Many of you may have questions regarding the recent Return to Office (RTO) announcement by NRC (A common approach to hybrid work) sent to all staff Jan 16, 2023, from Iain Stewart, NRC President. It is the RCEA’s current understanding that, at this stage, with so many employees already having Telework agreements in place since NRC went through this process last summer, any additional cases will be handled on an individual basis.
If you are not in the office 2 days per week yet, management will be in contact with you soon to discuss whether that can continue to work from home 4 or 5 days a week under an exemption or accommodation, or whether you will need to be in the office for at least 2 days a week going forward. It is worthwhile to note that exemptions from the 2 days per week should be handled differently than Duty to Accommodate (DTA) in that DTA cases fall under human rights legislation. As such, there is a specific process that should be followed when determining an appropriate accommodation. We continue to monitor this issue and options and will provide additional information as we learn more.
If you require assistance at any point with your situation, including for DTA matters, please contact the RCEA office via email at office@rcea.ca It will be very helpful if, in that email, you can provide details of your situation, a copy of any agreement you may already have in place and your best contact number. This will give our labour relations group a sense of your situation in advance of calling you back.
Thank you,
Deb Cooper
Executive Director