Some employees who have worked for the same employer for at least 12 months can request flexible working arrangements, such as changes to hours, patterns or locations of work.
Some employees who have worked for the same employer for at least 12 months can request flexible working arrangements, such as changes to:
- Hours of work (e.g., start and finish times)
- Patterns of work (e.g., split shifts or job sharing)
- Locations of work (e.g., working from home)
Employees can request flexible working if they:
- Have worked for the same employer for at least 12 months
- Are the parent, or have responsibility for the care, of a child who is school aged or younger
- Are a carer (under the Carer Recognition Act 2010)
- Have a disability
- Are 55 years or older
- Are experiencing family or domestic violence
- Provide care or support to a member of their household or immediate family who requires care and support because of family or domestic violence.
- Are pregnant
- Are experiencing family and domestic violence (this also extends to immediate family or household members)
Casual employees are not entitled to make a request unless:
- they have been working with the same employer regularly and systematically for at least 12 months, and
- there's a reasonable expectation of continuing work with the employer on a regular and systematic basis.
Requests for flexible working arrangements must:
- Be in writing
- Explain what changes are being requested
- Explain the reasons for the requested change.
Employers who receive a request must provide a written response within 21 days which outlines whether the request is approved or refused. Employers may refuse a request on reasonable business grounds, and the reasons for the refusal must be included in the written response. Keep in mind modern awards contain specific information on what needs to be included in a written response. To find your award, please refer to modern awards.
Reasonable business grounds can include:
- The requested arrangements are too costly
- Other employees' working arrangements can't be changed to accommodate the request
- It's impractical to change other employees’ working arrangements or hire new employees to accommodate the request
- The request would result in a significant loss of productivity or have a significant negative impact on customer service.
Before declining a request from an employee, have to:
- discuss the request with the employee
- make a genuine effort to find alternative arrangements to accommodate the employee’s circumstances
- consider the consequences of refusal for the employee
- provide a written response that includes:
- an explanation of the reasonable business grounds for refusing the request and how these grounds apply to the request
- other changes the employer is willing to make that would accommodate the employee’s circumstances or that says there aren’t any changes
- information about referring a dispute to the Fair Work Commission (the Commission).
- If an employer and the employee have discussed the request and agreed to make changes to the employee’s working arrangements that are different to what the employee requested, the employer needs to confirm these agreed changes in writing within 21 days of the request.
The Fair Work Commission will be able to hear and make orders about disputes about flexible working arrangement requests if the employer and employee cannot resolve the matter. This may occur where an employer refuses a request or doesn’t respond in the required timeframe.