Canada’s public servants are set to return to office three days per week starting Monday, a move by the federal government that has drawn anger from the union representing the workers.
But while that anger has led to protests, it’s unlikely that anger will impact everyday Canadians.
In early May, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat — effectively a central nerve agency for federal departments — updated its policy to require employees to work from the office three days a week instead of the current two starting Sept. 9.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents about 260,000 workers, called the decision “purely political” and launched a series of legal complaints and encouraged members to file individual grievances.
However, being the employer, the federal government has the legal right to determine how work is done, legal experts note.
“Every employee would like to say they’d love to have the right to choose, but just because that’s a preference doesn’t mean it becomes an entitlement,” Jock Climie, a labour and employment lawyer, told Global News this week.
But with the return days away, who is impacted and what do the directives actually say?
Who is impacted
The new directives apply to all “core public administration” employees, meaning not only full-time but also part-time, term, student and casual workers.
According to the Treasury Board Secretariat, that sat at about 282,000 workers who will be required to work in office three days a week. Managers are expected to also be in office, though the Treasury Board says to “ensure leadership and effective support” for teams, these managers will have to be in office four days a week.
Other federal agencies, like the Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the National Capital Commission, were also urged to adopt a similar strategy.
Under the directive, telework agreements already in place may also be required to reflect the minimum on-site requirement.
Are there exemptions?
There are some workers who will be permitted to continue the current format, the first of whom are those who were hired to work remotely before March 16, 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced most of the federal public service to work remotely.
Also exempted are Indigenous public servants whose “location is critical to their identity to work from their communities,” and those who work remotely 125 kilometres or more from their designated workplace.
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Outside of these three categories, the guide provided by the secretariat notes that deputy heads and assistant deputy ministers can make exceptions on a “case-by-case basis, on a time-limited or longer-term duration.”
Can refusal to come in three days a week lead to firing?
The direction from the secretariat lays out issues of compliance, noting management has the exclusive right to designate the location of work and require employees to report there, but managers should discuss with employees any barriers that could be encountered by coming into the office, such as accessibility, harassment and discrimination.
If reprimands are necessary, though, it notes managers have tools available to them.
According to guidance provided to deputy heads and human resource departmental heads, made available to Global News, if an employee fails to comply the manager should consult with their labour relations expert and consider applying “relevant and progressive discipline.”
This discipline starts with a verbal reprimand, then would follow in order with a written reprimand, suspension without pay of “escalating duration” and end with termination of employment. However, the guide notes based on the severity of the action, such as misconduct or insubordination, the labour relations expert may advise an “alternative sequence.”
Managers are also required to ensure “individual circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis,” such as the duty to accommodate, or if an employee has a reasonable explanation for absences such as family care obligations or illness.
Union workers are concerned
The return-to-office mandate has received backlash from unions representing public servants.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada says the mandate is “misguided” and “flawed.”
PSAC is concerned that the policy limits flexibility around telework and is taking its fight to the Federal Court.
The union says they feel betrayed after both sides reached an agreement on an updated collective agreement in May 2023 following a nationwide strike. While the new agreement didn’t specifically deal with remote working, it did include a side letter laying out how remote work requests can be considered.
“PSAC members will now be protected from arbitrary decisions about remote work. We have negotiated language that requires managers to assess remote work requests individually, not by group, and provide written responses that will allow members and PSAC to hold the employer accountable to equitable and fair decision-making,” the union said last year.
“Having all remote work requests reviewed on an individual basis will prevent future ‘one size fits all’ type mandates like the government announced in December last year.”
PSAC said it had wanted remote work language in the collective agreement but that “instead, as part of the give and take of every round of bargaining, we agreed to have those improvements implemented as part of a letter of agreement that sets us up to win the full victory in our next contract.”
The Federal Court has agreed to hear PSAC’s case regarding the return-to-office mandate.
In the meantime, the policy goes into effect next week.
Ahead of the rules kicking in, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) and other public sector unions held a rally on Thursday in Ottawa to express their discontent.
PIPSC president Jen Carr argued, citing their own survey, that the mandate will hit the most vulnerable members, including women, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ2 community and racialized workers, “the hardest.”
In a statement on Thursday, Carr said the new policy “threatens to push out diverse talent, worsen mental health, and make life more difficult for those already struggling.”
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