FAQs on the rescission of the Special Assignment Pay Plan

You may want to know...

  • What is the Special Assignment Pay Plan (SAPP)?

    The Special Assignment Pay Plan (SAPP), last updated in , permitted deputy heads or their designates to recruit and assign a specified number of employees for a period of up to three years to duties and responsibilities which had not been classified, or had been classified at a lower level than the level to which the employee was appointed while maintaining the employee's salary at his or her substantive level. The flexibility granted by SAPP was intended to support deputy heads in retaining knowledge and developing employees.

  • Does it apply to EX's?

    No, employees appointed to the Executive (EX) Group are subject to special deployment in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on the Management of Executives and associated Directive on Executive Compensation.

  • How many SAPP assignments could a department create?

    Under the Plan, certain departments were assigned a quota for SAPP assignments and if the department wanted an increase in the quota, or if a department not listed wanted a quota established, they had to request the increase or quota from the Treasury Board Secretariat.

  • Why has SAPP been rescinded?

    The rescission of this Plan is in keeping with the modernization of human resources management and streamlining of Treasury Board's policy suite. Consult the people management policy renewal project for more details.

    The rescission of this Plan supports the application of the Public Service Employment Act and the values of fairness, transparency, access and representativeness.

  • Won't rescission of this Plan actually limit DH flexibility regarding, for example, pre-retirement transition?

    The Financial Administration Act, the Public Service Employment Act, the Treasury Board Policy Framework for the Management of Compensation and associated policy instruments together provide deputy heads with the authority and flexibility to achieve the SAPP objectives through a range of resourcing and administrative actions, including appointments and deployments in addition to standard assignments and secondments.

  • When does SAPP end?

    The Special Assignment Pay Plan (SAPP) is rescinded effective .

    A three-year transition period with the following conditions applies effective :

    • No new special assignment pay plan agreements are to be established.
    • No extensions or changes to existing SAPP agreements are to be made.
    • No changes to existing departmental SAPP quotas will be approved.
  • Can I complete my current assignment?

    Yes, the three-year transition period allows for the following:

    • Individuals currently on SAPP may complete their existing assignment per their established agreement as long as no extensions or changes are made after .
    • All existing SAPP assignments must be completed by . This means that all employees on SAPP must be regularized or retire per the requirements of the Plan by .

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