It is difficult to learn that layoffs are happening within the Ontario Public Service (OPS).
If you are at a stage in your career where you are considering leaving the OPS or are close to or at retirement, you may wish to consider registering for the Voluntary Exit Registry (VER), where you may receive a severance package and prevent another OPS employee from being laid off.
Bargaining Unit: Ontario Public Service (OPS)
Collective Agreement Article: 7, 23, 27 & 38
First Published: September 2, 2020
Last Updated: December 7, 2020
Eligibility
Regular (permanent) employees
- Whether you are full-time or part-time, you are eligible to apply for VER.
Fixed-term (contract) employees
- Fixed-term (contract) employees are not eligible to apply for VER.
The Voluntary Exit Registry (VER)
The Voluntary Exit Registry (VER) program allows you to register your home position as a vacancy so that if another OPS employee is being or has been surplussed and is a match for your position, you will receive an exit package, and the other employee will have a role in the OPS.
Within 10 working days following your registration, your position and job description will be posted on the OPS Careers portal. The posting will only be visible to:
- OPS employees in positions being surplussed, and
- former OPS employees who were laid off and are now in their “recall period.”
Through the Targeted Direct Assignment (TDA) program, if one of these current or former employees is a successful match for your position, you will receive an exit package and will leave the OPS. This will happen within five working days of the match being confirmed unless you and your manager negotiate a longer timeframe.
You can register for VER at any time. You can also cancel your VER registration at any time, as long as a match for your position has not yet been made.
VER is not the same as the Voluntary Exit Option (VEO).
Comparing Transition Exit Initiative (TEI) and Voluntary Exit Registry (VER)
| TEI | VER | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to regular (permanent) full-time and part-time AMAPCEO-represented employees | Yes | Yes |
| Requires employee to voluntarily leave the Ontario Public Service | Yes | Yes |
| Exiting employee receives a surplus exit package (details below) | No | Yes |
|
Exiting employee receives one of the following options: a) a single lump sum payment totalling six months' pay and one week of pay for every year of continuous service; b) salary continuance for six months and one week of pay for every year of continuous service; or c) enhanced salary continuance for six months and one week of pay for every year of continous service. |
Yes | No |
|
Approval is contingent on:
|
No | Yes |
|
The Employer has the sole discretion to approve a request, and the decision is based on:
|
Yes | No |
VER exit package options
If there is a match through VER, you must choose one of the following options:
- receive pay-in-lieu of either:
- a) a single lump sum payment, paid as soon as possible, or
- b) salary continuance for six months; or
- retire immediately; or
- bridge to your pension.
Details on each option are below.
You may wish to consult a financial advisor to help you determine which option is right for you.
If your application for VER is approved, you will not be eligible for any other surplus or redeployment options; however, for the next 24 months, you will be in what is called the “recall period,” and you will have the right to apply to restricted job competitions in the OPS.
Receive pay-in-lieu
If you choose this option, you will receive pay-in-lieu of either:
a) a single lump sum payment, paid as soon as possible, totalling:
- your salary for six months, and
- severance (one week of salary for every completed year of continuous service, to a maximum of 26 weeks), and
- enhanced severance (an additional week of salary for every completed year of continuous service, with no maximum); or
b) salary continuance for six months:
- your salary paid bi-weekly as though you were at work, and
- benefits during this time (except Short-Term Sickness Plan and Long-Term Income Protection), and
- a lump sum payment, paid out at your end date, of:
- severance (one week of salary for every completed year of continuous service, to a maximum of 26 weeks), and
- enhanced severance (an additional week of salary for every completed year of continuous service, with no maximum).
If you are 65 or older, you must receive a single lump sum payment.
Retire immediately
If you choose this option, you can retire immediately with an unreduced pension if:
- you are at least 65 years old; or
- your age plus your pension service total 90 years (this is called “Factor 90”); or
- you are 60 years old or older and have 20 years or more of pension service (this is called “Factor 60/20”).
You will receive:
- your pension under the Public Service Pension Plan (for details, please contact the Ontario Pension Board); and
- a single lump sum payment of:
- your salary for six months, and
- severance (one week of salary of every completed year of continuous service, to a maximum of 26 weeks), and
- enhanced severance (an additional week of salary for every completed year of continuous service, with no maximum).
