Do you have employees who are requesting flexible working arrangements?

It’s important that you understand that your full-time and part-time employees can request flexible work arrangements if they’ve worked with you for at least 12 months and they:

• are the parent, or have responsibility for the care, of a child who is school aged or younger
• are a carer (under the Carer Recognition Act 2010)
• are a person with disability
• are 55 or older
• are pregnant
• are experiencing family and domestic violence, or
• provide care or support to an immediate family or household member who is experiencing family and domestic violence

Flexible work arrangements are not just restricted to full-time and part-time employees, casual employees can request flexible work arrangements if:

• they meet one of the above criteria (such as being a person with disability, being a carer or pregnant)
• they’ve been working for the same employer regularly and systematically for at least 12 months
• there’s a reasonable expectation of continuing work with the employer on a regular and systematic basis.

Examples of flexible working arrangements include changes to:

• hours of work – for example, changes to start and finish times
• patterns of work – for example, split shifts or job sharing
• locations of work – for example, working from home

Employees need to follow certain rules when requesting flexible working arrangements. You also need to follow certain rules when responding to these requests.

If a dispute about these requests can’t be resolved at the workplace, the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) can help.

How to you consider and respond to a request for flexible work arrangements?

If you get a request from an employee for flexible working arrangements, you need to respond in writing within 21 days. Your response must include whether the request is approved or refused. There are rules for refusing a request – see below for details.

You and your employee can agree to working arrangements that are different from what your employee had originally requested. Where this happens, you need to confirm the agreed changes in writing within 21 days of getting your employee’s request.

What if I want to refuse the request for flexible work arrangements?

You can only refuse a request on reasonable business grounds and if you have:

• discussed the request with the employee and genuinely tried to reach an agreement on alternative arrangements to accommodate the employee’s circumstances
• considered the consequences for refusing the employee’s request

What are reasonable business grounds?

Reasonable business grounds can include:

• the requested arrangements are too costly
• other employees’ working arrangements can’t be changed to accommodate the request
• it would be impractical to change other employees’ working arrangements or hire new employees to accommodate the request
• the request:
  • is likely to result in a significant loss in efficiency or productivity, or
  • would have a significant negative impact on customer service

The employer’s circumstances can be factored in when considering if the employer has reasonable business grounds for refusing a request. For example, the employer’s size and nature of the business.

Important considerations?

It’s important that you: 

• understand on what basis you can refuse a request for flexible work arrangements.
• provide a written response to a request for a flexible work arrangement within 21 days
• are refusing a request for a flexible work arrangement, that you clearly communicate your reasons for refusal in your written response

• provide information about getting help from the Fair Work Commission for disputes about flexible working arrangements

What if I need help?

These are all things we can assist you with and represent your interests in the Fair Work Commission – all you need to do is contact our Business Advice Hotline on (08) 8300 0000 (select option 1).