Following on from yesterdays’ blog “EMPLOYERS MUST OFFER WORK / LIFE BALANCE” we bring you all the information you will need to know to ensure you are in align with the new r2r law enforcing work / life balance for employees.

Article by The Courier-Mail

What employees need to know about r2r

• Parents of children under school age or under 18 years with a disability can request more flexible work arrangements. Unions intend to campaign to extend this right to parents of school-aged children and carers for the elderly, sick and adults with disabilities.

• Casual and permanent employees with more than a year’s service are eligible to request family friendly hours, part-time work, working from home or special leave provisions.

• An eligible employee must make the request in writing to the employer, giving the reason for the desired change. The employer then must respond in writing within 21 days and can only reject a request on reasonable business grounds.

• Reasonable business grounds are not defined explicitly but legal precedents suggest relevant issues include the nature of the role, the impact on business operations and a cost-benefit analysis of business and worker.

Source: Aequus Partners lawyer Juliet Bourke. More info at ww.workplaceflexibility.com.au

What employers need to know about r2r

• Who is eligible? What can they request? Where do the boundaries lie? Learn more about the rules at www.workplaceflexibility.com.au.

• Develop or update your flexible work policy to incorporate reference to r2r requirements and prepare documents – request and approval/refusal forms – to help guide employees and managers. • Start with a can-do attitude. Encourage discussion and be transparent. Are there win-win alternatives? Could a trial period iron out concerns for both employee and boss?

• Provide managers with guidelines and training on the reasonable business grounds test so they are confident in dealing with requests.

• Review how your flexibility systems are working including impact on turnover by introducing tracking strategies to evaluate the consistency and quality of decision-making.

Source: Aequus Partners lawyer Juliet Bourke. More info at www.workplaceflexibility.com.au

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