Greater Napanee council has approved a new flexible workplace policy that sets clear rules for municipal employees who occasionally work from home.
Council passed the policy during their meeting last week after a lengthy discussion about how regularly scheduled remote work should be monitored and reviewed.
Town staff said the policy mainly formalizes practices that have already been happening informally across several departments. Human Resources Manager Hollie Knapp-Fisher said the goal is to create consistent expectations for how remote work requests are handled.
She noted that most municipal employees still work full time in the office. Of the town’s roughly 90 full-time staff members, only three currently have structured remote work agreements.
Some councillors raised concerns about accountability and maintaining public access to staff. Others said remote work can help employees focus on technical tasks and improve flexibility.
Council ultimately amended the policy to require annual reviews for recurring work-from-home arrangements before voting to approve the policy.
