[Australia] Right to work from home under the microscope

In Australia, employee rights to work from home are set to be put under the microscope as a further push into a post-pandemic world reduces options for flexible working arrangements, The New Daily reports.

In September 2023, at the behest of Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke, the Fair Work Commission began a review of the modern award, which sets out terms and conditions of employment for around two million Australians.

The review will reportedly examine whether the award should include a right for Australians to work from home, as part of a wider review of ways workplaces can help employees to balance work and caring responsibilities.

As many as 40 per cent of Australian employees reported that they still regularly worked from home in 2022 but some large corporations are ready to move on from the practice.

In 2023, Commonwealth Bank ordered its employees back to the office for at least 50 per cent of their working time and both Westpac and National Australia Bank asked workers to return to their workplaces for two to three days a week.

However, a Fair Work Commission discussion paper reportedly highlighted several benefits of working from home. These included the expansion of employment opportunities, a reduction in time spent commuting and – for hybrid work models where employees work from home two or three days a week – no reduction in productivity.

Mr Burke stated that the purpose of the investigation is to find barriers in the award system that prevent flexible work in instances where it suits employers and employees.

Speaking to Sky News on February 22, the minister said, “You can have situations sometimes where for rostering rules or whatever the rules might be, that apply to a particular award, you can end up with circumstances where the flexibility that employees and employers want might not be there.”

Addressing whether employees should have the right to work from home, he reportedly said it should not be “an automatic thing” and “doesn’t work in a whole lot of work situations”.

“There’s situations where it’s mutual benefit for the employer and the employee,” he said.

“Where you’ve got those common interests, then of course you should do it.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that there were many benefits to working from home and said the commission was looking for “win-wins”.

“We shouldn’t have a one-size-fits-all approach to it, what we need is flexibility, a bit of common sense, and to look for measures that help workers but also help employees,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Sydney.

A report released by the economic think tank the Committee of Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) on February 22 reportedly revealed that the remote working ‘revolution’ has benefited workers with disabilities and mothers with young children.

These groups have been recruited in greater numbers than other workers in occupations that underwent large transitions to remote work since 2020, the research found. Carers and individuals with impactful health conditions have also made positive gains from the changes the pandemic and a strong labour market prompted.

The analysis showed that these groups - which typically had higher work-from-home rates - are now practically level with the rest of the workforce in those select occupations.

The report said, “WFH has levelled the playing field.”

That did not, however, mean it would remain, CEDA chief economist Cassandra Winzar cautioned.

“Embedding these gains even when the jobs market inevitably softens should be a priority,” she said.

Source: The New Daily

(Quotes via original reporting)

In Australia, employee rights to work from home are set to be put under the microscope as a further push into a post-pandemic world reduces options for flexible working arrangements, The New Daily reports.

In September 2023, at the behest of Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke, the Fair Work Commission began a review of the modern award, which sets out terms and conditions of employment for around two million Australians.

The review will reportedly examine whether the award should include a right for Australians to work from home, as part of a wider review of ways workplaces can help employees to balance work and caring responsibilities.

As many as 40 per cent of Australian employees reported that they still regularly worked from home in 2022 but some large corporations are ready to move on from the practice.

In 2023, Commonwealth Bank ordered its employees back to the office for at least 50 per cent of their working time and both Westpac and National Australia Bank asked workers to return to their workplaces for two to three days a week.

However, a Fair Work Commission discussion paper reportedly highlighted several benefits of working from home. These included the expansion of employment opportunities, a reduction in time spent commuting and – for hybrid work models where employees work from home two or three days a week – no reduction in productivity.

Mr Burke stated that the purpose of the investigation is to find barriers in the award system that prevent flexible work in instances where it suits employers and employees.

Speaking to Sky News on February 22, the minister said, “You can have situations sometimes where for rostering rules or whatever the rules might be, that apply to a particular award, you can end up with circumstances where the flexibility that employees and employers want might not be there.”

Addressing whether employees should have the right to work from home, he reportedly said it should not be “an automatic thing” and “doesn’t work in a whole lot of work situations”.

“There’s situations where it’s mutual benefit for the employer and the employee,” he said.

“Where you’ve got those common interests, then of course you should do it.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that there were many benefits to working from home and said the commission was looking for “win-wins”.

“We shouldn’t have a one-size-fits-all approach to it, what we need is flexibility, a bit of common sense, and to look for measures that help workers but also help employees,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Sydney.

A report released by the economic think tank the Committee of Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) on February 22 reportedly revealed that the remote working ‘revolution’ has benefited workers with disabilities and mothers with young children.

These groups have been recruited in greater numbers than other workers in occupations that underwent large transitions to remote work since 2020, the research found. Carers and individuals with impactful health conditions have also made positive gains from the changes the pandemic and a strong labour market prompted.

The analysis showed that these groups - which typically had higher work-from-home rates - are now practically level with the rest of the workforce in those select occupations.

The report said, “WFH has levelled the playing field.”

That did not, however, mean it would remain, CEDA chief economist Cassandra Winzar cautioned.

“Embedding these gains even when the jobs market inevitably softens should be a priority,” she said.

Source: The New Daily

(Quotes via original reporting)