Recent media coverage has questioned the controls government has in place around employee recognition. These are the facts:

• Government's employee recognition program has firm and appropriate spending controls and approvals to protect taxpayer dollars.
• Like most major employers, the Province's employee appreciation and recognition programs recognize employee achievement, exemplary work, innovation or situations where they have gone above and beyond their job descriptions.
• Any recognition--whether manager to employee, peer-to-peer, or otherwise--requires review by either human resources or the spending authority.
• There are guidelines and approval processes in place in every ministry for all gift and award purchases to ensure accountability.
• The Ministry of Finance's Recognition Cupboard process requires the person giving the recognition to submit a form to Human Resources for review and approval that shows who is giving the gift, who is receiving it, what is being requested, and what was done to earn it.  Human Resources provides the item to the recognizer and tracks and monitors the requests and inventory to ensure the system is not abused.  
• Public service policies state that both staff recognition and retirement gifts are set at a maximum of $100 (for retirements, $10 per year up to $100), unless an expense is approved by director or assistant deputy minister.
• All spending authorities are expected to manage within their allocated budgets for recognition expenditures.
• More than half of government spending on employee recognition last year was to recognize long service to the public, and programs that improve service delivery, cut costs or drive innovation in the public service.
• The BC Public Service staff appreciation and recognition program is in full compliance with Canada Revenue Agency requirements.
• This is the third year that the BC Public Service has been on the list of B.C.'s Top Employers. The competition recognizes British Columbia employers that are industry leaders and offer exceptional places to work. 
• In addition to this latest award, for the past three years the BC Public Service was named as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers.
• The government believes that it is important to create an even more dynamic, productive and engaged public service that's second to none - one that attracts and keeps the best and brightest minds, builds a corporate culture of trust and appreciation, and is an organization that British Columbians are proud to work for.

Contact:

Jamie Edwardson
Director of Communications
Ministry of Finance
250 356-2821

See More Ministry Of Finance Stories