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Westpac’s loss at the Fair Work Commission over a staff member’s request to work from home permanently is a warning to bosses that they must be prepared to justify why they require certain workers to come into the office, experts say.
This week, the Fair Work Commission found in favour of an employee from Westpac’s mortgage operations team who challenged the bank after it shot down her request to work from home and insisted she report to the office at least two days a week.
Karlene Chandler, who has worked for Westpac for more than 20 years, had moved with her family to Wilton, about 80 kilometres south-west of Sydney’s CBD, in 2021, to be closer to the private school her two six-year-old children attended.
Chandler wanted the working conditions so she could make school drop-offs for her children, noting that it took roughly two hours to travel from the school to a Westpac office in either Kogarah or Parramatta.
She had been approved for flexible work conditions but in January, Westpac reversed this, requiring her to comply with the company policy of working at least two days per week in an office.
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano said working from home “is a right, not a privilege” and that the decision “paves the way for workers who have caring responsibilities to secure work from home rights”.
Sam Nottle, principal lawyer at Jewell Hancock employment lawyers, said the Westpac decision should remind companies that they were legally obliged to respond to requests for flexible working arrangements within 21 days and provide grounds for refusing requests.
“If an employee has worked very well from home in the past, you do have to grapple with and address the business grounds on which you’re refusing the request,” Nottle said. “Westpac didn’t do that in this instance,” he said.
Source: Flexible working arrangements: Experts warn bosses after Westpac loses Fair Work Commission case