How to Request Flexible Work Hours or Remote Work in a Federally Regulated Job

Who can make a flexible work request under the Canada Labour Code?

The statutory right is found in section 177.1 of the Canada Labour Code. It applies to an employee who has completed at least 6 consecutive months of continuous employment with an employer covered by Part III of the Code.

The right is therefore narrower than a general ability to ask any Canadian employer for remote work. Most employees in Canada are covered by provincial or territorial employment standards instead of federal Part III rules.

Government guidance states that the flexible-work provisions include persons commonly referred to as interns, but exclude student interns who are completing an internship to satisfy the requirements of an educational program.

Which workplaces are federally regulated for this right?

Part III federal labour standards cover employees in federally regulated private-sector industries and most federal Crown corporations. Examples include:

• banks, including authorized foreign banks;
• airlines, airports and air transportation operations;
• telecommunications;
• radio and television broadcasting;
• postal and courier services;
• railways crossing provincial or international borders;
• interprovincial and international trucking and bus operations;
• marine shipping, ports and certain ferries;
• oil and gas pipelines crossing provincial or international borders;
• grain elevators and specified grain-related operations;
• uranium mining, processing and atomic energy;
• most federal Crown corporations, such as Canada Post Corporation; and
• businesses that are vital, essential or integral to one of the listed federal activities.

The federal public service is not covered by Part III merely because its employees work for the federal government. If your workplace is provincially regulated, use the employment standards that apply in your province or territory instead.

What changes can you request?

An eligible employee can request changes to 3 core terms of employment:

• number of work hours, such as reduced hours, part-time work or a job-sharing arrangement;
• work schedule, such as different start and finish times, modified schedules or split shifts; and
• location of work, which can include working from home or from another work location.

The Code gives you a right to request and receive a compliant decision. It does not create an automatic right to have the exact arrangement you ask for approved.

Can you use this process to request remote work?

Yes. The federal government's flexible work guidance specifically identifies location of work as a term that can be changed and gives working from home or a satellite location as examples.

That means an eligible federally regulated employee can use section 177.1 to request full-time remote work, hybrid work or another location-based arrangement. The employer must consider the request and respond within the statutory timeframe, but may lawfully refuse it when a permitted refusal ground applies.

What must be included in your written request?

The Canada Labour Code requires the request to be in writing. It must contain:

• your name;
• the date you make the request;
• a description of the requested change to your terms and conditions of employment;
• the date when you want the change to take effect;
• if the change is temporary, the date when you want it to end; and
• an explanation of the effect you believe the requested change would have on the employer and how you think that effect could be managed.

A request that simply says "I want to work from home" may leave out information specifically required by the Code. A stronger request states the proposed arrangement, timing and practical impact clearly.

What should you say about the impact on the employer?

The Code specifically requires your written request to explain both the expected effect on the employer and how, in your opinion, the employer could manage that effect.

For example, depending on your actual job, you might explain how customer coverage, team meetings, shift handovers, equipment access or communication could continue under the proposed arrangement. Do not claim there will be no operational impact unless that is realistic.

This requirement matters because several lawful refusal grounds relate directly to cost, performance, customer demand, staffing and whether sufficient work would remain available.

Where do you submit the request?

You submit the request to your employer, not to Employment and Social Development Canada or the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

The Code requires the request to be in writing but does not establish a public federal online portal for ordinary employee requests. Follow your employer's accepted written process, such as its HR procedure or another documented method, and retain a copy showing what you submitted and when it was received.

How long does the employer have to respond?

The employer must provide a written decision as soon as possible and no later than 30 days after receiving the request.

The written response must do one of the following:

• grant the request;
• offer to grant part of the request;
• offer an alternative change; or
• refuse the request on a permitted ground.

If the employer offers only part of what you requested, proposes an alternative or refuses the request, the written notice must include the reasons for not granting all or part of the requested change.

When can your employer refuse the request?

Section 177.1 allows an employer to refuse an eligible request on specified operational grounds. These include situations where:

• the requested change would create additional costs that would burden the employer;
• the change would have a detrimental effect on the quality or quantity of work, the ability to meet customer demand or another aspect of workplace performance;
• the employer cannot reorganize work among existing employees or recruit additional employees to manage the change; or
• there would be insufficient work available for you if the change were granted.

Current federal guidance also distinguishes requests that do not satisfy the statutory flexible-work criteria. For example, an employee who has not yet completed 6 continuous months does not have the section 177.1 statutory right yet.

Does your employer have to approve remote work?

No. The Canada Labour Code creates a right to request, a right to have the request considered under the statutory rules and a right to receive a timely written decision. It does not guarantee that your preferred schedule or remote-work arrangement will be granted.

