FAQ: Returning to the workplace

PIPSC continues to oppose the escalating RTO mandates imposed by the federal government. 

Following the original three-day in-office requirement (effective September 9, 2024), the government announced on February 5, 2026, that executives will be required to work onsite five days per week as of May 4, 2026, and that all other eligible employees will be expected to work onsite four days per week as of July 6, 2026. Separate Employers and Agencies have adopted similar RTO policies, although implementation dates may vary. These changes were made without meaningful consultation with unions, are not supported by evidence, and do not consider the individual circumstances of federal public servants.

We continue to advocate for a safe, flexible return-to-office policy for all members that emphasizes presence with purpose and respects the needs and contributions of all public service professionals.

Since this was announced, PIPSC has taken action by filing policy grievances, including one for each core group at TBS, the AFS group at CRA, our three groups at CFIA, and the CER/NEB group. These policy grievances challenge the employer’s decision and its lack of consultation. In addition to these policy grievances, we have filed unfair labour practice complaints against TBS and CRA, challenging the February 2026 four-day directive, imposed without consultation during active bargaining. We are united in our fight to repeal these escalating RTO mandates – together we will continue to build a future of work that works for us all.

Since the announcement in February 2026, we have sent out an RTO member survey to collect crucial information from members on their day-to-day experiences. The results highlight significant challenges faced by our members in terms of productivity, cost of living, work-life balance, and commuting times, with little improvement in collaboration and workplace culture.

We previously launched a letter-writing campaign to Members of Parliament and Treasury Board President Anita Anand, resulting in more than 9,000 letters being sent. We continue to support this action, and we need your voice more than ever! The survey and national letter-writing campaign remain available, and we continue to welcome PIPSC members to complete them.

• Return to Office Survey: Voice your concerns

• Take action: Pause the Return to Office mandate now!

In 2024, we forced Anita Anand to break her silence on this nonsensical mandate at a public mayoral breakfast in Ottawa when she “urged managers to be flexible with telework arrangements” – this could not have happened without the sustained pressure of unionized workers. We continue to participate in coordinated actions with PSAC, CAPE, and ACFO, including information pickets that were held in April, May, and June 2026. Please see the News and Announcements page for ongoing advocacy efforts, including ongoing information pickets, rallies, and events.

No. Signing the petition does not violate the Treasury Board Code of Values and Ethics and should not result in disciplinary action.  

If you do happen to experience any sort of repercussions, please reach out to your steward.

Yes, PIPSC regularly meets with the other bargaining agents who have employees impacted by the mandate to discuss strategy and next steps on how we can best support members. Our collaboration with other bargaining agents through joint press conferences and cross-union rallies helps leverage our collective efforts to apply pressure on the employer to repeal this mandate.

No. The RTO mandate does not put employees in a legal position to strike. Striking would be considered illegal and could result in disciplinary measures.

Start by talking to your manager.

Although your employer can ask you to return to the workplace, they must also protect employees’ health and safety and ensure that their decisions are not discriminatory. 

If returning to the office affects your ability to work because of a medical condition, family responsibilities, or another protected reason, you may need to request an accommodation. 

If your accommodation request is denied, you may be able to file a grievance. 

If you have health and safety concerns, raise them with your manager and your workplace health and safety committee.  Contact your steward for support.

If there are concerns about the conditions of the work location, we encourage you to contact your building’s Health and Safety Representative. If you reasonably believe that your attendance in the workplace puts your health and safety at serious risk, you can file a health and safety complaint under Part II of the Canada Labour Code. The Canada Labour Code Part II provides for your right to know about workplace risks, your right to participate in health and safety efforts, and your right to refuse unsafe work.

The first step is to file the complaint, orally or in writing, with your manager, and then discuss the concern in an attempt to resolve it. If the complaint is not resolved, it must be referred to the Workplace Health and Safety Committee for review. 

It is important to document hazards in writing and notify your PIPSC steward whenever an RTO-related safety issue is raised.

Yes. 

