Log in or become a subscriber

An employee's flexible work request was sufficiently related to his age, the Fair Work Commission has found, in rejecting he was seeking "open-ended optimisation of his working arrangements" rather than transitioning to retirement.

Dismissing the employer's jurisdictional objection, Commissioner Chris Simpson accepted the employee had established the required nexus under section 65(1)(b) of the Fair Work Act.

In January this year, the Watpac Construction services manager told his supervisor he was "restructuring" certain aspects of his life, so he could dedicate more time to creative writing and make this a source of income throughout his retirement. He proposed maintaining his contractual hours, but working only four days a week.

He formalised his flexible work request a few days later, submitting that it met the section 65 criteria because he was over 55 years of age and wanted to transition to retirement by improving his work-life balance and pursuing creative projects...