Federal Court issues Interim Order in Phoenix Pay System case

On December 22, 2016, the Federal Court issued an interim Order in response to an application filed by 14 federal public service unions regarding the pay problems faced by their members since the implementation of the Government’s new pay system, known as Phoenix, in early 2016.

The order outlines a number of steps that the federal government must take to resolve the pay issues. These include sharing information in an open and transparent manner through the Union Management Consultation Committee, making Phoenix experts available to the Committee, maintaining a dedicated team of compensation advisors to address pay disruptions related to disability, maternity, and paternity leaves, and ensuring that individuals in these situations are not denied access to emergency replacement pay on the basis that they are on a period of leave. The interim Order provides additional protections to employees advancing individual claims for compensation and is without prejudice to the rights of the Unions should it become necessary to address the application on the merits.

The unions were represented in this application by Andrew Raven, Andrew Astritis, and Morgan Rowe of RavenLaw.