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Claiming to seek a flexible work arrangement due to a child's needs was "somewhat misleading", the Fair Work Commission has commented, in dismissing an employee's dispute over a rejected request.

What the employee really wanted was to spend more time with both his children, but the purpose of the Fair Work Act's flexible work provisions isn't "to promote a 'work-life balance'", Deputy President Nicholas Lake said.

In late September last year, CleanCo Queensland approved the utility trade worker's request to work remotely every second week until 6 December, to help his son settle in at a new school.

The pair had relocated from Townsville to Tully, near the employer's Kareeya Power Station, after the son had a traumatic experience at school, the Commission heard...