650MainSt.

650,rueMain
Winnipeg,Manitoba Winnipeg(Manitoba)
R3B1E2CANADA
R3B1E2CANADA
TEL:204|926.7000
FAX:204|9267007
www.wrha.mb.ca

TEL:204|926.7000
TELEC:204|9267007
www.wrha.mb.ca

MEMO
Date:

December 7, 2016

To:

Senior Operations Leadership Council

Clinical Program Council

Copy:

Executive Council

Subject:

Hiring Restrictions Reduction Strategies

From:

Milton Sussman
President & CEO

As part of the existing efforts to deal with our ongoing financial challenge, we are
introducing updated restrictions on the hiring of staff into either new or existing
vacancies within the region.
Staffing costs are the largest expense within the region and we need to ensure
that this cost continues to be managed as efficiently as possible. Based on this,
the following hiring restrictions are effective today, and will remain active up
to April 1, 2017:
Non-Union Positions

No hiring is permitted into current and new vacancies for existing positions,
or into newly created positions for a period of 4 months.
Any newly created positions require approval as per the Appeal Process.
This applies to all non-union positions, excluding front-line management
directly involved in patient care (eg. Team Managers, Program Team
Managers, Nursing Supervisors). In these cases, a minimum of 6 weeks of
position vacancy is required.

Unionized Positions

No new positions are to be created or added, unless baseline funding is in

place.
In order to maximize savings in the area of staff wages, all programs need to
continue to review and confirm whether or not vacant positions need to be
filled, even if exempt from these hiring restrictions.

Restrictions Apply to Resourcing Options

Hiring of Casual and Term employees or Agency and Contract resources, or

authorizing overtime as alternatives to filling non-union vacant positions,
including backfill for vacancies as a result of leaves, are not permitted unless
approved as per the Exceptions provision.

Exceptions

If a position is deemed to be critically essential to fill earlier than permitted by

the hiring restrictions, a due diligence process of appeal for approval is
available.
Appeal Process:
o Appeals must be sponsored by the respective VP/COO/CEO and
forwarded through written submission to the Vice-President and Chief
Financial Officer, WRHA, for review by the Executive Team of the
WRHA, duly assessed against other appeals and subject to final
approval by the President & Chief Executive Officer, WRHA.
o The written submission must include clear supporting rationale for the
request to create a new position and/or hire earlier than permitted, and
associated salary costs, including any cost savings as part of the hiring
plan.
o Effective plans for filling the position with a lower cost than budgeted or
other innovative measures generating cost savings, will be considered
favorably towards approval but not a guarantee of approval.
o Term or Contract hires must include option for the employer to terminate
the Term or Contract hire with no more than 30 days of notice, unless
approved otherwise within the appeal for hiring approval.

The Human Resources Department will not proceed with the hiring process
should hiring requests not be in accordance with the above.
Please direct any questions regarding this memorandum to Glenn McLennan,
Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer.
MS/ld