What else is new?
From 6 June 2023, when an eligible employee makes a request for a flexible working arrangement, their employer will have an obligation to discuss the request with them. If their employer refuses the request, the employer will need to provide reasons in writing within 21 days. The employer will also need to consider and inform the employee in writing if there are any other changes in working arrangements that they would be willing to make to accommodate the employee’s circumstances.
The amendments to the provisions around requests for flexible working arrangements also allow the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to deal with a dispute about a request, including by conciliation, mediation or, where necessary, mandatory arbitration, in circumstances where employers and employees cannot agree on a solution at a workplace level.
The FWC will be empowered to impose a range of outcomes, including requiring the employer to grant the request or make other specified changes to accommodate the request to any extent.
Employers should also take note that the circumstances in which an employee may request flexible working arrangements have been extended to include pregnant employees and situations where an employee, or a member of their immediate family or household, experiences family and domestic violence.
Just as employer’s obligations will significantly increase in this space, the powers of the FWC will be far broader than those had in this flexible work requests space before. This combination is likely to result in (at least initially) an influx not only of employee requests, but subsequent requests (such as where requests have been refused previously) and potential FWC intervention where there is dissatisfaction in the outcomes.
Are you and your management team prepared for the impacts of these changes? We at Emplawyer are here to help.
