The NSW public sector granted more than 87% of women's requests for flexible work ahead of COVID-19, according to a large PSA member survey that says the pandemic has proved there is still room for improvement in the Berejiklian Government's "if not why not" policy.
The FWC is likely tomorrow to extend COVID-19 flexibilities in the clerical award until the end of March, after the ACTU agreed not to oppose the move, while unions and employers are continuing to negotiate on proposed "enduring" working from home provisions.
The IR system will need to change to deal with challenges arising from the COVID-19 "new normal" of working from home, according to a briefing paper by the Centre for Future Work.
The negative attitude of Australian businesses towards older workers is a major obstacle in achieving longer working lives, according to a new OECD report.
The FWC has rejected the ACTU's bid for a new entitlement for working parents and carers to work flexible hours, but has provisionally indicated it intends to publish a model award clause that will extend the right to request flexible work to casuals with six months service and require employers to provide more explanation for refusing requests.
Gig economy platform Deliveroo has called on legislators to help provide "the best of both worlds" to their riders by considering workplace law changes that would enable linking of benefits with the number of deliveries, without "sacrificing. . . flexible supplier agreements".
A Senate Committee's call for a target date for full gender pay equity has been seized upon by the union pursuing a four-year long equal-remuneration case before the FWC, but found little support from business or Government members on the Labor-dominated committee.
Responsibility for gender equity strategies should be partially devolved from centralised HR departments to line managers, and training to combat "unconscious bias" in selection processes should be mandated for supervisors and managers, according to a new report on barriers to women's career advancement in higher education.
