Spotlight On: Requests for Flexible Working Arrangements

The right to request flexible working arrangements is one of the 10 National Employment Standards of the Fair Work Act 2009.

A request for a flexible working arrangement may include changes to location, hours, work patterns, or rostering.

Employees are eligible to make such a request if they have had 12 months continuous service and are either:

• a parent of a child who is of school age or younger,
• a carer,
• a person with a disability
• age 55 or older
• experiencing violence from a family member, or provide care/support to a family/household member who requires care/support because they are experiencing family violence.

If employees have the right to request flexible working arrangements, do employers have to agree to them?

No, they don’t! A valid business reason is enough to deny a flexible working arrangement request. However, in the absence of reasonable business grounds, flexible working arrangements must not be refused.

There are many reasons why a business may have a valid reason to deny a request, including costs, an inability to change other employee’s working arrangements that would be affected, significant loss of productivity or negative impact on customer service.

Several of our clients have mistaken ‘flexible’ for ‘informal’, when they are actually very different. Flexible Working Arrangements actually should be documented in writing, and requests must be responded to within 21 days.

However, not all communication regarding the request needs to be in writing. It is generally best practice for the employee and employer to discuss the request. If needed, the employer and employee may negotiate to find the best outcome for both parties. Under these circumstances, the final response must still be confirmed in writing.

Flexible Working Arrangements can benefit both the employer and employee, as employees who have the flexibility to maintain their personal responsibilities may be more focused and productive when at work.