Bridge to your pension
If you are not currently eligible to retire, you may be able to bridge your pension to reach the date you could have otherwise retired with an unreduced pension. You would not work during this time.
Bridging allows you to continue accumulate pension credits to reach your retirement date by combining:
- unused vacation,
- time-in-lieu credits (if applicable),
- your six-month notice period, and
- the period represented by your severance (converted to a weekly paid leave), plus
- up to two years of an unpaid leave (as required to reach your retirement date).
Your bridging period will begin with the date the match occurs. Before the end of the six-month notice period, you must take any unpaid leave (as required), followed by the weekly paid leave converted from your severance. You must then complete the rest of your six-month notice period.
Once you have completed the rest of your notice period, you will receive:
- your pension under the Public Service Pension Plan (for details, please contact the Ontario Pension Board); and
- a single lump sum payment of your enhanced severance (an additional week of salary for every completed year of continuous service, minus your pension contributions for your unpaid leave of absence).
For example
On June 1, 2020, Chiyo receives notice that there is a match for their position, which has been posted through VER. They have 18 years of pension credit. They will turn 58 on August 15, 2020.
Chiyo would otherwise be eligible for retirement with an unreduced pension on August 15, 2022, because on that date they will be turning 60 years old and would have had more than 20 years of pension credits (“Factor 60/20”).
Chiyo would need to bridge their pension for 26.5 months (between June 1, 2020 and August 15, 2022). Here’s how they could do it:
| 5 months | of their six-month surplus notice period |
| 16 months | of unpaid leave |
| 4.5 months (i.e., 19–20 weeks) | of paid leave (converted from their severance) |
| 1 month | of their remaining six-month surplus notice period |
Registering for VER
To register for VER:
1. Carefully review the AMAPCEO Voluntary Exit Registry Employee Guide, available on InsideOPS.
2. If you are ready to register, complete the VER application form, available on InsideOPS.
- We recommend that you authorize your Employer to place your work contact information (name, work phone, and work email) on the posting for your position. This will allow people interested in your position to contact you about your job to see if may be a good fit for them.
3. Once submitted, your manager will work on the application with other Employer representatives. This will include a Job Information Package (JIP), which your manager will prepare or update, and sign.
- We recommend you volunteer to help your manager prepare the JIP to ensure it accurately reflects the work you do in your position. Try not to overstate the required skills, knowledge, and abilities in the job function section of the JIP. Instead, it should capture entry-level requirements for the job—not your own attributes.
- If you don’t have a copy of your job description, ask your manager for one. They must provide it to you within 20 working days.
4. Your position will be posted on the OPS Careers portal ten working days after the JIP is complete. You may wish to verify this by searching for your own position on the OPS Careers portal.
5. It is not possible to predict if or when a match will be made to your position. You can cancel your VER registration at any time, as long as a match for your position has not yet been made.
6. If an applicant is a successful match for your position, your manager will meet with you inform you and to ask you which exit package option you would like. Your last day of work will be five working days from when the match is confirmed. This can be later, if you and your manager agree.
Cancelling your VER registration
You can cancel your VER registration at any time, as long as a match for your position has not yet been made. You must do so in writing by emailing your request to RegisterVEO.VER@ontario.ca.
Frequently asked questions
I suspect my manager is blocking a match to my position. What can I do about it?
If you believe that your manager is unreasonably preventing a match to your position registered on VER, please contact an AMAPCEO Workplace Advisor for assistance right away.
What if someone is matched to my position on VER, but I decide I don’t want to leave the OPS?
If you have registered your position on VER, and a match to your position has been made, you must select one of the exit package options and leave the OPS. It’s important to only stay registered for VER if you are prepared to leave the OPS.
Is there a guarantee there will be a match?
Unfortunately, no. It relies on there being an interested, qualified applicant and their being a suitable match for your position on VER. Please see our Targeted Direct Assignment (TDA) fact sheet for more details on how the process works for surplussed employees.
If you have questions or need assistance
Please contact an AMAPCEO Workplace Representative near you. They do not have to be in your Ministry.
Workplace Representatives are trained union members who have volunteered to confidentially assist members like you in the workplace. They should be your first point of contact in seeking information and representation with an issue at work.
Your Workplace Representative may ask you to use the union’s secure web-based system, RADAR, to provide details about your situation. RADAR will help you and your Workplace Representative keep track of things without the privacy concerns that could come from using the Employer’s email system.
Learn More