If the employer has a legitimate refusal ground permitted by the Code, it can deny the request. A refusal is different from retaliation: the employer may lawfully say no, but it cannot punish you merely because you exercised the statutory right to ask.

What if you are unionized?

A unionized employee can still be covered by the statutory right to request. However, the Code states that an employer cannot use this flexible-work provision to change a term or condition contained in a collective agreement unless the employer and trade union agree to that change in writing.

If you are represented by a union, it can therefore be useful to review your collective agreement and speak with your union before or during the request process.

Can your employer punish you for making the request?

No. Section 177.1 expressly protects eligible employees from reprisals for making a statutory flexible work request.

The employer must not:

• dismiss you;
• suspend you;
• lay you off;
• demote you;
• discipline you; or
• take the flexible-work request into account when deciding whether to promote or train you.

Federal reprisal protections also cover threats of retaliatory action in circumstances governed by Part III.

If the workplace issue instead involves unsafe work, Helpydo separately explains how to refuse dangerous work in a federally regulated workplace. That is a different statutory process from requesting flexible work.

What if your employer does not respond within 30 days?

A failure to provide the required response can be addressed through the federal labour standards complaint process. Employment and Social Development Canada specifically identifies not receiving a response after a flexible work arrangement request as an example of a non-monetary complaint.

The normal deadline for a non-monetary labour standards complaint is 6 months from the day you became aware of the issue.

A complaint about non-compliance is not the same as demanding that the Labour Program substitute your preferred work arrangement for a lawful employer decision. The statutory issue may be whether the employer complied with the Code's obligations, such as responding on time and providing required reasons.

What if you are retaliated against for asking?

If you believe your employer retaliated because you exercised or tried to exercise your Part III rights, you can make a written reprisal complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).

A section 246.1 reprisal complaint generally must be filed within 90 calendar days after the day you knew, or in the Board's opinion ought to have known, about the action or circumstances giving rise to the complaint.

The CIRB accepts reprisal complaints electronically through its web portal and also provides filing by other permitted methods. The Board strongly recommends using its section 246.1 reprisal complaint form.

The CIRB explains that reprisal proceedings may involve dismissal, suspension, layoff, demotion, financial penalties, denial of promotion or other retaliatory action connected with exercising Part III rights.

Flexible work complaints are different from unjust dismissal cases

A flexible-work compliance issue, a reprisal complaint and an unjust-dismissal complaint are different legal routes.

If your employer simply fails to provide the required flexible-work response, the federal non-monetary labour standards complaint process may apply. If the employer retaliates because you exercised the right, the CIRB reprisal process may apply.

If you were dismissed and are considering the separate federal unjust-dismissal regime, Helpydo explains how to file an unjust dismissal complaint for a federally regulated job. The Canada Labour Code restricts filing a section 246.1 reprisal complaint when a complaint based on substantially the same facts has already been made under the specified unjust-dismissal or genetic-testing provisions unless that complaint is withdrawn.

Is a flexible work request the same as a workplace accommodation request?

No. Section 177.1 expressly states that the flexible-work provision does not limit an employer's duty to accommodate under another Act of Parliament.

This distinction can be important when a request for altered hours or work location is connected to disability or another protected human-rights ground. The flexible work process is one statutory route, but it does not replace separate accommodation obligations that may apply.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming every Canadian employee is covered: this procedure is for workplaces governed by Part III of the Canada Labour Code.
• Applying before 6 months of continuous employment: the statutory section 177.1 right begins after that qualifying period.
• Making only a verbal request: the statutory request must be in writing.
• Leaving out dates: state when you want the change to start and, if temporary, when it should end.
• Ignoring the employer-impact requirement: explain the expected operational effect and how you believe it could be managed.
• Assuming remote work must be approved: the law guarantees a process and protection from reprisal, not automatic approval.
• Confusing refusal with retaliation: a lawful refusal based on permitted grounds is different from discipline or punishment for making the request.
• Missing complaint deadlines: a non-monetary Labour Program complaint normally has a 6-month deadline, while a CIRB reprisal complaint generally has a 90-day deadline.
• Ignoring a collective agreement: an employer cannot change a collectively bargained term through section 177.1 unless the union agrees in writing.

What happens if your request is approved?

If the employer grants the request, it can change the applicable terms and conditions of employment to implement the arrangement. If it offers a partial or alternative arrangement, you and the employer can reach a written agreement on the change.

For a term contained in a collective agreement, the change also requires the trade union's written agreement.

Keep the employer's written approval or agreement with your employment records, particularly if the arrangement is temporary or changes your hours, schedule or work location.