SFU currently faces a financial shortfall in the 2023/24 fiscal year due to lower international enrollments and increased cost pressures. We expect that SFU's budget is likely to remain tight over the next few years. 

The university is now pursuing cost containment measures to mitigate the financial shortfall, including a staff hiring freeze. The hiring freeze requires leaders and teams, with support from their VPs, Deans and PEI Strategic Business Partner (SBP) to review ways to operationalize and realize efficiencies while continuing to work towards our institutional priorities. It is hoped that a hiring freeze will reduce some expenses as groups work within existing staffing to improve operational efficiencies. 

The hiring freeze began at 5 p.m. on November 2, 2023.

The hiring freeze currently in place will continue until further notice. This measure has reduced the university’s costs while ensuring that exceptions are made for critical roles. 

The hiring freeze is in effect for most administrative positions (continuing, backfills, temporary, student staff and contract employees).  The hiring freeze does not impact faculty, teaching assistants, sessional instructors, ELC & ITP instructors, graduate facilitators, education mentors, contract instructors, exam invigilators and research employees (including postdocs, research assistants and university research associates).

To continue prioritizing SFU’s academic mission, teaching and research-related positions will be excluded from the hiring freeze. This includes faculty, teaching assistants, sessional instructors, graduate facilitators, education mentors, contract instructors, exam invigilators and or research employees (including postdocs, research assistants and university research associates). There are also exceptions to hiring for positions that are deemed essential to the functioning of the faculties or administrative departments.

Effective August 19, 2024, the following positions will no longer require the processing of a hiring exemption:

• All student positions, including but not limited to work-study, co-op, research assistant and other semesterly positions;

• New temporary appointments that are 6 months or shorter in duration (all renewals/extensions of these appointments of any length will need to go through the hiring freeze exemption process);

• Fully externally-funded positions such as those required to meet grant obligations, and;

• Positions identified in the workforce plan for the School of Medicine. These positions will go through a separate and integrated decision-making framework and approval process led by the Office of the Provost.    

All collective agreement obligations, such as the monetary percentage increases negotiated with our unions and association remain intact. It is hoped that a hiring freeze will reduce some expenses as groups work within existing staffing to improve operational efficiencies. We are committed to minimizing the impact of budget reductions as much as possible.

Each academic/administrative area has an identified point of contact who will be in touch with supervisors to share next steps within respective areas. If you have any questions about the hiring freeze and its impact on your unit, please connect with your supervisor or department chair.

Yes, the IUPP cohort tutor and mentor positions are exempt from the hiring freeze process.

A process is now in effect to help review requests for exception to hire for positions that are deemed essential to the functioning of the faculties or administrative departments.

While the hiring freeze is in effect, all hiring requests require the completion of an online position request form. 

• The hiring manager will provide key information on the form that will support decision-making. 
• When the form is completed, it will automatically be forwarded to the respective Dean or VP for approval. 
• Deans and VPs are expected to review the position request forms from their respective units. 
• Upon VP approval, the form will be automatically sent to the Provost and Vice President, Academic, and the Vice President, Finance and Administration for final approval. 

Please see the workflow visual here.

Determining what is essential to the functioning of faculties or administrative departments involves proactive collaboration and thinking. Your SBP will engage with leaders to facilitate this process.  An optimal approach involves understanding the key strategic priorities for your unit and aligning them with What’s Next: The SFU strategy.

A position request form is required for the roles below, irrespective of the funding source and length of term:

• New continuing roles
• New temporary roles
• Extensions or backfill of existing continuing roles
• Extensions or backfill of existing temporary roles
• All coop student roles, including extensions
• Pregnancy/Parental leave (or other leave) replacements
• Temporary promotions
• Contract employees
• Those normally hired on a PAF except for research employees (these are normally put directly through payroll)

You do not need additional approval to complete a hiring process actively underway as of November 2, 2023; however, if you deem appropriate, you may choose to cease a hiring process actively underway for budgetary reasons if you have not yet reached the offer stage of the selection process. Please contact your PEI Strategic Business Partner (SBP) Services for guidance.

All positions that have the same job description and term can be grouped and submitted on one Position Request Form as a cohort grouping. 

It could take approximately 2 weeks for the executive team to review request from time of receipt. Hiring managers are asked to please submit your request well before the anticipated start or extension date for the position.

Hiring managers will complete the online position request form which provides an opportunity to outline the rationale for the request, the risks and other items to consider. Once the hiring manager submits the online form, it is directed to their VP for review and if approved, is then directed to the Provost and VP Finance and Administration for determination and final approval.  

As outlined in What’s Next: The SFU Strategy, SFU is committed to upholding truth and reconciliation and transforming the SFU experience. We are also guided by our values, which include equity and belonging. All hiring managers are encouraged to work with their PEI strategic business partner (SBP) who can help them consider the immediate and long-term institutional goals in the context of their team’s goals. 

We appreciate your understanding as we work together to navigate financial changes and pressures here at SFU. All position request forms are being reviewed with care and hard decisions are being made to ensure we are being fiscally responsible. If you have any questions about the decision, please reach out to your Supervisor/VP for guidance.

In addition to the hiring freeze, we are also asking faculty and staff to continue to make prudent financial decisions, reduce spending where possible, and explore opportunities for operational efficiencies, cross-institutional collaboration and revenue generation. 

The Compensation team will continue to accept requests for review of existing positions via existing processes to ensure employees are appropriately compensated for the work they are performing. SBPs will be working with leaders on workforce optimization plans to meet budget target reductions, manage workload during the hiring freeze, and determine how job evaluation fits into solutions.

Approval via the online position request form process is needed before a new position can be created and evaluated by the compensation team as the position request form process allows for the creation, posting and filling of the new position. Once a position is approved, please submit the position request approval confirmation, along with required documentation to compensation@sfu.ca. The position request approval confirmation will be used in place of the VP approval section on the Compensation Request Form.  

It’s important to note that the hiring freeze is intended to reduce some expenses as groups work within existing staffing to improve operational efficiencies. As the process for changing a position from temporary to continuing status has monetary implications, it requires position request form submission.

Given that temporary pool assignments must be shorter than 3 months, they are exempt from the hiring freeze. Should an appointment be expected to be 3 months or longer, please connect with your HR Specialist for the appropriate process.