Question Period Note: STABILIZATION OF THE HYBRID MODEL

• The Office of the Chief Human Resource Officer (OCHRO) issued guidance in December 2022 pertaining to the return to the office and the adoption of a common hybrid model – requiring employees to work on site at least 2–3 days each week or 40–60% of their regular schedule - across the Public Service.
• Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) issued an update to the Direction on Prescribed Presence in the workplace stating that federal public servants in the core public administration (CPA) who are eligible for a hybrid work arrangement will be required to work on site a minimum of 3 days per week and Executives expected onsite a minimum of 4 days per week as of 9 September 2024.
• This updated requirement also applies to groups of employees in organizations who had been permitted to temporarily continue working remotely based on specific work models :
• Call center employees (Application to NCCN and IT Helpdesk exempted)
• Information technology (IT) employees
• This will be phased in by September 2025

• VAC continue to focus on stabilization, improving tools and resources, and renewal of our telework arrangements.
• VAC continues to improve the employee experience by listening to feedback in order to fully enable their work and enhance their work experience within the workplace and remotely.

BACKGROUND - STABILIZATION OF THE HYBRID MODEL
A Lead ADM Sponsor is identified for the Future of Work initiative, which encompasses Return to the Office: Assistant Deputy Minister, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Services.

Their goal is to enable the workforce with access to the right tools, policies, guidelines and resources to undertake their work effectively on-site (workplace readiness activities) and remotely.

A Human Resources (HR) team is managing the project in collaboration with key enabling partners such as the Real Property and Integrated Workplace Services (IWS) team.

VAC is following Treasury Board’s Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace. All employees are required to complete a work arrangement for the prescribed presence in the workplace or have an approved exception for anything less.

On-site booking tool and occupancy reports have been developed and continue to be improved to support managers and employees as well as optimize the use of our physical workspace.

Resources and tools continue to be developed and updated to support managers and employees in 2024.

Consultation with Bargaining Agents has been and will continue to be a key part of our re-entry and stabilization plans.

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