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As of Sept. 1, an employee can ask for changes to their schedule, their hours and their work location. Employers will likely be flooded with these requests. But most unionized jobs are rigidly defined and do not offer the flexibility the government has promised. A bank teller can’t do much working from home, nor can a flight attendant.

Denying these requests, as many employers will be required to do, will lead to increased friction and in some cases the rewriting of collective agreements. Any unionized employer knows how laborious and fraught with tension contract negotiations can be. If those deals cannot be rewritten, employers will still have to comply with the new legislation, but if there is a breach, there will not be an efficient way to remedy the dispute.

It also incentivizes employees to apply to companies they want to work for but at locations, shifts or schedules they don’t, knowing that, after six months, they can request a change. Even existing employees who want different shifts or schedules may demand accommodation, however inefficient it would be for the employer.

The right to refuse overtime for unspecified “family responsibilities” will be a recipe for many to avoid it, even when there is a genuine business emergency that requires handling.

And creating a leave only for Aboriginal people would have once been deemed discriminatory. What about the right of any Canadian to take a week off to participate in their faith? In my small law firm, among lawyers alone, we have members of five races and even more religions. If everyone suddenly received an extra week off beyond their vacations at a time of their choice, it would be extraordinarily disruptive. This particular move seems designed to win back Aboriginal voters who were turned off by the way Jody Wilson-Raybould was treated during the SNC-Lavalin affair, rather than addressing an actual problem.

The net result of these changes, and in particular the legislated “flexible work arrangements” clause, is ill-timed but election ready. The Liberal government wants Canadians to see it as employee friendly, instead of an ally to business. Unfortunately, it is employees, still, that will pay the price.

Howard Levitt is senior partner of Levitt LLP, employment and labour lawyers. He practises employment law in eight provinces.The most recent of his six books is War Stories from the Workplace: Columns by Howard Levitt.

hlevitt@levittllp.com

Twitter.com/HowardLevittLaw