Temporary Help Services

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Since August 1st, 2019, Cost Centre Managers in the NCR no longer have the delegated authority to issue call-ups and all THS requirement must be processed by Materiel and Assets Management Division (MAMD). The Temporary Help Services (THS) Standing Offers (SOs) and Supply Arrangements (SAs) for the NCR ended and Public Service and Procurement Canada (PSPC) did not renew the THS SO for the NCR.

Temporary Help Services for Regional Offices

The use of the Regional Master Standing Offers (RMSOs) is still mandatory and the maximum allowed per call-up is $100K for 48 weeks. Cost Centre Managers have the delegated authority to issue call-ups up to $100K using the RMSO.

THS in the NCR

MAMD has developed a Temporary Help Services form (found on the Tools and Templates page) to assist you in determining your THS need.

Temporary Help Service at a Glance

Please note that you should refer to Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada THS at a glance document as it refers to specific information for the department and agency.

Additional information can be found on the Public Service and Procurement Canada (PSPC) website.

When using Method 1 – Right fit, PSPC has created a calculator (link not working) to determine the hourly rates to be used.  This calculator will be used by MAMD after the client will have determine the responsive (Right fit) proposal that needs to be evaluated.

• Day Counter Tool (link not working)

Temporary Help Services At A Glance for National Capital Region (NCR)

	Non-Competitive30 calendar days	Competitive Method 177 calendar days	Competitive Method 277 calendar days
Requirement	1 or multiple resources	1 resource	1 or multiple resources
Contract FinancialLimits	$40K incl.  taxes & travel	Lowest price responsive $400K incl. taxes & travel Right-fit  $100K	$1M incl. taxes & travel Multiple contracts may be awarded and the total value of all contracts cannot exceed $1M
Contract period	48 weeks - can be amended   by 24 consecutive weeks	48 weeks - can be amended by 24 consecutive weeks	48 weeks - can be amended by 24 consecutive weeks
Evaluation criteria in addition to the minimum mandatory criteria	No additional mandatory criteria	Maximum of 2 additional mandatory criteria. Rated criteria are not permitted Justification for selection of the resource required for Right-fit	More than 2 additional mandatory criteria are permitted as are rated criteria Asset criteria are not permitted
Basis of selection	Directed to one supplier that meets the minimum mandatory criteria for SA category	Lowest price responsive or Right-Fit (Pilot) for requirement under $100K	Lowest price responsive Highest combined rating of technical merit & price Minimum point-rated
Financial criteria for right-fit	Not applicable	Median Band from 20% below to 20% above median rate (Calculated by MAMD)	Not applicable
Centralized professional services system (CPSS)	Client selects any supplier from the CPSS Search List	System randomly chooses 5 suppliers that are certified as diverse suppliers (3 out of  the 5 being low volume) System randomly chooses another 6 suppliers for a total of 11 suppliers Client may choose up to 4 additional suppliers	System randomly chooses 5 suppliers that are certified as diverse suppliers (3 out of the 5 being low volume) System randomly chooses another 6 suppliers for a total of 11 suppliers Client may choose up to 4 additional suppliers
Solicitation period	Not applicable	Lowest price minimum 48 hrs–2 business days Right-fit  minimum 96 hrs –  4 business days	Minimum 5 to 15 business days depending on the complexity of the requirement
Bid validity	Not applicable	15 calendar days	60 calendar days
Notice of Proposed  Procurement	Not applicable	Not applicable	For requirements above $400K

The Temporary Help Services (THS) Supply Arrangement (SA) is a mandatory method of supply for the National Capital Region (NCR) and must only be used in the following three situations:

• When a public servant is absent for a temporary period of time
• When there is a requirement for additional staff during a temporary workload increase, in which there is an insufficient number of public servants available to meet the requirement
• A position is vacant and staffing action is being completed

THS must not be used when the client is seeking a solution to a departmental business requirement or for requirements outside the NCR.  Other professional services methods of supply are available for these types of requirements.

