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Procedures for Handling and Reporting Group Termination of Employment Situations - OPD 810-1

Canada Labour Code, Part III - OPDs

No.: 810-1
Date: 1992-04-06

1. Purpose

The purpose of this directive is two-fold:

to establish the internal handling and reporting procedures for potential or real group termination of employment situations to be applied consistently throughout the Operations Program;
to identify Regional and Labour Standards and Equal Pay Branch (LSEP) roles and responsibilities in the handling and reporting of group termination situations.

2. Scope

2.1 This directive applies to the Regions and to LSEP with respect to the handling and reporting of potential and real group termination occurrences from the point of such terminations could take place to the final stage of a group termination's completion.

2.2 With respect to group termination situations, this directive supersedes the reporting system enunciated in the June 1, 1990 memorandum to all Regional Directors (RDs) signed by the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM), Operations, concerning "Reporting of Incidents".

3. Background

3.1 The group termination notice provisions found in Division IX of the Canada Labour Code were enacted in 1972. Those provisions relating to the establishment of a joint planning committee, an adjustment program, and arbitration were added in 1982. There has been a growing interest in the subject of group termination because of an increasing incidence of plant closures and large terminations of employment in recent years. This interest has created a need to establish handling and reporting procedures that reflect the needs of the program in order to track or to report on potential or actual group terminations; to develop a consistent approach in this area with identified responsibility centres; and to increase the program's ability to effectively respond to inquiries in this subject area.

4. Authorities

4.1 This directive is issued under the authority of the ADM, Operations. Group Termination of Employment cases are handled by Labour Canada (LC) within the authority of Part III of the Canada Labour Code, Division IX.

5. Definitions

5.1 In this directive, "designated group termination contact person" at the regional level may include the RD, a Labour Standards Officer, a Labour Affairs Officer (LAO) or the Technical Advisor, Labour Standards (TA-LS). Reference to RD for the purposes of this directive will be taken to include his/her designated group termination contact person.

5.2 "Group Termination of Employment" is as defined under Section 212 of the Code and also includes those terminations of employment first thought to involve 50 or more employees but later found to cover a lesser number of employees.

5.3 The "designated group termination contact person" at LSEP is the Chief, Labour Standards (Operations), including his/her designate.

6. Guiding Principles

6.1 The purpose of Part III's Group Termination of Employment provisions is to minimize the impact of such terminations on redundant employees and to assist those employees to obtain other employment. In addition, they are designed to provide an opportunity and sufficient time for joint discussions to take place.

6.2 In responding to possible group termination situations, the RD's primary role will be to ensure that there is continuing compliance with the provisions of Part III and pursuant regulations. In addition, the responsible RD will ensure that all communications between the Region and LSEP and between the Regions themselves occur as required.

7. Procedures

7.1 Procedures for handling and reporting a potential termination of employment that involves fewer than 50 employees when more than one region is involved.

Regional Response: When a potential termination involves fewer than 50 employees, but it will, or is expected to impact on the employees of more than one region, the group termination contact person will keep the other affected regions informed.
LSEP Response: When LSEP becomes aware of a potential termination situation that involves fewer than 50 employees but involves more than one region, LSEP will notify the group termination contact person from the responsible region who will keep the other affected regions informed.

7.2 Procedures for handling and reporting a potential group termination of employment that comes to the attention of local or regional officials through local news or media reports or through contact from company officials seeking information on division IX.

Regional Response: The RD is to investigate the potential group termination to ascertain the facts. Such investigation could, depending on the situation, only require telephone contact with the employer to seek confirmation of the facts and to identify the relevant Code provisions. If the situation warrants it, a more extensive investigation could be undertaken on behalf of the RD. The RD shall report to LSEP via telephone on the potential group termination and send a written follow-up report signed personally by the RD to LSEP on the investigation results and the company contact, if applicable, within ten (10) working days.
If the potential group termination will, or is expected to impact on employees in more than one region, the group termination contact person from the responsible region will keep all other affected regions advised on the findings and developments at the regional level.
LSEP Response: The potential group termination is to be recorded on the activity listing indicating a date within ten (10) working days on which a written report can be expected. A standard House card will be prepared immediately. If the potential group termination comes to the attention of LSEP first, LSEP will immediately contact the appropriate RD for follow-up confirmation/investigation while also faxing him/her any available information. It will be the responsibility of LSEP's designated group termination contact person to disseminate the group termination briefing notes, House cards and activity listings to the group termination contact person in the region responsible.

