Public Service Grievance Board
Public Service Grievance Board (of Ontario)
When employees in the Ontario Public Service (the "OPS"), who are not represented by a Union, have a complaint about a term or condition of employment they may be able to take that complaint before the Public Service Grievance Board (the "PSGB").
The PSGB is created under the Public Service of Ontario Act[1] to give certain OPS employees the ability to put their complaint to binding arbitration.
The statute, however places certain restrictions on what can be complained about. The set of arbitrable issues is dependent on the type of position the employee has in the managerial hierarchy. Rights to complain about a term and condition are very restricted for those in senior management position as compared to operation managers.
The regulation [2] details:
- the time-line for filing a complaint;
- restrictions on what can be complained about; and,
- the process of filing a complaint.
When reviewing a complaint, the PSGB may examine among other things: the PSOA, and its regulations, the employers policies and established practices and employment related statutes that bind the Crown such as the Human Rights Code [3].
The procedural rules for the conduct of an arbitration board are posted by the PSGB but where those rules are silent the process is governed by the [4].