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A hybrid working guideline that allowed employees to work from home up to three days a week was "on one view generous", the Fair Work Commission has found, in a flexible work dispute.

"There was no capriciousness or arbitrariness about the Guideline. It was a workplace policy plainly open for the employer to hold," Deputy President Andrew Bell said, in accepting it established reasonable business grounds for refusing a full-time work-from-home request.

The dispute was filed by an employee of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority Limited (AFCA), who had requested the flexible working arrangement due to his caring responsibilities. These responsibilities were to his wife, who was immunocompromised and had other significant health conditions; and to his child, who was "struggling with ongoing health issues".

In applying to the Commission to resolve the dispute, the employee contended that AFCA hadn't paid regard to the consequences for him of its refusal as it was required to do under section 65A(3)(c) of the Fair Work Act, and that it didn't have reasonable business grounds to refuse his request (sections 65A(3)(d) and (5))...