The FWC has awarded compensation to an accounts assistant who said she could not return to the office after working from home for almost a decade, while her employer maintained that the arrangement only began with the pandemic.
The FWC no longer plans to deal with workers' right to disconnect during consultations in the work and care arm of its modern awards review, while it has tweaked its timetable and is inviting input by tomorrow afternoon on a survey that includes questions about working from home.
IR Minister Tony Burke says the Albanese Government is "not there yet" in talks with key crossbenchers ahead of this week's Senate debate on its Closing Loopholes No 2 legislation, while consultations on including a "right to disconnect" are tackling the role of fines.
The FWC is seeking feedback by March 12 on the possible incorporation into modern awards of key recommendations of the recent Senate work and care inquiry, including rights to work from home and to disconnect from the workplace.
In a case highlighting the many tripwires involved in remote working arrangements, the FWC has upheld the sacking of a Bureau of Meteorology scientist who fell off the radar after an overseas holiday.
About 37% of workers are working regularly from home, down from 40% at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, but well above the pre-COVID-19 level of 32%, according to new ABS data.
ANZ's plan to "force" workers to return to the office for half of the working week is "short-sighted", "antiquated" and "punitive", according to the Finance Sector Union, which is also urging members at the RBA to reject a second unilateral bargaining offer.
A worker with inflammatory bowel disease has lost his bid to use the Secure Jobs Act flexible work provisions to resist a request to return to the office 40% of the time, the FWC finding it will boost his employer's ability to lift his productivity and allow others to benefit from his experience.
The FWC has upheld a major insurance provider's sacking of a work-from-home employee whose keystrokes data revealed inactivity 90% of the time, finding her circumstances "all the more regrettable" given her previous long history of satisfactory service.
