Advertisement

Phoenix pay system glitch may leave civil servants with ‘low pay or no pay’ over holidays

Public servants protest over problems with the Phoenix pay system outside the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council in Ottawa on October 12, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Federal government managers are being warned of a possible surge in emergency pay requests from civil servants over the holidays after a new glitch was discovered in the troubled Phoenix pay system.

Managers were to receive lists of “low pay or no pay employees” by today after a memo went out earlier this week from a senior government officials.

Story continues below advertisement

It came after problems were discovered in processing pay requests for the final payday of the year, Dec. 27.

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.

Get weekly money news

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Officials say some transactions entered into the Phoenix system in early November weren’t processed, creating a new backlog of problem files. That prompted Les Linklater, an associate deputy minister at Public Works and Government Services Canada, to call for managers to reach out to employees who may need emergency money over the holidays.

Public Services says the problem, which it blames on both technical and human errors, has been resolved, but some civil servants have already reported receiving pay stubs that are short of what they’re owed.

Sponsored content

AdChoices