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{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change locationFWC’s Clerks Award WFH decision is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist
FWC’s Clerks Award WFH decision is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist
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HIA Director - Workplace Relations Natalie Cameron said the Full Bench rightly rejected calls for a presumption in favour of WFH requests, restrictions on an employer’s ability to refuse them and an award-based entitlement for employees to insist on working from home.
Instead, the Commission will insert a new clause allowing employees covered by the award to make written WFH requests, while employers retain discretion to agree or not.
Employers and employees will also be able to agree to vary certain award conditions, including hours of work and meal and rest breaks, to facilitate WFH arrangements.
The clause will sit alongside existing flexible working arrangement provisions under the Fair Work Act 2009.
“HIA’s position is straightforward. Working from home can work well when it is genuinely negotiated between an employer and employee and reflects the practical circumstances of the business,” Ms Cameron said.
“A one-size-fits-all statutory right imposed on employers, regardless of operational reality, would have been unworkable. The Commission was right to reject that approach.
“But the question remains: what problem does this new award clause actually solve?
“The Commission’s own research found 88 per cent of employers and 85.7 per cent of employees did not consider changes to the Clerks Award necessary to make WFH easier to access.
“The Commission also found no evidence employers were systematically refusing WFH requests, while the Productivity Commission has separately concluded the existing Fair Work framework is appropriate and there is no demonstrated need for legislated WFH rights.
“These findings reinforce HIA’s long-standing position that the Fair Work Act, including existing flexible working arrangements and individual flexibility arrangements, already gives employers and employees the tools to reach sensible, tailored agreements.
“Adding another clause to an already lengthy and complex award risks creating more complexity without addressing an identifiable problem.
“Today’s outcome is less harmful than what was sought by unions, but it remains a solution to a problem the evidence says does not exist.
“You don’t regulate your way to better workplace relationships when there is no identifiable problem to fix,” concluded Ms Cameron.
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