City of Ottawa hybrid workers required to be in the office 2 days a week

Comparing municipal and federal hybrid work policy City of Ottawa workers with hybrid jobs aren't working in the office as often as their federal counterparts. CTV's Austin Lee reports.

As federal employees head into the office three days a week under the federal government's new hybrid work model, the City of Ottawa is only requiring its hybrid employees to be in the office a minimum of two days a week.

The City of Ottawa employs approximately 17,000 people, which includes employees with the Ottawa Fire Services and Ottawa Paramedic Services, and staff with Solid Waste Services, Road Services and Public Works.

Approximately 85 per cent of city staff are required to be onsite or in the workplace each day.

“The remainder of the City’s workforce are in roles that could be eligible for a hybrid work arrangement that allows employees to carry out their work duties at a combination of locations, including their designated work location, alternate City of Ottawa facilities and their personal residence,” Pamela LeMaistre, Chief Human Resources officer, said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“Hybrid work arrangements are made in consultation with eligible employees and their manager based on operational requirements to ensure the City maintains its offer of high-quality services to clients and the public.”

“Eligible employees who have an approved hybrid work arrangement must work from a City facility for a minimum of two days per week."

The City of Ottawa has three main administrative buildings – City Hall, 100 Constellation Drive and Ben Franklin Place.  In 2021, the city announced it was moving to a hybrid work model for its administrative employees coming out of the COVID pandemic.

Ottawa City Council moved to a hybrid mode on March 23, 2022, with “in person participation” by members of Council, senior staff and the media. In April 2022, the city reopened the gallery of Andrew Haydon Hall to the public during meetings.

Currently, only the Ottawa Police Services Board and the board’s committees hold meetings fully electronically, with no in-person participation.

As of Sept. 9, the federal government requires federal civil servants in the core public service to be in the office a minimum of three days a week, while executives must be in the office four days a week.  In 2023, the Treasury Board Secretariat introduced a "common hybrid work model" for the core public administration, requiring employees to be in the office at least two or three days a week.

OC Transpo has blamed low ridership on the federal government's hybrid work policy. When federal workers introduced the new return-to-office mandate, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he hoped the new hybrid work rules would be a boost to the downtown core.

"The more people who are downtown the better it is for our economy, and we don't want to have a hollowed out downtown core," Sutcliffe told Newstalk 580 CFRA's The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll on Sept. 9.

"I'm hopeful we're going to see more activity, more vibrancy in the downtown core in the weeks ahead."

Federal public unions continue to protest the new federal hybrid work rules, with the Public Service Alliance of Canada launching a legal challenge with the Federal Court.

"The city may be lagging behind right now, but it's probably only a matter of time before they jump to the three days as well," said Dan Closs, a City of Ottawa employee.

“When COVID happened, they actually reorganized the offices so there's actually not enough space for everybody to go into the office at the same time. So, we have to do a staggered routine. Three days a week right now, doesn't really work."

LeMaistre added in a statement later in the afternoon Monday that while employees with an eligible hybrid work arrangement are required to be on-site at least two days per week, many of its service areas "exceed this requirement due to operational needs." The city will be reviewing its hybrid work policies.

"Hybrid work procedures and provisions were introduced in 2022, as the City began its return to office for the small minority of staff who were working from home during the pandemic. The City’s policies are reviewed on a regular cycle or on an as-needed basis. A review of the Policy is currently underway," she said.

A look at the hybrid work policies

City of Ottawa

Approximately 85 per cent of municipal employees are required to be onsite or in the workplace every day.

Employees eligible for hybrid work arrangements must work in a city facility a minimum of two days per week.

Federal government

As of Sept. 9, public servants in the core public administration who are eligible for hybrid work arrangements must be in the office a minimum of three days per week.

Executives are be expected to be on-site a minimum of four days per week.

The Treasury Board of Canada says the new hybrid work arrangements require 282,152 employees to be in the office a minimum of three days a week.

With files from CTV's Austin Lee