City of Ottawa employees return to office 5 days a week, federal public servants wait for announcement on return to office rules

Many city workers have already been in the office full-time but hybrid work arrangements for some will be coming to an end. CTV’s Natalie van Rooy reports.

All City of Ottawa employees are now required to be in the office five days a week, as the city ends hybrid work arrangements that have been in place since the start of the COVID pandemic.

City Manager Wendy Stephanson announced in August that, as of Jan. 1, “The City of Ottawa will return to five days in the office as the new standard for all City employees.”

“The collective return to a five-day office standard for all City employees will help strengthen the organizational culture and build confidence and trust in the City’s ability to continue to provide responsive and reliable service to the public,” Stephanson said.

“Any alternative work arrangements will continue to be made in consultation between managers and their employees based on role, operational needs and available space.”

• Remote work option ending for thousands of public, private sector workers in 2026

Some councillors expressed opposition to Stephenson’s directive to end hybrid work arrangements and require all employees in the office five days a week.

The city had said approximately 85 per cent of municipal staff were already required to be on site or in the office five days a week. Municipal hybrid employees had been required to be in the office for a minimum of two days per week.

The City of Ottawa currently has approximately 17,000 full-time equivalent staff positions, which include police, fire, paramedics, Ottawa Public Health and road services staff.

Ottawa’s chief human resources officer told CTV News Ottawa on Friday that “hybrid work will remain flexible and based on operational needs.”

“Our in-office standard starts from a five-day onsite schedule to improve workplace culture and support excellent service delivery to residents, with flexibility applied where the nature of the work allows,” Pamela LeMaistre said.

“Beginning in January, eligible employees will be onsite more consistently throughout the standard five-day work week. This will help strengthen collaboration, improve service delivery and support knowledge sharing across teams. We will continue to provide tools and supports to help managers and employees through this transition.

“Hybrid work will remain flexible and based on operational needs. Managers continue to review requests case-by-case, ensuring we are maximizing workspaces and maintaining a consistent employee presence in City facilities to best support resident service.”

Coun. Jeff Leiper, of Kitchissippi Ward, says the in-office mandate puts an unnecessary strain on those who must now commute to work, as well as the city’s transit system.

“I don’t think that it is critical that people be in the office in order to be able to work productively in teams,” Leiper said. “We’ve known through a long experience now of the pandemic and the lockdowns that people can be very effective at home while still enjoying the quality-of-life benefits that come with eliminating the commute.”

Following the return to office announcement in September, Leiper said he heard from many city workers who were concerned about arranging childcare.

“We heard an outpouring from workers who were concerned about things like how they’re going to arrange for childcare, how they’re going to begin commuting again, what kind of, impact this is going to have on their day-to-day lives,” he said.

As of Jan. 5, all Ontario government employees are expected to be in the office five days per week.

Federal public servants

As the new year begins, federal public servants are waiting for word on possible changes to the hybrid work arrangements.

In December, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the government’s plan for a return-to-office directive will come into “sharper view” in the coming weeks.

“There will likely be different levels of return, depending on seniority, depending on role, and, obviously, depending on capacity,” Carney said.

The federal government’s hybrid work rules require public servants in the core public administration to be in the office for a minimum of three days per week, while executives are expected to be on-site a minimum of four days a week. The rules apply to all employees in the core public service.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is calling for remote work protections during contract talks with the federal government.

PSAC said it’s also requested that a “statutory freeze” apply on hybrid work during bargaining, “which means the employer cannot impose new rules or changes to working conditions without our union’s consent.”

The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) said it had heard “persistent rumours of an imminent new return-to-office (RTO) directive.”