Streams and categories

There are 14 streams in the following functional areas:

• Stream 1—Office support services
• Stream 2—Operational services
• Stream 3—Electrical and electronics services
• Stream 4—Mechanical and machining
• Stream 5—Computer services
• Stream 6—Architectural and design services
• Stream 7—Miscellaneous engineering
• Stream 8—Financial services
• Stream 9—Procurement services
• Stream 10—Communication services
• Stream 11—Library services
• Stream 12—Human resources
• Stream 13—Policy and advisory services
• Stream 14—Health and scientific services

Link to categories:  https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/app-acq/sat-ths/sat-thc-26112018-eng.html  

Right-fit basis of selection (Pilot program) $100K

The right-fit basis of selection is a pilot program, which PSPC will monitor for a year. This method allows clients to choose a bid, which is technically responsive to the minimum mandatory criteria and has a price within the plus and minus 20% band for more than 3 suppliers or plus or minus 25% band for 2 suppliers.

Interviews may be administered to select the best resource among the responsive bids.

Please ensure to notify MAMD Procurement Officer that you will interview the resource

• When using right-fit basis of selection only, clients may interview proposed resource
• For any other basis of selection, resources may be interviewed only to validate  the information submitted in response to the solicitation is accurate
• Suppliers must not invoice for interview time and telephone interviews are encouraged 

This basis of selection is only an option when using method 1, for one resource only:

1. To be declared responsive, a bid must:
   1. Comply with all the requirements of the bid solicitation
   2. meet all mandatory criteria
   3. comply with the following pricing rules:
      • A band between -20% and +20% of the median hourly rate will be used when 3 or more bids are responsive to the mandatory technical criteria. Any bids outside of this band will be considered non-responsive
      • When only 2 bids are responsive to the mandatory technical criteria, the higher priced bid may be selected if the hourly rate is within 25% of the lowest priced
2. The selection will be based on the following justifications only:
   1. Specialized education which will improve the quality of services to be provided
   2. Additional certifications which will improve the quality of services to be provided
   3. Additional experience which will improve the quality of services to be provided
   4. Knowledge of relevant government policies or procedures which will improve the quality of services to be provided
   5. Better proficiency in one or both official languages, which will improve the quality of the services to be provided.
3. If only 1 bid is responsive to the mandatory technical criteria, the client should determine that the bid represents fair market value to Canada before awarding a contract.
4. Unsuccessful bidders must be advised of the results including the justification and the median rate used.

DEFINITION

Diverse (underrepresented) suppliers

• THS is also participating in a pilot program to promote social procurement, which creates greater inclusiveness and opportunities for participation by underrepresented groups in federal government procurement. Groups currently included in the pilot program are women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, and Indigenous peoples. These underrepresented supply groups will be referred to as diverse suppliers and will have the opportunity to self-identify when submitting their arrangement.

Procurement specific to services contracts

• Clients must make themselves aware of the following considerations:

Contracting with former public servants

• Contracts with former public servants in receipt of a pension or of a lump sum payment must bear the closest public scrutiny, and reflect fairness in the spending of public funds.

Pay-rolling

• Pay-rolling is strictly forbidden and is the practice by which firms are instructed by a government department or agency to employ specified individuals who are then assigned to provide services to that department or agency under contract.

Employer-employee relationships

• Contractor resources are employees of the contractor. Performance and administrative matters must be managed through the contractor. Ensure that no work begins until a written contract is in place.

1. When contracting for the services of individuals, including temporary help, contracting officers should carefully review the circumstances in order to avoid establishing an employer-employee relationship which would be contrary to or in conflict with the Public Service Employment Act and common law principles dealing with employer-employee relationships
2. Per sections 4.1.9(e) and 16.3 Employer-employee relationships of the Treasury Board Contracting Policy, contracting officers must ensure that an employer-employee relationship will not result when contracting for the services of individuals.
3. Criteria for assessing an employer-employee relationship have been established by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and pertinent court rulings. For guidance, seek legal advice.

Pages used:

https://mysource.hc-sc.gc.ca/en/ss/programs-and-services/financial-operations/procurement-and-contracting/contract-processing-12