July 20, 1998

 To:Corporate Services Committee

 From:Brenda Glover, Executive Director of Human Resources

 Subject:CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT - COUNCIL STAFF MEMBERS

 Purpose:

 This report recommends the conditions of employment for Council staff members.

 Financial Implications:

 The funding for these positions is accommodated in each Councillor's 1998 salary budgets.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended:

 1.THAT Council staff members (Executive Assistant, Constituency Assistant, Administrative Assistant, and Clerical Assistant) employed:

 on or before December 31, 1997, as permanent or temporary employees remain as permanent or temporary employees with the City of Toronto.

 on or before December 31, 1997, as contract employees be employed under the terms and conditions of the respective employment contract attached as Appendix "A" except for those employees of the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto who may choose to remain on their existing contract.

 on or after January 1, 1998, be employed under the terms and conditions of the respective employment contract attached as Appendix "A".

 THAT any salary adjustment resulting from the review of the updated Executive Assistant job description be implemented retroactive to January 1, 1998, or the employee's start date; whichever is later.

 THAT severance provisions for contract Council Support staff be as stated in Section 5 of their respective contract (Appendix "A").

 THAT upon electing to participate in OMERS, provided that the minimum requirements under the Pension Benefits Act, R.S.O. 1990 have been met, employees be permitted the opportunity to buy back their service; and that this buy back cost be equally shared between the employee and the City of Toronto.

 THAT Council staff not be eligible to receive cash in lieu of benefits.

 THAT Council staff who are currently in receipt of cash in lieu of benefits be "grandfathered" until the review of benefit plans is completed and changes are approved by Council; and that the contracts for such staff reflect this provision.

 THAT Council Executive Assistant and Constituency Assistant staff who work in excess of their regularly scheduled workday or workweek be compensated in the form of lieu time at a straight time rate provided that the total lieu time taken shall not exceed 105 hours in a calendar year.

 THAT Council Administrative Assistants and Clerical Assistants who work in excess of their regularly scheduled workday or workweek be compensated in the form of lieu time at time and a half provided that the total lieu time taken shall not exceed 70 hours in a calendar year, or in the form of overtime pay, subject to the approval of their respective Councillor.

 THAT staff be authorized to take whatever steps necessary to implement the foregoing.

  Background History:

 City Council on January 2, 6, 8 and 9, 1998 adopted that:

 each Councillor be given the latitude to hire the equivalent of three (3) full time staff from the following classifications: Executive Assistant, Constituency Assistant, Administrative Assistant and Clerical Assistant.

 on an interim basis, the salary range for the Executive Assistant and the Constituency Assistant be that of the Executive Assistant in the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and the salary range for the Administrative Assistant and the Clerical Assistant be that of the Administrative Assistant and the Clerk Grade 3 position in the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto.

 all permanent former 'City' or 'Metro' employees retain their permanent employment status and those earning in excess of the City recommended salary ranges have their salaries red-circled.

 The attached report was before the Corporate Services Committee on April 27, 1998. The Executive Director of Human Resources was asked by the Corporate Services Committee to meet with affected contract Council staff members to review the proposed employment contract.

Comments:

 Employment Status of Council Staff

 Council staff members in the former municipalities in comparable positions to the Executive Assistant, Constituency Assistant, Administrative Assistant and Clerical Assistant were classified as permanent, temporary or contract. The permanent and temporary staff are either excluded or bargaining unit based on their employment status and position classification with their former municipality.

 Council staff who currently members of a bargaining unit will remain in the bargaining unit and will continue to receive their existing salary and benefits, pending collective agreement negotiations.

 The term of employment for contract Council staff members at the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was until 30 days following the day on which a Councillor ceased to be a Member of the Metropolitan Council for whatever reason. For those staff who have continued to be employed by the same Councillor, their contract is still in effect. However, it is recommended that they be given an opportunity to be employed under the terms and conditions of the contract approved by Council . This will assist in standardizing the employment relationship of Council staff members.

 Concerns of Council Staff Members

 The Executive Director of Human Resources was asked by the Corporate Services Committee to meet with affected contract Council staff members to review their specific concerns with the proposed employment contract.

 On May 11, 1998, the Executive Director met with Council staff members where concerns were expressed with respect to paid lieu time at straight time to a maximum of 105 hours, the option to receive cash in lieu of benefits, pensions, severance and salary.

 Staff have addressed the majority of the concerns discussed at the meeting. The only exception is the recommendation to compensate staff for overtime worked in the form of lieu time instead of pay. This is an area where human resources staff strongly recommend standardization of contract terms for all Council staff.

 The former municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto, North York, Scarborough and Toronto had employment contracts for designated Council staff members. It was agreed that the significant employment conditions contained in the employment contracts of these former municipalities and the proposed contract for the City of Toronto would be illustrated for the Corporate Services Committee in this report (Appendix "B") for comparison purposes.

 The appropriateness of the Executive Assistant salary was also discussed at the meeting. The salary level for the Executive Assistant is based on the job evaluation rating from the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. Council staff expressed a desire to update the rating, since it had not been updated for several years and, in their opinion, the responsibilities and scope of the position have changed over time.

Though this position will be included as part of the overall corporate review of the City's Compensation Program, it was agreed that on an interim basis, an updated Executive Assistant job description would be developed and rated in accordance with the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto's job evaluation system. It was stressed that, in accordance with the policy for job evaluation, each Executive Assistant and each Councillor would have to agree to the contents of the job evaluation questionnaire prior to the rating process being implemented.

 Severance Provisions Recommended by the Former City of Toronto Council

On November 18, 1997, Council of the former City of Toronto adopted a recommendation that:

 The contract staff of those members of Council who were not elected on November 10, 1997, be offered the same severance package as is available to members of Council, ie. one month of salary for every year of service, up to a maximum of six months.

 Staff be authorized to take whatever steps are necessary to implement the foregoing.

 The appropriate staff report to the new City of Toronto Council on including a severance package for all contracted political staff employed by Members of Council.

 The Financial Advisory Board turned this recommendation down, on the basis that it should be considered by the new Council of the new City of Toronto.

 The Committee will note that the severance provisions being recommended in this report differ from those proposed by the former City of Toronto Council.

 Contact Name:

 Bill Taylor

Manager of Human Resources

392-8635

 Jim Hart

Director of Council Services and Management Services

392-8676

 Brenda Glover

Executive Director of Human Resources

   Margaret Rodrigues

Commissioner of Corporate Services