The IT exemption is no longer in effect. The transition to the three-day minimum was completed as of September 2025. 

As of February 2026, the government has announced its intention to move all eligible employees, including IT group members, to four days per week onsite as of July 6, 2026. 

Members should follow current departmental guidance and contact their steward or an Employment Relations Officer with any specific questions. We encourage you to review the FAQs and our website for any questions you may have surrounding the process.

OCHRO did not provide a sound rationale for the change. 

The rationale provided was essentially for better consistency, without evidence or explanation showing how the blanket policy would achieve that goal or benefit employees. While the change could be reversed, it is considered unlikely.

The RTO mandate currently applies equally to all core public administration employees and departments under TBS. Separate employers were strongly encouraged to follow the TBS direction, and CRA, CFIA, CER/NEB, and NRC have done so. 

The TBS direction allows a few exceptions, as approved by the appropriate Assistant Deputy Minister, including:

• Employees hired to work remotely prior to March 16, 2020, 
• Indigenous public servants whose location is critical to their identity and who work from their communities
• Employees with specific permission who work remotely 125 km or more from their designated worksite
• Certain case-by-case exemptions, such as some accommodation situations

Exceptions must generally be approved by senior management and are considered on a case-by-case basis.

The employer has a legal duty to accommodate employees who fall into categories protected under the collective agreement or the Canadian Human Rights Act, such as disability and family status, up to the point of undue hardship. 

In practice, this means the employer must remove barriers to full participation in the workplace where feasible. Depending on the circumstances, accommodation could include remote work.

You can request an accommodation if the RTO plan creates a serious obstacle to your involvement in the workplace. 

Examples may include: 

• A medical condition that prevents you from returning to the office four days per week
• A substantial impact on legal childcare or eldercare obligations where no reasonable alternative solutions are available
• Other situations protected by law or the collective agreement

Each situation is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The first step is to contact your manager and make a formal request. 

You must disclose the reasons why you need to be accommodated, although you do not necessarily need to disclose your diagnosis or specific treatment if the request is disability-related. 

Employees are required to cooperate in the accommodation process by providing medical or other documentation to support the request. 

A denial of accommodation for disability, medical, or family reasons could be discriminatory and could violate the collective agreement.

Ask for the reasons for the denial in writing. 

Then contact your steward to review your request and the reasons for the denial and to discuss next steps, which may include filing a grievance.

Under Part II of the Canada Labour Code, the employer must ensure that your workplace, workspace, procedures, and equipment meet prescribed health, safety, and ergonomic standards. 

If you have specific needs, submit a request to your manager. 

You may also request: 

• Ergonomic equipment
• Adjustments to your workstation
• An ergonomic assessment before moving into a new workspace

If necessary equipment is denied, contact your steward.

If you have concerns about returning to your workplace or increasing your in-office attendance to four days per week, a conversation with your manager is a good starting point. 

This is particularly important if you were previously told you would be working remotely, if: 

• Comparable teams have hybrid or remote arrangements without a valid reason for denying them to your team
• You are being treated differently without justification
• There are not enough workspaces available
• You have a valid telework agreement setting for a different arrangement. 

In addition to highlighting the items above to your manager, we also recommend discussing your situation and providing a proposal of what you would like to see in terms of hybrid or remote working options. This could include a return to the workplace once a week, a few times a month, or not at all, depending on your needs and the needs of the employer.

Each member has unique circumstances and situations. For any exception, speak to your supervisor about a flexible work arrangement and discuss the available options.

We believe that members with existing and valid teleworking agreements that predate the pandemic (March 16, 2020) and/or were hired specifically to work remotely, as clearly indicated in your letter of offer, should be allowed to continue working remotely.

If you have an existing telework agreement as a result of the pandemic, but are being asked to modify your agreement to increase your in-office presence in accordance with the RTO-04 mandate, you must discuss this with your manager.

All telework agreements contain the following statement:

Participation of both the employee and the employer in this telework arrangement is voluntary and may be cancelled or suspended at any time by either party with reasonable notice, or amendments can be made subject to management approval and agreement of both parties.

