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Recent amendments to the Fair Work Act will make it harder for employers to deny requests for more flexible working arrangements from parents, carers, the disabled, people over 55 and victims of domestic violence.
A new set of criteria will make it illegal under the Fair Work Act for an employer to deny any reasonable request by an employee (male or female) who has one of these circumstances, to change their working hours, work patterns or work location. Employers will only be able to refuse if it would have a negative impact on the business or organisation.
So now any employee with family or carer responsibilities who thinks the boss has been unreasonable for denying their request to work part-time etc, can lodge a complaint with the Fair Work Commission.
The whole point of this legislation is to make Australian workplaces more family-friendly. Although most larger organisations have adopted family-friendly policies for their workers, some bosses are still resistant to the idea.
While many small businesses would like to adopt a more family-friendly approach to managing their employees, most are not able to offer women the option of making changes to working arrangements when their circumstances change.
Sandra Cook, chairperson of Economic Security4Women (eS4W) says “We would like to see some mechanism to count how many requests are denied and for what reason but are mindful of creating more work for small business owners.”
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