Note: A copy of all House cards prepared, including updates, shall be sent to Field Operations for inclusion in House card Master Binder.

7.3 Procedures for handling and reporting a group termination of employment situation following the receipt of a notice of group termination pursuant to section 212.

Regional Response: A notice of group termination must be sent by the employer directly to the Minister with copies to the Minister of Employment and Immigration, the Employment and Immigration Commission and the trade union(s) concerned (copy of the notice must be posted if employees are unorganized). If a notice of group termination is received at the regional level, the RD will immediately advise the employer that notice must be sent to the Minister with copies as indicated above. A copy of the notice is to be faxed to LSEP by the RD.
The RD should take the opportunity during this contact to advise the employer of the provisions of Divisions IX, X, and XI of Part III and of Labour Canada's role and services.
Once this initial contact has been made, the RD should fax a status report signed by the RD to LSEP indicating the results of the contact (i.e. meeting held, company contact's name and title, etc). Such advance knowledge should also be used by the RD to begin his/her review of the notice to determine application/compliance aspects.
In cases where the notice has been sent to the Minister and the RD has received a copy, he/she will investigate the notice to determine whether Division IX is applicable and whether the employer is complying with it. While a telephone status report should be made as soon as possible, a written report signed by the RD on the investigation of application/compliance shall be "faxed" to LSEP within ten (10) working days. Any requests for extensions in this initial reporting time will require a rationale. The RD shall be responsible for ensuring that LSEP is kept up-to-date on any new developments on the group termination. Once the investigation is completed, the RD shall file a final report with LSEP signed by the RD summarizing the activity that took place and the results.
For those group terminations affecting employees in industrial establishments in more than one LC region, the RD responsible for reviewing, investigating and coordinating LC's involvement shall be the one where the employer's Canadian head office is located. The identified RD shall advise LSEP of the designated group termination contact person(s) assigned at the local level to assist him/her and maintain inter-regional communications as indicated in paragraph 7.2 b).
If a notice of group termination of employment dealing with employees under provincial jurisdiction is received in the region or at LSEP, the employer shall be advised immediately that the matter is provincial and has been forwarded to the appropriate provincial agency. The RD is responsible for forwarding a copy of the "provincial" notice to LSEP who will, in turn, forward it to the Older Worker Adjustment Branch for information. LSEP will advise the appropriate RD if any provincial notice is received and dealt with.
LSEP Response: In a situation where a notice of group termination has been received by the RD and faxed to LSEP rather than being sent to the Minister, LSEP shall, while awaiting proper notice to the Minister, draft an acknowledgement for the ADM's signature to the employer, identifying the RD responsible and advising that he or she will be in touch.
If a notice of group termination is received directly by LSEP, the employer shall be advised by fax that the notice must be sent directly to the Minister. The employer will also be advised of the appropriate RD to liaise with, if he/she needs advice or information on group termination. Copies of the incorrectly addressed notice and the LSEP reply will be faxed immediately to the responsible RD. The turnaround time within LSEP, in this instance, will be no more than one day from the date of receipt within LSEP. While awaiting proper notice to the Minister, LSEP shall draft an acknowledgement for the ADM's signature noting receipt and reconfirming the RD responsible.
When notice of group termination is received by the Minister and is forwarded to LSEP, for processing, LSEP shall finalize an acknowledgement for the ADM's signature advising the company of the RD responsible and send a copy to the RD. The copy along with the notice will be faxed immediately to the RD. The turnaround time, in the case of a notice properly addressed to the Minister and not previously received in LSEP, shall be no more than two days exclusive of the time it takes for the ADM to sign an acknowledgement.
Any notice received will be recorded on the activity listing with its status updated on a weekly basis or more often if necessary.

