take into consideration public health travel advisories as per the active travel health notices and declare any intent to travel to their manager, this includes cross-border shopping.
Individual cases may have to be examined on their own merits (for example if you willingly choose to travel to affected areas contrary to public health advice.)
The advice on leave provisions contained in the FAQ document online has now been amended as follows:
Employees returning from international travel, including the United States: Effective immediately, to ensure the health and safety of all employees, any employee returning from international travel, including the United States, is not to return to the workplace for 14 days from their return date into Canada.
Employees that are required by public health officials to self-isolate: If in good health and able to work, you will be asked to discuss with your manager the option of telework. If that is not possible, you can be granted "other leave with pay (699 code)" as per your collective agreement.
If you are at a higher risk than normal during a COVID-19 pandemic due to a predisposed medical condition, an immune deficiency or an identified condition, such as pregnancy, please discuss with your manager and refer to direction in the CFIA manager guide.
Daycare and School closures
Employees whose children cannot attend school or daycare due to a closure or because of attendance restrictions in place in relation to the coronavirus situation.
Employees will:
- Attempt to make alternative care arrangements.
- If that is not possible, they discuss with their managers, the option to telework.
- If that is not possible, they will be granted "other leave with pay" (699 code).
- The above provisions for disruption of school and daycare operations related to the coronavirus will remain available to employees and managers for the duration of the disruption in the respective jurisdictions but will be reassessed by the Employer on April 10, 2020.
We believe the above takes into consideration the collective agreements, continuity of service to Canadians as well as reflecting the imperative we all have to follow public health advice as Canada continues its containment efforts.
Flexible work arrangements
We are requesting employees follow these guidelines to maximize internet bandwidth, support remote work and prioritize network access, specifically:
- Use mobile devices whenever possible to send and receive emails;
- Connect to VPN/SRA to get what you need from the corporate network and disconnect, which allows for others to do the same;
- Limit the use of video conferencing on the GC network when audio conferencing will suffice;
- Localize any files before leaving the office; and
- Download documents outside normal business hours.
Further, you can follow these tips to maximize collaboration within and across teams, including:
- Use public cloud services to collaborate with colleagues, for Unclassified work (examples: Facetime, MS Teams, Google HangOuts, Slack, etc.); and
- Use the BBMe application to communicate with colleagues, for up to Protected B work.
Mental health
We are all seized with the importance of supporting the mental health of our employees navigating this rapidly changing environment.
We encourage you to seek the help you need by contacting the 24-7 Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) or accessing care through the Public Service Healthcare Plan (PSHP).
As the situation evolves, we would like to underscore that changes in the public health advice could lead to a different approach.
Finally, please continue to stay up to date through the Canada.ca/Coronavirus and GCIntranet websites, as well as the Managers' Guidelines document on Merlin, which is updated as required.
CFIA's Incident Command System on COVID-19 continues to monitor the situation. In addition, CFIA is working with other Government of Canada departments to:
- maintain a safe and healthy workplace for employees
- prepare for and respond to any potential changes in the situation
- ensure emergency preparedness plans are in place to support business continuity
Stay informed
- Employees and managers can get general information about COVID-19, including information on precautionary measures and the latest updates, on Public Health Agency of Canada
- Keep up with the latest departmental messages to all employees
- Have questions? Check out:
Help with organizational readiness
While the overall risk to Canadians remains low, CFIA is taking steps to prepare should the situation change.
The agency has suspended all non-essential work travel outside of Canada. Please discuss any plans or concerns related to work travel with your manager. Travel information is available:
All managers/supervisors should:
- have a copy of their up-to-date branch Business Continuity Plan (BCP) at work and at home, and understand their responsibilities related to it. The BCP outlines measures, procedures, roles and responsibilities that will help ensure minimal or no interruption to critical services and assets
- update their team contact information lists (including personal information) and ensure they can access it in case of emergency
All employees should:
- give their manager up-to-date contact information. This information should also be updated in PeopleSoft
- make note of CFIA's toll-free 24/7 Emergency and Business Continuity Hotline (1-855-227-2342), which can be reached from anywhere in the country. This number is available on the back of your security pass. In the event of a disruption to CFIA operations, this hotline will play back a pre-recorded message explaining the nature of the emergency and what to do.
- discuss with their manager whether their position was identified as essential in the BCP, and understand their responsibilities related to it.
For more information:
inspection.gc.ca