English and French in the workplace...what federal employees need to know (March 1995)
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Language of work responsibilities and rights - In general
1. Where do federal employees have language of work rights?
The Official Languages Act designates a number of regions in Canada where employees of federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations have the right to work in the official language of their choice and where these institutions have the obligation to ensure that their employees may exercise this right. These regions, referred to as bilingual regions for language of work, are the National Capital Region, all of New Brunswick, parts of Northern and Eastern Ontario, the Montreal area, and, in the rest of Quebec, parts of the Eastern Townships, of the Gaspé and of West Quebec.
Should you have questions about the localities included in these regions, please contact the officer responsible for official languages within your institution.
2. In bilingual regions, what are the language of work obligations of federal institutions?
To create a work environment where employees feel free to work in the official language of their choice, the following must be available in both languages:
- supervision of employees, as follows: employees occupying bilingual positions (see Glossary) or positions requiring the use of either English or French are to receive instructions and performance appraisals in the language of their choice; employees occupying unilingual positions receive supervision in the language of the position;
- regularly and widely used work instruments produced by or on behalf of the institution (e.g., policy manuals, directives or circulars);
- regularly and widely used information technology systems, including software packages, acquired or produced by an institution as of 1991;
- personal and central services (see Glossary), regardless of the duties or language requirements of the employee's position;
- staff or committee meetings within departments, agencies or Crown corporations or that involve more than one institution when employees of both language groups participate.
In addition, the senior or corporate management of an institution has, as a whole, the responsibility to function in both official languages (e.g., conducting meetings, accepting documents, hearing presentations).
3. Does the Act include any rights for employees working outside the bilingual regions?
In unilingual regions the language of work is that which predominates in the region where an office is located: French in Quebec and English elsewhere.
However, institutions having offices both in Quebec and elsewhere must give English and French comparable treatment as minority languages if they decide to provide their employees with any work instruments or services in both languages. For example, if a department, agency or Crown corporation provides a manual in English for its English-speaking staff in Quebec outside the bilingual regions it should also provide that manual in French for French-speaking employees who work in English-speaking regions.
4. In bilingual regions:
- do unilingual employees have to become bilingual for language of work reasons?
- do bilingual employees in unilingual positions have to work in both languages?
No, in both cases. In a bilingual region it is up to the institution to ensure that the work environment is open to the use of both English and French so that neither of the above situations occur. Of course, bilingual employees occupying unilingual positions are free to practise their second official language if they wish.
