Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act

The provincial government has committed to increasing transparency by addressing the disclosure of compensation paid to a wide variety of public sector employees, appointees, physicians and other health practitioners. This legislation will allow Alberta taxpayers to see where their dollars are spent. The government will work closely with organizations affected by this legislation to support compliance.

The Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act became law on Dec. 11, 2015 and requires disclosure of the names, positions, compensation (salary and benefits), non-monetary benefits and severance for all employees whose total remuneration and/or severance payments exceed $141,183 in 2022.

The Act applies to all public sector agencies, boards and commissions, including universities, and requires the University of Calgary to disclose the names of employees with compensation, including severance (if applicable), in 2022 that exceeds $141,183.

The threshold calculation is used to determine if you have total yearly earnings that exceed $141,183. If you do, then you will be included on the compensation disclosure list. If the threshold is met, all remuneration, including severance and employer pension contributions, will be disclosed. 

All post-secondary institutions in Alberta are required to post on their institutional websites on or before June 30 of each year. Public sector bodies are also required to disclose severance payments made between January 1 and June 30 by December 31 of each year.

The threshold is indexed to the Alberta Consumer Price Index and will be adjusted accordingly year over year.

Any and all remuneration paid to board members is also required to be disclosed irrespective of the threshold for staff.
 

Compensation is the total of all salary, allowances, supplements and taxable benefits, or other amounts, paid to an employee that will be reported on your T4/T4A slips for the tax year.

The amount paid may differ from an employee's annual salary due to variables such as date of hire or termination in the year, personal leave plan, unpaid leaves of absence, partially paid leaves, salary changes, overtime earned, additional teaching/appointments, etc.

Non-monetary benefits include employer-paid benefits for supplemental health, dental, employee/family assistance program, long-term disability, pension and workers compensation. Non-monetary benefits also include the employer's portion of CPP (Canada Pension Plan) and EI (Employment Insurance) contributions. The total amount of non-monetary benefits will be reported for all employees on the disclosure.

Severance is the total of any remuneration paid or payable to an employee in lieu of or supplementary to notice of termination of employment, and any salary or remuneration paid or payable to an employee after termination of employment.  Salary continuances and retiring allowances are deemed and reported as severance.

The threshold for the Government of Alberta disclosure was set in 2012 at $100,000 and has been adjusted cumulatively from year to year by a percentage equal to the increase to the Alberta Consumer Price Index.

The disclosure data will be accessible on the University of Calgary website and the Government of Alberta's compensation disclosure site.

Disclosure under the Public Service Compensation Transparency Act is permitted by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP).

Employees may apply to be exempted from having their compensation disclosed only if disclosure could unduly threaten their safety. There are no other grounds for granting exemptions. Employees who believe the disclosure would put their safety at risk may apply to the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General for a personal exemption. Affected employees will be informed of the exemption process, and exemption applications are required to be submitted by November 1 of the year preceding disclosure. It is extremely rare that an exemption to disclosure is granted. The individual application form is available on the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General website.

All employees whose annual compensation and / or severance in 2022 exceeds $141,183 will appear on the compensation disclosure, unless an exemption is granted by the government.

Starting in 2019 in accordance with Reform of Agencies, Boards and Commissions (Post-secondary Institutions) Compensation Regulations, the university must disclose salary and/or severance contracts for the president during the previous calendar year.

Employees should feel no obligation to answer questions or defend their annual compensation. If you are contacted by members of the media, it is your choice how and if to respond, but if you’d prefer, please refer them to Dean Parthenis, Director, Media and Issues Management in Advancement Communications at [email protected] or (403) 210-6815.

If you have additional questions, email [email protected]. For specific enquiries about individual compensation data being disclosed, contact Katie Mansell, Associate Director, Financial Operations at [email protected].

Two lines of data were added to the University’s disclosure list in December 2021; this information should have first been published with the June 2021 publication.