One of the biggest lessons so far from the Fair Work Commission's arbitration of flexible work disputes is that employers must engage in meaningful dialogue with workers who are seeking new arrangements, a lawyer says in our latest Q&A.
An employee has convinced the Fair Work Commission to order an exception to her employer's hybrid working policy, because after moving further away from its office and enrolling her children in a more distant school, she required a fully remote working arrangement to manage pick-ups and drop-offs.
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.
Compliance with an enterprise agreement alone does not constitute a reasonable business ground for refusing a flexible work request, a Fair Work Commission full bench has confirmed in dismissing an employer's appeal.
A dispute over a flexible work request, which was made by an employee over 55 and denied on safety grounds, has been dismissed due to not meeting the conditions required for arbitration in the Fair Work Commission.
The refusal of an HR manager's flexible work request did not indicate the employer intended to end her employment or leave her with no choice but to quit, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
Now in the second year of its four-day work experiment, Medibank continues to report significant and sustained improvements in engagement, job satisfaction and employees' health and wellbeing.
While accepting an employer was entitled to issue a return-to-office directive, the Fair Work Commission has nonetheless ordered it to grant an exemption to an employee who requested to keep working remotely.
Employees must establish a clear nexus between their obligations as parents of school-age children and their desired working arrangements, rather than simply rely on their parenting status, if they expect to win disputes over flexible work refusals, a new ruling shows.
