'The updated approach will allow the government to consistently align employee skill sets with the needs of Nova Scotians'
Nova Scotia has introduced revised severance regulations for non-union and non-association civil servants, in a move the provincial government says is designed to ensure “civil servants dismissed without cause are fairly compensated.”
Under the General Civil Service Regulations, which came into effect June 27, non-unionised civil servants dismissed without cause will be eligible for severance of up to 72 weeks' salary, calculated at four weeks’ pay per year of service. An additional eight weeks’ notice brings the total maximum compensation to 80 weeks’ pay.
“We value our employees and are committed to treating them with fairness and respect,” said Twila Grosse, Minister of the Public Service Commission. “The updated approach will allow the government to consistently align employee skill sets with the needs of Nova Scotians as they change over time, while ensuring an impacted employee receives reasonable compensation.”
The updated regulations also eliminate outdated references to layoffs of non-union and non-association civil servants. The government noted this approach aligns with practices in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario.
Hundreds of workers were laid off after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed steel and aluminium tariffs on Canada.
Criticism of proposed changes
Nova Scotia’s updated regulations follow the proclamation of amendments to the Civil Service Act that passed in the legislature in March.
The proposed changes to the Civil Service Act had previously drawn criticism.
In a The Canadian Press (CP) report, Sandra Mullen, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, warned that granting the government the ability to fire non-unionized employees without cause would be a violation of the province’s labour standards code.
“The change is not merely a minor adjustment, it’s a seismic shift,” said Mullen in the CP report posted in CityNews in March. “Employees could now face the threat of termination without any explanation or recourse, creating a climate of fear, uncertainty and the potential for arbitrary decision-making.”
“We need to know that [non-unionised] civil servants can say what they need to say to you about fiscal health … and any other matter without fear that they will be summarily dismissed without cause,” added former Liberal cabinet minister Kelly Regan in the same report.
Meanwhile, Twila Grosse, the cabinet minister responsible for the Public Service Commission, said the government wants the changes proposed to the Civil Service Act in Bill 1 to "give us greater flexibility" to be able to respond quickly to "changing needs in the public service," according to a CBC report.
After more than three and a half centuries of shaping Canada’s retail landscape, Hudson’s Bay Company shuttered all its remaining stores, resulting in the loss of employment for over 8,300 workers—most without severance, according to a previous report.
