An IR specialist has told a labour law conference that if employees can demonstrate it will not reduce productivity or service, it might become increasingly difficult for employers to validly refuse flexibility requests for four-day working weeks.
A Productivity Commission-convened work from home seminar has heard how employers are managing the challenges of "hybrid workplaces", dealing with potential OHS and management issues and rethinking how they bring people together.
The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned five distinct work-from-home models, according to the authors of a FWC-commissioned study that found formal policies and relatively fixed hours are key to a successful WFH strategy.
The more than one million retail workers need more stable rosters, better pay and greater job security, along with flexible and affordable childcare, to enable them to meet their caring responsibilities, according to a new university study commissioned by the SDA.
The insights gained from the rapid shift to working from home during COVID-19 could lead to the adoption of a "genuine consultation" requirement under the Fair Work Act's "right to request" flexibility that might start "a conversation aimed at reaching a mutually suitable arrangement", according to a new paper by two leading IR academics.
Most negotiations between employers and employees on working from home arrangements will remain outside the formal IR system, according to a new report by the Productivity Commission.
The UK Labour party has promised to replace the country's three existing employment classifications with a single category of "worker" for all but the "genuinely self-employed" if it takes power at the 2024 election.
As Telstra continues to bring call centre jobs back onshore and responds to changing needs during the pandemic, it says a new flexible work policy will support "location agnostic" and "hybrid" practices that open up flexibility options for all employees.
The number of Australians working from home remains almost double the pre-COVID 19 figure and women are more likely want to expand the arrangement, according to the latest ABS data on how households are faring during the pandemic.
As COVID-19 amplifies pressure for workers to have greater rights to "disconnect" outside of working hours, the Irish Government has asked its Workplace Relations Commission to develop a code of practice to promote the practice.