7.4 Procedures for handling and reporting a group termination of employment wherein a notice of group termination along with a waiver request is received.

Regional Response: The regional response in this situation is the same as the one outlined in the procedures under 7.3 except that once Division IX is determined to apply, a waiver request will have to be investigated and a telephone status report on the findings made as soon as possible. Within ten (10) working days, a report recommending or rejecting the request, signed by the RD, should be forwarded to LSEP. If circumstances dictate that the report cannot be forwarded within ten working days, the RD shall advise LSEP of the reasons for the delay and the expected date of report. If the Minister approves the waiver request, the RD responsible shall be copied in the ministerial reply.
Regardless of the outcome of the waiver request, the responsible RD shall report the status of the case on a weekly basis. Any critical developments will be reported to LSEP immediately. The RD will be required to file a final report as outlined in the procedures at 7.3.
LSEP Response: The LSEP response is the same as outlined in the procedures under 7.3 except that the RD's recommendation on the request for the waiver, along with the final report and documentation received from the interested parties, shall be forwarded from LSEP to the Minister along with a covering memo from the Deputy Minister to the Minister summarizing the matter and expressing concurrence with the RD's recommendation. The decision of the Minister shall be communicated in writing to the waiver applicant and copied to the affected RD by LSEP. Waiver information is to be included on the activity listing. The House card is to be updated on the status of the waiver as developments occur. The turnaround time within LSEP to process a waiver request that was sent directly to the Minister will be two days exclusive of "Ministerial" time.

7.5 Procedures for handling and reporting group termination of employment situations reported to have taken place without the required advance notice.

Regional Response: A notification of group termination (i.e. news report/release etc.) is to be sent immediately to LSEP and an investigation begun forthwith to ascertain whether or not a group termination as defined in Division IX has taken place. While a telephone status report should be made as soon as possible, the RD is responsible for reporting the outcome of the investigation within ten (10) working days to LSEP with a rationale supporting whether or not a group termination as defined in Division IX has or has not taken place. If Division IX is applicable and has not been complied with, the responsible RD shall advise the employer of his/her obligations under the Code and seek voluntary compliance. The RD shall report to LSEP on the actions taken and the results. If warranted, the RD should advise LSEP on pursuing a prosecution with supporting rationale and the perceived outcome and ramifications of such action.
LSEP Response: A notification is to be recorded on the activity listing and the status updated as events occur. LSEP shall keep the responsible RD informed at all times, particularly if a prosecution is recommended by the RD and is supported by LSEP and Legal Services.

8. Responsibilities

8.1 The Director General, LSEP, shall be responsible for:

ensuring uniform application of the present directive within LSEP;
responding to recommendations from the Chief, Labour Standards (Operations) for modifications to the present directive;
making recommendations to the ADM, Operations, to modify the present directive.

8.2 The Chief, Labour Standards (Operations) shall be responsible at Headquarters for

coordinating the evaluation and periodic review of this procedure;
recommending modifications when necessary to the Director General, LSEP.

8.3 Field Operations shall be responsible at the regional level for:

ensuring uniform application of the present directive in all regions;
coordinating the evaluation and periodic review of this procedure.

8.4 Each RD shall name a designated group termination contact person who will be responsible for reporting and receiving information on group termination situations and coordinating his/her regional efforts with those of other regions where appropriate. The distribution of group termination information within the region will be the responsibility of the designated group termination contact person.

8.5 The designated group termination contact person from LSEP shall be responsible for:

keeping the regions informed of all group termination situations;
maintaining and updating on a continual basis an activity list on group termination situations;
coordinating the timely and effective processing of waiver requests received under Section 228 of Part III;
developing, maintaining and updating, as required, House cards for the Minister.

H.P. Hansen
Assistant Deputy Minister
Operations

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Date Modified:: 2011-12-06

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