A retrenched educator who rejected an alternative role because she wanted to keep working from home at least a day a week has lost her severance entitlements, after the FWC found she did not have a formal right to maintain her flexible arrangements.
A psychologist who fled Darwin for regional NSW in "disturbing" circumstances has failed to persuade the FWC that her employer lacked reasonable business grounds to deny her request to continue servicing clients on Zoom.
Employers who refuse a flexible work request have to do their own homework on the ramifications and spell it out clearly in writing, a FWC full bench has held in ordering a school to accommodate a teacher's wish to temporarily work part-time in an executive role while she manages her return from parental leave.
The FWC has held that it has no power under the Fair Work Act's flexible work dispute provisions to deal with a National Australia Bank worker's challenge to the cancellation of her WFH flexibility arrangement after she allegedly failed to comply with its terms.
The Ai Group has hinted at a potential "consensus" in a FWC-initiated case with economy-wide implications to consider inserting WFH provisions in the clerks award, while expressing concern that it would be "unfair" to require submissions ahead of results of a survey on the issue, with the tribunal now persuaded to ditch the deadline and hold a conference.
The FWC has upheld a worker's flexible work request after his employer ended an informal 13-year arrangement, in a decision reaffirming the precedence of the NES, even when it is inconsistent with the terms of an enterprise agreement.
A tribunal has found an "extremely accommodating" Queensland Health acted fairly and reasonably in its treatment of a worker's largely unsuccessful bid to expand her flexible work arrangement.
It would have been "sensible" for a worker to take up the "generous support" offered by his employer, rather than filing an "unwarranted" anti-bullying claim, the FWC has ruled, finding a performance management plan, letter of expectations and a warning amounted to reasonable management action.
The Australian Industry Group has expressed dismay at the "skewed" drafting of a FWC survey aiming to gather information on how the clerical award currently impedes or enables working from home.
The FWC has overruled an employer's resistance to a working parent's request to work an extra day a fortnight at home to care for his toddler daughter until she reaches two years of age, while rejecting its claims that it would set a precedent for the remainder of its workforce.
