Return-to-office rules for public servants set to kick in. What to know

Canada's public servants are being mandated to be in office three days a week, with managers expected to do the same four days a week, but their union is blasting the decision.

Canada’s public servants are set to return to office three days per week starting Monday, a move by the federal government that has drawn anger from the union representing the workers.

But while that anger has led to protests, it’s unlikely that anger will impact everyday Canadians.

In early May, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat — effectively a central nerve agency for federal departments — updated its policy to require employees to work from the office three days a week instead of the current two starting Sept. 9.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents about 260,000 workers, called the decision “purely political” and launched a series of legal complaints and encouraged members to file individual grievances.

However, being the employer, the federal government has the legal right to determine how work is done, legal experts note.

“Every employee would like to say they’d love to have the right to choose, but just because that’s a preference doesn’t mean it becomes an entitlement,” Jock Climie, a labour and employment lawyer, told Global News this week.

But with the return days away, who is impacted and what do the directives actually say?

The new directives apply to all “core public administration” employees, meaning not only full-time but also part-time, term, student and casual workers.