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User Fee Proposal for Overtime fees

The consultation closed 2013-01-11.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is proposing to increase the overtime fees related to providing services to recipients outside of the CFIA's regular working hours.

Why is the CFIA proposing to increase the charge for providing services outside of the regular working hours (overtime)?

The CFIA currently charges overtime fees to recover its costs of delivering services outside of regular working hours. The CFIA is taking steps to ensure that its overtime fees are in line with the actual cost of delivering services. The CFIA's current overtime fees are based on the rates of pay and other benefits as they existed in 1995. Overtime fees have not changed since 1995, so the Agency is proposing to increase the fees to align with updated rates of pay and benefits in the current collective agreements.

What are the proposed fees for overtime?

Fiscal year Column 1
Occupational Classification
Column 2
Contiguous (Same Day) Hourly Rate
Column 3
Call-back, Day of Rest & Designated Paid Holiday
Column 4
User-requested Standby Fee per 4 Hours
Minimum Fee Hourly Rate
2013/14 Engineering and Scientific Support Group (EG) $59.68 $179.04 $59.68 $19.89
Veterinary Medicine Group (VM) $83.13 $249.39 $83.13 $27.71

How will the fees be charged?

Overtime fees will continue to be calculated to the nearest 15 minute increment, except in the case of the minimum charge for a call-back or standby fee. Where an employee on standby is called in to deliver a service, the service recipient will be billed for the applicable standby fee and call-back fees.

Why such a noticeable increase?

The cost for staff to deliver a service outside regular working hours has increased since 1995.  In addition, the decision to request service outside regular working hours is voluntary and provides a direct benefit to the person receiving the service only.   As such, the full cost to provide overtime service should be paid for by the person requesting it.

Moving forward, the CFIA plans to review the overtime fees at a minimum every five years in order to keep fees aligned with costs and to reduce the need for large adjustments.

Why are there only two occupational classifications represented in the chart?

CFIA employees who deliver services to service recipients are principally within the Engineering and Scientific Support Group (EG), which includes inspectors; or the Veterinary Medicine Group (VM) employee classifications. The number of staff in other employee classifications who deliver overtime services is minimal. Should a case exist where another classification (other than EG or VM) delivers overtime services, the EG rate will apply.

How are the proposed fees calculated?

The proposed overtime fees are reflective of the additional salary and benefits cost incurred by the CFIA to provide services outside of the regular working hours and will continue to be set in accordance with the relevant employee collective agreement.  The proposed fees are based on the fiscal year 2010-11 average hourly costs of $52.38 for the VM and $37.60 for the EG classifications.

For more information on the costing methodology, refer to the CFIA's Cost Recovery Policy and Framework at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/agen/manges/polrec/polrece.shtml

When are overtime fees applicable?

The proposed overtime fees will apply to all services delivered by the CFIA that:

  1. have an associated user fee;
  2. are provided at the request of a service recipient; and
  3. are requested to be provided outside of the regular working hours or, where applicable, the expanded service window.

What are regular working hours and expanded service windows?

Regular working hours, as defined in the Interpretation section of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice, means the time during which services are normally provided by employees of the CFIA at a particular service location. Expanded service windows may exist in some areas and occur when special efforts are made to schedule employees' regular working hours to expand the hours of operation beyond the typical 8 hour period.  Expanded service windows are an option that may be provided to service recipients depending upon the flexibility that may exist in a work centre's staff complement and the service needs as expressed by an industry and the public.

Why is the overtime rate of 1.5x being charged in addition to the regular time rate for the service(s)?

As is the current policy, regular user fees will continue to apply when services are delivered outside of regular working hours. Additional overtime rates apply in order to recover the full costs of delivering the service.  The regular user fees account for overhead and indirect costs associated with the service.  The overtime rates recover only the additional salary and benefits paid to CFIA employees to provide services outside of regular working hours at the request of a service recipient.

Are there cases when the overtime fees do not apply?

No overtime fees will be charged in cases where:

  1. there is no associated user fee for the service; or
  2. overtime is incurred by the CFIA (not in response to a service recipient request),

For example, in the case of emergency response by the CFIA such as an Avian Influenza outbreak.

When will the CFIA consult with stakeholders on the proposal?

The CFIA is consulting with external stakeholders for a 70 day period beginning in October 2012.

When will the new fees be effective?

After the consultation period closes, the CFIA will finalize a proposal and submit it for tabling in Parliament for review.  The CFIA anticipates that the revised overtime fees will be effective in 2013.

Did the CFIA consider what other jurisdictions do when deciding upon increasing overtime fees?

Yes, the CFIA compared its proposal against federal equivalents in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Departments and agencies in each of these jurisdictions deliver services similar to those delivered by the CFIA and generally base overtime fees on their respective collective agreements for employees and pass these charges on to service recipients.

What is included in the overtime user fee proposal?

The proposal includes detailed information such as the CFIA's legislative authority to charge user fees, the current user fees, costing analysis, the proposed service standards and user fees, and how to submit complaints or comments to the CFIA.

Where can I obtain a copy of the overtime user fee proposal?

A copy of the proposal will be available on the CFIA external website when the consultation period begins in October 2012.

If I have more questions, with whom who can I speak?

Please send your questions to the attention of:
Linda Webster
A/Director, Strategic Partnerships
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
1400 Merivale Road
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0Y9
e-mail: cost-recovery@inspection.gc.ca
Fax : 613-773-5695

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