Telework agreements are not binding, and failure to agree to modifications could result in cancellation by the employer.

Raise your concerns with your manager first.

You may be able to work out an alternative arrangement that helps you secure adequate childcare as soon as possible. 

If your manager cannot or will not find a workable solution, you should formally request an accommodation. 

If that request is denied, contact your steward to discuss further recourse, such as a grievance.

Any telework agreement that predated the pandemic (March 16, 2020) should remain in effect. Otherwise, carefully review the revised telework agreement and discuss your specific circumstances with your manager in light of the new direction on prescribed presence in the workplace. You should also consider whether any exemption or accommodation issue applies to your situation.

While remote work and presence with purpose were priorities, telework was not added to the collective agreements because TBS did not have the political mandate to include remote work in those provisions.

PIPSC and TBS did, however, formally agree to work collaboratively on a hybrid approach through a Letter of Agreement negotiated at the central table for core groups.

Exemptions are exceptional and are decided on a case-by-case basis. 

Start by speaking with your manager about the specifics of your request or by following your department’s process. 

If requesting an exemption is appropriate, it should be done in writing and should include:

• The reason for the request
• The dates or duration involved
• Your work location
• Any supporting information

Ask for the employer’s decision in writing.

Your options will depend on the nature of the exemption you requested. 

If the exemption is denied, the denial and the reasons for it should be provided in writing. 

If that is not done, ask your manager to provide the denial and rationale in writing in accordance with the Directive on Telework.

Once you have the rationale, and if you believe it is unreasonable or arbitrary, contact your steward to discuss possible next steps.

Immediately tell your manager that you are willing and able to work but need an appropriate desk space, and ask what they want you to do. 

Management is responsible for finding an alternate work location. 

Depending on where that location is, other issues may arise. If this happens, contact your steward.

If you are asked or instructed to work from an alternate work location, consult the NJC Travel Directive because there may be implications depending on the location and its distance from your designated workplace. 

Make sure the request is in writing and ask whether you will be considered to be on travel status. 

If you have concerns, contact your steward.

Details related to workspaces, including plans for managing capacity and assigned seating plans, are often discussed in union-management consultation committee meetings. If your department has not shared these details, you can raise it with your applicable Consultation Team.

On February 5, 2026, the federal government announced its intention to require all eligible non-executive employees to work on-site four days per week as of July 6, 2026, and executives to work on-site five days per week starting May 4, 2026. 

PIPSC has raised serious concerns about workspace capacity and has formally challenged these directives through an unfair labour practice complaint and policy grievance filed in February 2026. Currently, federal departments continue to assess office space requirements to accommodate all employees for four days per week.  As it stands, the employer does not have the capacity to accommodate all employees in the office for 4 or 5 days per week. 

A five-day mandate has not been announced for non-executive employees at this time, but PIPSC will continue to monitor changes to the RTO mandate.

The employer has not confirmed how it will measure compliance. 

Possible methods include 

• IP address tracking
• Monitoring security swipes with building access cards
• Monitoring desk reservations
• Physical verification in person
• Manager follow-up emails. 

If you are required to be in the office, you should comply, because refusal could be considered insubordination and could lead to discipline. 

If you are accused of not being in the office when you were, contact your steward.

We have received recent reports that suggest that some managers are including on-site attendance targets in performance reviews. PIPSC’s position is that performance evaluations should be related to the work you perform, not where you work. We are raising this concern directly with TBS to determine a coordinated approach. If you notice RTO compliance in your performance agreements or evaluations, we encourage you to connect with your Regional Office and flag it for their awareness.

The RTO escalation and Work Force Adjustment (WFA) notifications are separate issues legally, but both are being challenged by PIPSC. 

If you receive a Work Force Adjustment notification, contact your steward immediately for guidance on your rights, including priority placement, surplus protections, and early retirement incentives. 

Do not allow the pressure of the RTO mandate to prevent you from exercising your rights under the WFA Directive.