Your time is precious. That’s why AMAPCEO has negotiated strong language in your Collective Agreement to put you in more control of your time. You may consider entering into an agreement with your Employer allowing you to use compressed work weeks, flexible hours, and telecommuting.
These alternative work arrangements can help you avoid commuting during peak times, spend more time with loved ones, tend to dependent care needs, or better balance your work/life commitments.
The ability to collectively negotiate the terms and conditions of your employment, including alternatives to traditional work arrangements, is an important advantage of being a unionized professional.
Your Collective Agreement defines the parameters of such arrangements in Article 47.
Preparing for the return to the office
The Invest Ontario Employer has recently leased additional office space to prepare to accommodate employees returning to the office.
We encourage anyone who does not currently have a formal, signed remote work agreement and would like to work remotely to request one now. Learn more below.
Bargaining Unit: Invest Ontario
Collective Agreement Article: 47
First Published: October 10, 2025
Last Updated: October 10, 2025
Types of alternative work arrangements (AWAs)
An alternative work arrangement (AWA) can be established between your manager and you individually, or as a group of employees in the same unit.
Compressed work weeks (CWWs)
You and your supervisor can agree for you to work a compressed work week (CWW) schedule. In a CWW, you work additional time each day, which will accumulate to earn you a day off work on a regular cycle.
For example, with a three-week CWW schedule, you would:
- work an extra 31 minutes each day for 14 working days and enjoy the 15th day off.
Or with a four-week CWW schedule, you would:
- work an extra 23 minutes each day for 19 working days and enjoy the 20th day off.
Flexible hours
You and your supervisor can agree on alternative daily schedule when you start and finish work. These alternative times can be consistent across each workday or vary for different days of the week.
Your total number of hours worked each week must still equal the number of hours in a regular work week (or the hours in your compressed work week, if you are also using that option).
Telecommuting
You and your supervisor can agree for you to work from an alternate worksite for an agreed-upon number or hours or days per week.
The most typical location for telecommuting is your home.
How to request an alternative work arrangement
1. Consider which alternative work arrangement(s) would work best for you.
2. Review Invest Ontario policies, guidelines, and forms around AWAs before making your request. Where there is a conflict between the Employer policy and your Collective Agreement, your Collective Agreement takes precedence.
3. Write a draft of your request. Consider the Employer’s policies, the operational viability of your request for your work unit, and tailor your request to your supervisor accordingly. Try to anticipate and address any issues or objections you think your supervisor may have.
4. Submit your request to your supervisor in writing.
If your request is for remote work, you may wish to use the following template:
Remote work AWA request template
Dear [MANAGER]
I am writing to request an alternative work arrangement.
As you know, Invest Ontario employees are covered under the AMAPCEO-OPS Collective Agreement, under which employees are able to request one or more of these agreements.
Specifically, I am requesting remote work.
I would like to work remotely for [number of days per week].
I would like to work remotely on [list days of the week desired to work remotely].
I would like this arrangement to start on [start date] and end on [end date – can be no more than 12 months after start date].
This is pursuant to Article 47 of the AMAPCEO OPS Collective Agreement.
Please let me know if you have concerns with my request, and we can discuss them. I think that we can work together to find a schedule that is supportive of our operational needs, while allowing better work/life balance!
I look forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible.
Thank you,
[Your name]
5. When considering your AWA request, your supervisor must consider your request and its operational viability in good faith.
6. Once your supervisor has agreed to an alternative work arrangement, a formal agreement with the details will need to be established.
Otherwise, you or your Employer should draft the appropriate alternative work arrangement agreements for you to sign. The agreements must follow the appropriate standardized templates in included in the appendices of the Collective Agreement.
7. Submit your arrangement agreement to AMAPCEO at awa@amapceo.on.ca. Each agreement must be signed off on by the AMAPCEO office.
If you haven't heard back from your supervisor:
- Follow up with them by email a few weeks after your request. You don’t need to resend your original request or provide more details.
- In your email:
- Ask for a written decision on your remote work request and include the date you initially made your request.
- Ask for a response from your manager or director within two or three weeks and include the date by which you expect a reply from them.
- Include a note that if you don’t receive a response by then, you will consider your request denied.
If your request is denied:
- You have the option of approaching your supervisor to informally try and resolve the issue. Explain how you believe your request is operationally viable. Try to address their objections. Be persistent. You may wish to ask for help from AMAPCEO AMAPCEO Disputes and Labour Relations Officer Lee Douitsis (douitsis@amapceo.on.ca).
- If your request is still denied, request this denial and rationale in writing from your supervisor.
- If you believe your supervisor’s denial is not reasonable, you have the option of requesting to file a formal dispute (a grievance). AMAPCEO staff can help you with this.
If you have questions or need assistance
Please contact AMAPCEO Disputes and Labour Relations Officer Lee Douitsis at douitsis@amapceo.on.ca.
Frequently asked questions
I submitted a request for remote work ages ago and still don’t have a response. What should I do?
Please see "If you haven't heard back from your supervisor" above.
What is the difference between an AWA and a workplace accommodation?
You have the right to request an alternative work arrangement through Article 47 of the Collective Agreement. The Employer has an obligation to consider in good faith both the member’s request and the operational viability of the AWA for the work site.
Workplace accommodations are afforded to employees through the Ontario Human Rights Code. An employee must first establish that they have an accommodation need on the basis of a Code-protected ground (e.g., disability or family status). The Employer then has a legal duty to accommodate the employee up to the point of undue hardship. If seeking a health accommodation, the Employer is in their right to request health information to assess your request. Further, employees are not entitled to their preferred accommodation, simply an appropriate one. The initial request for a medical accommodation should be made to your manager.
While members may be asking for AWAs for reasons associated with a Code-protected ground (e.g., the commute aggravates my arthritis, I need to be home early on certain days because I am the only one who can pick up my child at that time), this doesn’t mean the Employer should automatically assess the requests under the legal framework of the duty to accommodate. The Employer should not request additional health information to support an AWA request under Article 47.
Learn more about workplace accommodations on the AMAPCEO Invest Ontario Fact Sheet.
To determine if an AWA or workplace accommodation is right for your circumstances, contact AMAPCEO Disputes and Labour Relations Officer Lee Douitsis at douitsis@amapceo.on.ca.
My supervisor is pushing me to pursue a health or family status accommodation instead of considering my remote work request, what should I do?
Immediately contact AMAPCEO Disputes and Labour Relations Officer Lee Douitsis at douitsis@amapceo.on.ca to discuss your situation.
I haven’t been able to arrange child care for when I’m back in the office four days a week. What should I do?
If you need short-term, time-limited flexibility for family care needs, talk with your manager. They have the discretion to grant short-term flexible work arrangements while you get other arrangements in place.
If you need longer-term consideration for family care needs, consider applying for an alternative work arrangement or a family status accommodation.
What information should I include in my remote work request?
The Employer cannot require you to demonstrate a particular need for remote work or provide a rationale for your AWA request to be approved. However, if you have one, this should be a relevant factor in their consideration of your request.
If you have one and you feel comfortable providing it to your manager or director, you can do so.
Consider the Employer’s policies, the operational viability of your request for your work unit, and tailor your request accordingly. Try to anticipate and address any issues or objections you think your manager and/or director may have.
If your manager or director is telling your request will be denied if you cannot demonstrate an exceptional need, they are incorrect. Contact AMAPCEO Disputes and Labour Relations Officer Lee Douitsis at douitsis@amapceo.on.ca immediately.
My request has been denied. What do I do?
Please see "If your request has been denied" above.