We conduct our annual merit performance audit on a fiscal year basis (appointments made between April 1 and March 31). We divide the fiscal year audit into four sampling periods. This allows us to select and audit appointments closer to the time the competition was held, when the process is fresher in the hiring manager’s [...]

We send individual audit reports to the respective deputy ministers in April and October of every year.   Each year, we also summarize our overall results in a Merit Performance Audit Report. We provide this report to the Legislative Assembly and publish it on our website around November.  

A final finding of merit not applied means that we identified:  At least one error in the design or application of the recruitment and selection process (e.g., past work performance, a factor of merit, was not considered as required)   The error had a negative impact on the competition outcome (e.g., The wrong person is appointed [...]

Where the audit finding is merit not applied, we send a copy of the preliminary report to the deputy minister. The deputy minister or their staff, at that point, may be able to give more evidence about the hiring process that may impact the final result. Once we receive this information:   we consider it,   amend the report where appropriate, and   sent the final audit report to [...]

Given the confidential nature of the information, the report should only be shared with immediate staff who need to understand the specific facts and findings of the audit.   If you are uncertain with whom you may share the results, we recommend you contact your deputy minister’s office or your strategic HR advisor. 

We cannot give you a copy of the audit results. By law, the Merit Commissioner provides the individual audit results to the respective deputy ministers. As part of our correspondence, we encourage them to share the respective results with the responsible hiring manager.     To learn about your organization’s approach to sharing audit results, we [...]

We review the entire hiring process and the qualifications of the person appointed. Starting from the posting, all the way through to the final notification (offer and regret letters).   Specifically, we examine the overall approach as well as the five common stages of hiring which include:  Short-listing   Interviewing and testing   Past work performance   Years of [...]

No. All information provided to and collected by our Office is confidential and protected under the:   Public Service Act   Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act 

The Public Service Act requires the Merit Commissioner to monitor the application of merit by conducting random audits of appointments to, and from within, the public service.     If you are responsible for one of the selected appointments, you are required to submit your competition file. If you have properly documented the hiring process that is all [...]

As the hiring manager in a selection process, it is your responsibility is to ensure the process is comprehensively documented. Do your best to collect the documentation that you can find for the process. For missing documents, see if other panel members kept copies or check your email for draft versions. We will conduct the [...]