Increasing your work hours to 37.5 h/week - it's up to you

March 06, 2023

Are you a human relations officer, lawyer, educator, psychoeducator, psychologist, special education technician or social worker? Soon, you’ll need to decide if you want your work hours to increase to 37.5 hours a week on a permanent basis.

Overview

In accordance with Letter of Agreement No. 12 of the collective agreement, the List of job titles has been changed, at the employer’s request, in order to specify the option of a 37.5-hour work week for your job title.

In February and March 2022, employers were therefore required to offer all employees with one of the above-mentioned job titles who held a full-time position the option of increasing their work hours to 37.5 hours a week. This offer was also extended to employees holding a part-time position, who could increase their work hours on the basis of a 37.5-hour week, proportionally to the number of hours associated with their position. For instance, a person working four 7-hour days per week could choose to work four 7.5-hour days.

The next step

In this process, there’s one final step that requires your attention between March 31 and June 1, 2023. Your employer must soon give you the opportunity to:

• increase your hours of work on the basis of a 37.5-hour week, or
• opt for the weekly hours of work currently associated with your position.

It’s up to you

• If your position is based on a 37.5-hour week, your employer must imperatively provide you with the option of changing that. It’s up to you to decide whether you want to keep a 37.5-hour week or go back to 35 hours.
• Conversely, if your position is based on a 35-hour week, your employer must imperatively provide you with the option of increasing your hours to 37.5. It’s up to you to decide whether you want to keep a 35-hour week or move to 37.5 hours.

In both cases, these changes apply to the position you hold at the time you tell your employer what you’ve chosen, and your choice is irreversible.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your local team.